The Windup Newsletter | This is The Athletic’s Daily mlb Newsletter. Sign up here To get The Windup straight to your inbox.
dodgers Roaring to make a comeback in Game 3, and… white sox Are for sale? Are they? Are they? Plus: Ken On kike hernandezThe bravery of. I am levi weaverwith here Ken RosenthalWelcome to Windup!
NLCS Game 3: dodgers empty mets to take a 2-1 lead
Dodgers 8, Mets 0, Remember when the Dodgers pitchers racked up a 33-inning scoreless streak? Well, after allowing six runs over the first two innings of Game 2 of the NLCS, he has allowed only one more run over the subsequent 16 innings.
Remember: This is the team that had to do it Make your way through the NLDSThat link is not to Fabian Ardaya appearing on @OldTakesExposed; He was right when he said it! The Dodgers’ pitching staff is missing. tyler glasnow, clayton kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, dustin may, Emmett Sheehan, gavin stone – Oh and shohei ohtanilest we Forget.
And yet, he has conceded zero runs in 48 of his last 51 innings. Latest Pitching Miracle: walker buehlerwho have struggled this year well documented He returned from his second Tommy John surgery and was struggling with hip problems.
The worries were quickly put to rest last night. buehler was awesomeAfter getting no strikeouts in his NLDS outing against GuardianHe struck out six in four shutout innings last night, then handed it off to a new Dodgers bullpen that ran and hid with a lead that grew from two to four, then seven, then eight runs.
Two strange stat line notes:
- What’s going on with Ohtani? His eighth inning home run Came up with two runners on, meaning he is now 7-for-9 with two home runs this postseason when there are runners on base. When are the grounds clear? For 0-22.
- In his final eight plate appearances, max munsey One is 3-for-3 with two home runs and five Let’s go.
For the Mets, Don’t expect much change In the lineup tonight. “I will continue to ride for our people,” Manager carlos mendoza Said last night.
NLCS Game 4: Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. jose quintana ,8:08 PM ET, FS1. Stream MLB Playoffs fubo,,
Ken’s Notebook: Hernandez’s playoff heroics epitomize Dodgers’ next-man-up success
from my latest column,
NEW YORK – The Dodgers have been saying that they brought back Kike Hernandez to help them win 11 games in October. In fact? Hernandez did not even start the team’s first three playoff games, entering the lineup only at shortstop. miguel rojas He can no longer bear to play with his torn left adductor.
So, in the wake of Hernandez’s 15th career postseason homer, a two-run shot that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 4-0 in Game 3 of the NLCS last night, the question must be asked:
If Rojas was healthy, would Hernandez even be playing?
“That’s a good question. I’m glad I don’t have to answer that question,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, smiling. “He’s there now.”
There he is, right there, embodying the one-for-all, one-for-all ethos of the 2024 Dodgers. Granted, it’s a lot easier to rely on interchangeable parts when your salary is $325 million. But the Dodgers started doing it in spring training, when they went gavin lux to establish another mookie bets In short, it cost Rojas his starting job. Rojas helped Bates adjust to his new position after Bates suffered a fractured left hand on June 17, then returned to shortstop for the remainder of the season.
“That’s what this team is all about,” Rojas said.
Bates returned to right field after missing nearly two months. Third baseman Max Muncy, who reached base five times and hit his second home run of the series in Game 3, was out more than three months due to a left oblique strain. first baseman freddy freeman Due to his son Max’s illness, a broken finger, and a severe right ankle sprain, he played 147 games, his lowest total since 2017. And of course, an entire documentary could be written about the Dodgers’ pitching ills, including the placement of 12 starting pitchers on the injured list.
Still, the Dodgers have had enough. They always seem to, don’t they? Walker Buehler, after a disappointing regular season in his return from his second Tommy John surgery, recaptured his October magic last night, pitching four scoreless innings. game 4 starter yoshinobu yamamoto He missed nearly three months with a right rotator cuff strain, but went on to pitch brilliantly in the winner-take-all game of the Division Series.
That’s the least the Dodgers should expect from their $325 million free agent, the most expensive pitcher in major league history, but what makes this franchise so brutally efficient is that it’s also Wins. All three of its deadline acquisitions – jack flaherty, tommy adman And Michael Kopech – Has emerged as a major contributor. And Hernandez, a $4 million signing on Feb. 26 after the start of spring training, is on the rise again right now. At the age of 33. After three consecutive poor offensive campaigns.
Kamil Krzyzynski/USA TODAY via Imagen Images
Big Deals: White Sox (also) for sale?
It’s been a big October for the AL Central. the guardians Are in the ALCS. royal family And tigers More baseball games will be played in 2024 than any of us anticipated. And this week – just days after the announcement Twins Were being put up for saleBritt Ghiroli reports White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf Team “Ready to Sell”.,
Honestly, this isn’t the worst accusation system I’ve ever heard of. Make the playoffs or sell the team? I could go after it.
According to Ghiroli’s report, “Reinsdorf, 88, is in active discussions with a group led by former big leaguer Dave Stewart.Stewart, you’ll remember, has been a big part of the movement to bring MLB Expansion team in Nashville, Tennessee,
It is not certain whether a sale would necessarily mean a relocation, but it is worth remembering that Reinsdorf is attempting to gain approval for public funding for a new stadium. Call me cynical, but this wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard a sports owner use the “we can sell the guy who can carry the team” argument to grease the wheels.
But time is curious for me. why now? After modern record 121 defeats? This doesn’t seem like the best time to capitalize on the team’s value – either in a sale or in an attempt to obtain public funding.
There’s still a lot we don’t know, but luckily, we have John Greenberg Help us understand what we do,
All you need to know about: Journeys of two ALCS pitchers
As we await Game 3 of the ALCS, today we have two profiles on pitchers who could play big roles in the remainder of this series: cad smith of parents and clark schmidt of Yankees,
- For Smith, Jack Meisel reminds us of It wasn’t even a foregone conclusion That rookie will make the Opening Day roster. After finding success in High A and Double A, Smith had a 4.87 ERA in 40 2/3 innings in Triple A last year. But this year? He was one of only six relievers to have over 100 strikeouts, and his ERA was an impressive 1.91. I’ll let Meisel take it from here:“According to Statcast, Smith’s fastball is rated as the game’s most effective pitch in 2024. chris sale‘s slider and (Emmanuel) Klaas’s cutter. Its average speed was 96 mph, but with specific expansion, it could be as fast as a marble moving toward the plate at 106 mph.,
- Meanwhile, in New York, Schmidt was also once a gambling addict. In 2017, the University of South Carolina pitcher was still recovering from Tommy John surgery when the Yankees took him with the 16th pick of the draft. There is no 100 percent certainty that the pitcher will return to form after surgery, but As Brendan Kuti tells usThe team believed in the kid they had scouted since his sophomore year of high school. It bore fruit. Schmidt was very good at the start of the season, before a strain in his right lat kept him out from late May to early September. Despite this, his performance remained good and he finished the season 5-5 with a 2.85 ERA. His first postseason start was good but short – two runs in 4 2/3 innings in a 3–2 win that put the Yankees one game away from eliminating the Royals. He could do the same with the Guardians tonight.
ALCS Game 3: Schmidt vs. Matthew Boyd ,5:08 pm ET, TBS,
handshake and high five
On June 25, the Padres’ Luis Arraez was hitting .310 when he injured his thumb sliding into second base. The injury was worse than we knew – he revealed yesterday that he had suffered a concussion surgery to fix itFor what it’s worth, Arraez batted .319 after Injury.
Speaking of strong sophomores: Dansby Swanson’s season ending. Should give the Cubs some hopeSahdev Sharma says. Just as long as they don’t let them fool them into thinking they don’t need to add talent.
(Top photo: Wendell Cruz/Imagen Images,
(tagstotranslate)mlb