The 2019 Division Series

Cardinals-Braves.  This series was hotly contested for the first four games, until the Cards blew game five open with ten (!) runs in the first inning.  The main story of game one was the failure of the Braves Ronald Acuna Jr. to hustle on a fly ball to left.  Apparently thinking it was a homer, he lollygagged down the line holding his bat, turning a double into a single and probably costing the Braves a run.  The Braves led 3-1 going into the 8th, but the Cards rallied to tie, sparked by Paul Goldschmidt's homer.  Then the Cards rallied for four more in the 9th, only to barely win when Braves come up with three in the bottom of the ninth. 7-6 Cards

In game two the Braves evened the series with a 3-0 win, behind starter Mike Foltynewicz.

In game three the Cards led 1-0 going into the 9th, thanks to a great start by starter Adam Wainwwright.  Wainright loaded the bases in the 8th, but then Andrew Miller came on and got the 3rd out.  However, the Braves rallied for 3 in the ninth, to win 3-1.

Game four was full of late-inning drama.  Yadier Molina tied the game in the 8th with a single, and then won it in the 10th with a sac fly.  5-4 Cards.

Game five saw the unprecedented first-inning rally for the Cards, and that was the ballgame and the series.

Dodgers-Nationals.  This was expected to be a runaway for the Dodgers, who set a new franchise record with 106 regular season wins.  The Nationals were in thanks to an exciting comeback in the wild card game vs. the Brewers.  Down 3-1 in the 8th, the Nats' Juan Soto hit a bases-loaded single to right which scored three runs when the ball went under the right fielder's glove.  This was a mental error by the right fielder, as there was no chance of throwing out the runner from second, since with two outs he was going on contact.  He should have made sure to field it cleanly so as to hold the runner from first on third, and thereby keep the score tied.

The first game was a 6-0 Dodger win, with starter Walker Buehler shutting down the Nats, and it looked like it might be a short series.  Even after the Nats won the second game, they had to use both of their star pitchers, Scherzer and Strasburg, to win it, and I thought they were done.  The Dodgers then romped 10-4 in the third game, and I really thought the Nats were done at that point.

With their backs to the wall, the Nationals won the 4th game 6-1 behind Scherzer's strong seven innings of work, setting up the decisive 5th game.  Strasburg gave up 3 runs early in game five, and it looked like the Nats were done.  But Steve settled down and held the Dodgers scoreless for the rest of his 6-inning stint.  The Nats tied it up 3-3 in the 8th, when they hit back-to-back dingers against Clayton Kershaw on consecutive pitches!  Manager Dave Roberts was roundly second-guessed by all the commentators for bringing Kershaw back to start the 8th, after he'd gotten the last out in the 7th.  The Dodgers had five rested relievers in the bullpen, but Roberts apparently wanted to give Kershaw a chance to have a rare post-season success.  But oh, how that did backfire!

The score remained tied into the 10th, when the Nats loaded the bases and Howie Kendrick hit a grand slam.  Kendrick had made three errors plus a base running blunder up to that point, so this was redemption for him.  The Nats at one point were 19-31, and their season seemed over.  But they rallied to finish second in the NL East to the Braves, and then rallied to win both the wild card game and the Division Series.  This marks the first time the Nats have ever won a post-season series, as they have under-achieved almost every year during this decade.

This has been the Steven Strasburg decade for the Nats, as he was the first overall pick in the 2009 draft, and one of the most-hyped draft picks in history.  He started out strong with the Nats in 2010, but then got hurt and had to have Tommy John surgery.  This led to the Nats limiting his innings in 2012, for which they were roundly criticized.  With the most wins in MLB at 98, they nonetheless lost in the Division Series.  But they were trying to be careful with him, and after the recent Division Series Ryan Zimmerman opined that Strasburg would not have been the pitcher he was this year had the Nats not shut him down in 2012.  So, maybe the Nats got it right in 2012 after all.

10/16/19 update.  The Dodgers have announced that Dave Roberts will be back as manager next season.  Normally a club would not be making an announcement when a manager under contract is not fired.  However, due to all the second-guessing about his pitching moves in game five, and also about some in-game decisions from the past two World Series, the Dodgers found an announcement needed.  I think Roberts has the ideal skills a manger needs--poise, calmness, thoughtfulness. and an ability to relate to players.  When your manager goes to two World Series in a row, and then the next year sets a club record for wins, it is ludicrous to consider firing him!

The two AL series lacked the drama of the NL series.  The mighty Astros dispatched the wild-card winning Rays 6-2 and 3-1 in the first two games, and it looked like a rout was on.  However, the surprising Rays fought back with 10-3 and 4-1 wins in the next two, setting up the decisive game five.  In game five the Rays pitcher was tipping his pitches, holding his hands higher in the set position for a fastball compared to the curve.  The Astros likely would have won anyway, as their
Ace Gerritt Cole shut down the Rays.  Astros win 5-1.

In the other AL series, the mighty Yankees swept away the Twins 3-0.  What is noteworthy about this is that it represented 13 straight postseason games the Twins have lost to the Yanks, and their 16th straight overall.

And now, on to the League Championship Series.  Two 100-win teams lock horns in the AL, with the Astros playing the Yankees, while the two top seeds in the NL were ousted in the Division Series.