The Atlanta Braves with a (4-2) game 6 and 4 games to 2, NLCS win, won their first Pennant in 22 years, having last done so, also in a home game 6 win back (Wil Shorts said “back” as I typed) in 1999.
Series MVP, Ed Rosario, the star of the three even numbered series tilts, had the big hit, a 3RHR in the bottom of the fourth, that gave Atlanta the lead to stay.
Atlanta will face the Houston Astros, who have won three consecutive odd year, American League Pennants, clinching all 3 at home.
Tyler Matzek, appearing after another poor performance by third game losing pitcher,” Luke Jackson, fanned the “over the hill,” Albert Pujols and two others with L.A. runners at second and third none out, T7 and the score (4-2).
Let’s cite Ehure Adrianza, whose pinch, broken bat double to the right field corner, set up Rosario.
Our first picture in a while is that of Eddie Rosario, wearing #13 in 2013.
He led the A.L. in triples in 2015 as a Minnesota Twins’ player and homered on the first pitch he faced in the big leagues, that of Scott Kazmir.
Yet he has come out of nowhere, putting on one of the great post-season series performances.
Commencing with Jose Altuve’s key game tying home run in #4, the Houston Astros dominated the last three games of their ALCS and 6’d the “4 time champions this century after an 86 year title drought,” Boston Red Sox to claim their third A.L. crown in 5 seasons. (3 straight in odd year seasons, ’17,’19 and 2021).
Series MVP Yordan Alvarez and second game. “knocked around losing pitcher,” Luis Garcia led Houston (5-0) in the Friday night game 6 clincher. After Fox (If L.A. a 3 to 2 fave , prevails in tonight’s #6, TBS will have a longer LCS than Fox for just the second time in 15 “competing” seasons (’07-2021) showed a creative sign “King Tuck,” for Kyle Tucker, his 3RHR completely wrapped up manager Dusty Baker’s second pennant, the other 19 years ago with the N.L. Giants.
Only Stanley “Bucky” Harris (he won flags in 1924 and 1925 with the Washington Senators and then a still high 23years later with the Yankees. Also Harris won the World Series in 1924 and 1947. Baker lost in his only previous managerial World Series and only in strike marred 1981, among his 3 appearances as a player did his team (the Dodgers) prevail) went longer (23 years) than Baker between managed pennants.
Teams ko’ing the Red Sox in previous ALCS went (1-4) in the subsequent World Series. (only the ’99 Yankees won while the A’s in both ’88 and ’90, the Yankees in ’03 and the Rays in ’08 lost.)
Baker is the ninth manager to win pennants in both leagues. Nobody but me, it would seem and certainly not Joe Buck, noted that Michael Brantley, who also delivered a big 3 run double insurance hit in the Astros’ 7 run 9th inning/game 4, who caught the Bogaerts fly vs Pressley (maybe think about Humphrey and Elvis), to end this series, made the last out when the Nationals “washed” away the Astros in the all road 2019 World Series.
Thoughts abound after this no win/too many futures/too much “hedging” ALCS: 2019, the Bellman, the Astros with the above cited “Brantley notes” win the pennant on the day Bellman is “Ted Hendricks” and my friend Chris MacLeod is “Sam Huff.”
Buck, a Neil Freigenberg coined term, at least to me, for one born to it, failed to cite Hal Smith in referencing the ’60 World Series and the once Yankee Stadium locale of 161st Street when “Horning” (his researcher is named Horn and when Buck snidely said “raise your hand if you are going to Cleveland for Thursday night football, “barf bags” overflowed with and in “use”) over that 161 post-season tilts have been played there, some further north at 167th.
By the way, the Astros are a near great team, that did not need to steal signs. I knew it was to be Houston when some writer in the Boston Globe, not only “preached vs Houston, but “chirped’ far too soon up (2-1), regarding the series outcome.
It was a good season for the Red Sox, however, though they fell to (6-6) in ALCS play. They are (9-4) in World Series play!!
Baseball network executives had a good day Tuesday as series trailing teams, L.A. (Dodgers) and Houston won, a not so good one in that regard on Wednesday, as Atlanta for a second straight year went up (3-1) vs the Dodgers and home advantage/game 6 home team Houston took a (3-2) ALCS lead vs Boston (Red Sox), but bounced back Thursday, with Chris Taylor’s 3 homer game leading an L.A. rout win that forced a #6 on Saturday (at night if Houston wins its game 6 tonight, late afternoon if Boston prevails in a perceived even game tonight).
Teams trailing 3 game to 1 in a post-season series involving the Braves, encompassing series in all 3 Braves’ locales, Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta, are now (10-1) in game 5 of that series. The details follow.
5 time N.L. “div” series opponents, (the Braves won the first 3, going (9-1) while Houston won the last 2, going (6-3) in games), the Atlanta Braves, up (3-1) in the NLCS vs the Dodgers for a second straight year and Houston Astros, up (3-2) and heading home, vs the Boston Red Sox are each one win away from a World Series berth.
After a “horror show” loss in #3, (MY stat that teams down (2-0) in a Dodgers’ best of 7 are now (12-1) in a home 3rd game and that man Bellinger again) Edward Rosario, the game 2 star had 4 hits including 2 HR’s as Atlanta scored 9 and won (9-2) at Dodger Stadium and lead the NLCS vs L.A. 3 games to 1.
Last year in a “bubble/neutral” Texas venue, L.A. overcame deficits in games 5 and 7 and took the series in 7 games, in route to a first crown in 32 years. This time games 6 and 7, if necessary would be in Atlanta.
Meanwhile the Astros also scored 9 runs, doing so for a second straight game/win/late over, this an Alvarez led (9-1) “cruise job,” after a 7 run 9th yielded a (9-2) win that squared the series in game 4.
There have been other contributors for the Astros, now a win away from a third straight odd year W.S. appearance, after but one “app” in the (no longer) “Fall Classic,” in the franchise’s first 54 completed seasons (’62-2016, no W.S. in 1994), that in another “odd year,” 2005.
It is still an “underdog” for BOTH to cash, however, both the Red Sox and Braves are certainly in advantageous positions, with respectively a (2-1) ALCS lead vs the Astros and a (2-0) (both at home, won at the plate with hits by game stars Austin Riley and then Ed Rosario) NLCS lead vs the defending, albeit “bubble” champion, Dodgers.
Boston has hit 3 grand slam HR’S in their 2 rout wins after a tough (5-4) loss in the series opener. Thus far, albeit with a venue configuration change (i.e. in ’18 the ALCS opened in Boston, 3 years later it opened in Houston) the pattern is the same Astros then 2 Red Sox wins one in 2018. Boston won 4 and 5 to take that ALCS, raising their ALCS record to its current (6-5).
106 years after it happened for the first time, last night’s Red Sox game 3/home win in a (1-1) LCS or World Series was the first since the 1915 World Series which manifested in a third Boston crown, in 5 games vs the Philadelphia Phillies.
Meanwhile the Braves (5-7) in previous NLCS, (1-5) (1-4) in the subsequent World Series have a (2-0) NLCS lead for the second straight season vs L.A. Last year they lost #’s 3 and then (5-7) as L.A. raised their NLCS mark to (8-4) (3-5) in the subsequent World Series, with a 7 game triumph (Joe Davis, NOT Buck for the decisive 7th. Ike yesterday on the little break we get with a LITTLE LESS Buck).
Thirteen previous times (last year all games were at a “neutral site” and for the record L.A. down (2-0) batted first/was the “visitor” in their game 3 win) in a Dodgers’ best of 7 series a team has come home, down (2-0). Eleven of those times, said “down (2-0) and at home” team won game 3. Nine of those 12 instances were in the World Series.
For the record, (this new paragraph is in tribute to a writer, whose name, sadly escapes me, but suggested more paragraphs and also went to Louisiana Monroe, a team that “outrighted” Liberty last week as a 31 point and it is said a 40 to 1 underdog. No money line available to me or was there?!!! I can control my amounts but it hurts still and far too much, when one of these, even for a dollar, is not taken), the Dodgers are (8-0) in the previous such games 3, going into today. (They actually won #3 at home and the World Series in ’55 and ’81 vs the Yankees and in the ’65 World Series vs the Twins) In the 1916 and 2018 W.S. vs Boston Red Sox as well as in the ’47 and ’53 World Series vs the Yankees, the Dodgers won #3 but lost the World Series. The other instances were in the 2008 and 2013 NLCS, when L.A. won a home third game, but lost the series.
In ’13 they were KO’d in 6, with Mr. Kershaw, “told to leave early,” in the Friday night game 6. In ’08, under 4 times in 5 years, title winning manager, Joe Torre, they lost in 5, to the eventual champion Phillies. (Torre’s teams were (6-4) in LCS play, (4-2) in World Series action, as he lost his first and last 3 LCS, while in between winning 6 straight, all with the Yankees. He won his first 4 World Series and lost his last two.)
Opponents are (4-1), the Yankees not only winning #3 at home, but also “The Classic,” in both ’56 and ’78. The ’85 Cardinals, before losing the subsequent World Series to the Royals of K.C. won not only #3 but that NLCS. The A’s in the ’88 World Series won game 3 and Jack Buck, who gets far too much credit for his call and comments on Kirk Gibson’s homer in the ’88 opener made a similar call on McGuire’s aberration game winning homer, tied b9 in that tilt, but lost the W.S. in 5 with Ike, Angela, Mom, Dad also here for the Thursday night clincher.
The only loss in the 13 previous “such” was when L.A. went up (3-0) at Chi vs the defending champion Cubs, in the 2017 NLCS.
Yesterday amidst the baseball, pro pig and tennis action (I went to the dentist and hope to keep missing it), the (16-16) Chicago Sky (8-2) in the ‘offs, including 2 single elimination game wins, overcame an 11 point 4th quarter deficit and (minus 4 plus) (80-74) vs Phoenix (Mercury) to win their first WNBA crown.
Their NBA counterpart, Bulls have 6, none since ’98 when a certain “Mr. Jordan,” not the character in “Heaven Can Wait or “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” or even the one named Michael that dated the lovely Dale Alden, outside my (still) window stopped playing there, and this “Chi” comeback at home in a Sunday clincher, evoked memories of the Bulls game 6, second title clincher, coming from way back to beat Portland in ’92.
On a day the local Arizona Cardinals went to (6-0) the city of Phoenix, first the Suns, like the Mercury series “faves” with home advantage now has lost both the 2021 NBA and WNBA final.
Maybe, even hopefully the Atlanta Braves, sans a World Series appearance since 1999 and a World Series winner just once in their 22 previous ‘offs appearances as Atlanta (they split in 2 W.S. appearances, the only ‘offs scheduled in both Boston and Milwaukee. Also, in noting this is the third time the Dodgers and Braves have met in an entity to decide the National League champion, the teams met in an unscheduled best of 3 ‘off, to determine the ’59 N.L. crown. Already, in L.A. from Brooklyn, the Dodgers won 2 straight in ’59 and last year 7’d the Braves, in the “bubble type” ‘offs, in route to their first World Series win in 32 years) will circumvent their Sunday ‘offs jinx and take a (2-0) NLCS lead vs the Dodgers. Maybe, even hopefully, they will win the series.
For now they lead (1-0), no big deal. Austin Riley was the hero, but ESPN.Com with incredible shoddy research put the following out:
“With the twin heroics, Riley continued a breakout season and joined an exclusive list of players in Braves history to have a game-tying hit and a game-winning hit in the same playoff contest: Tony Gonzalez (1969), Hank Aaron (1969), Michael Tucker (1998) and Brian Jordan (1999).”
Oddly the game last night was on the 52nd anniversary of the Mets glorious 1969 World Series clinching win. They achieved it, first SWEEPING the Braves, then winning (4-1) vs a great Baltimore Orioles team. There were just 2 rounds of ‘offs and the Braves failed to win a game. Thus neither the great, late Mr. Aaron, whose #44 adorns the current Braves uniform as tribute, or Mr. Gonzalez achieved what was said above. They did NOT get a game winning hit as Atlanta did NOT win a playoff game in 1969.
The Los Angeles Dodgers rode Codey Bellinger’s (I do not care what he hit in the “reg,” Mr. Bellinger is a clutch “ringer,” and has been such for L.A.– now, in my opinion, a too high, 11 to 5 fave vs the Braves in the NLCS.) 1 out, rbi single , T9 to (2-1) 107 wins S.F. and advance to their 5th NLCS in 6seasons, missing only in 2019 when eventual champion, wild card Washington (Nationals) rallied to beat them, led by eventual World Series star, Howie Kendrick.
L.A. has now won 6 straight tilts, facing elimination, all in the past two seasons, 3 each year. The Giants had won 6 straight decisive entity games games, last losing one in the 7th game of the 2002 World Series.
As per their history, better and near great Giants’ teams such as this one and certainly the ones with 5 future Hall of Famers, (Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda and Gaylord Perry), came up short, juxtaposed with not so hot/”value” teams, such as their namesake NFL counterparts in ’07, ’11 and maybe even ’90, the baseball Giants winning it all in 2010,2012 and 2014.
Alas ’twas a “quarter” matching a 107 wins eventual loser and 106 wins “div” winner, but I strongly disagree with and frankly resent Vin Scully calling last night’s game, the most important in Giants vs Dodgers annals.
Bobby Thomson and yes Ralph Branca and even Stan Williams will be waiting to register their protest at your ridiculous assertion, Mr. Scully. Alas too much of that “over rate the moment hype,” might require extra lessons by the Jesuits, for “walk on water” Scully, who again showed why he, as with all of us, does NOT.
Worse was Brian Kenny, so hopped up in his showing of previous history between the teams. It is Mathewson not Matheson, Mr. Kenny, regarding Christy, a great, great pitcher, whose wife knew when to put the roast on, looking through her window. The Giants trailed (4-1) in the still and forever, most important game between the teams (’62 game 3, exactly 11 years is second) but Kenny said (4-2).
At least Scully, who I should appreciate as an announcing great but as said here before not the greatest and certainly not one who walked/walks on water, did not get the facts wrong (Do not “worry” I can cite plenty of instances when he did, the latest find saying 25 and 10 is a little BETTER than 2 and a half to one, that in reading Juan Marichal’s record in “reg” play vs the Pirates as he broadcast the Pirates (2-1) win, (another (2-1) Giants loss) on Rich Hebner’s solo homer, b8 in game 3 NLCS, 50 years ago. Maybe a math lesson can be provided Mr. Scully as well) as Kenny, an all-time, abrasive “know it all” did.
Tonight at 9 P.M. or so Eastern Time on TBS, an epic, albeit only a “quarter,” decisive game between the 107 wins San Francisco Giants and 106 wins, Los Angeles Dodgers at “The city by the bay.”
Some notes will follow:
In route to their first 5 and until 2010, only titles, the Giants faced no must win games, going an incredible (25-5) (Sandy’s ’63 record), in those 5 winning World Series (three of the losses were in a best of 9, (5 games to 3) W.S. win vs the Yankees in 1921.
In winning the three consecutive “even year” titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014, as S.F. (the 5 previous crowns were as the New York Giants), they faced and won 5 must games, also in which victory meant advancing or in the case of the Madison Bumgarner brilliant relief pitching stint led #7/’14 W.S. an actual crown.
Those other four “must win”/advance with a win games were in the 2010 decisive 5th of the bastardized/division series vs Atlanta (The Braves, to be in their 13th NLCS (5-7) in previous and sans a victory in such since 1999, await the winner of tonight’s tilt), the 2012 division series at Cincinnati and its then manager Dusty Baker (his Astros are over 7 to 5 favorites to represent the A.L. in the World Series for the third time in 5 seasons), the 2012 decisive 7th/NLCS at S.F. vs the Cardinals, and the 10/8 game at Pittsburgh in ’14 (Brandon Crawford’s big belt/H.R. there is no injured Brandon Belt for the Giants).
Meanwhile the Dodgers, sans a title until 1955, have faced and obviously won 6 “must games” en route to 5 of their 7 crowns. They won #7/W.S. behind John Podres in ’55 and Sandy Koufax in 1965. They did not face a must game, though they were in a best of 3, unscheduled ‘off vs Milwaukee (Braves) in route to their second title in ’59 nor in ’63 when they swept the two time champion (also an insane 20 titles in 40 seasons going into that ’63 World Series, the last of the tragically too few 47 with John F. Kennedy on the earth) Yankees.
In winning their 3 other titles, the Dodgers won “must”/”Win and advance” games (two in ’81, the strike caused extra round decisive 5th at home vs the then N.L. team, Astros and the decisive 5th/NLCS at Montreal on Rick Monday’s home run, T9. The Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals and won an all road 7 game World Series vs the Astros in 2019).
L.A. bombed Ron Darling and won game 7 of the ’88 NLCS vs the Mets and also won #7 of the 2020 NLCS.
While the 107 wins Giants will host the 106 wins Dodgers in a decisive 5th game of their “div” series in S.F. tomorrow night (Bay Area-er and once Giants fan, Tom Brady and his champion Bucs will get better ratings for their tilt at the Philly Eagles, another and different “Eagles” reference within a baseball update), both the Houston Astros (a record tying, if one counts ’94 as a “miss” when in fact, there was NO P-Season action, 5th straight time, joining the (’71-’75) A’s and (’95-’99) Braves) and Atlanta Braves (a second straight NLCS “app,” a 13th in 52 possibilities/one fourth, with eight coming in successive completed seasons from ’91-’99, with as cited, no post-season play in ’94)
The Oakland A’s “cashed in” with 3 titles during their glorious 5 straight “one quarter” division titles streak from ’71-’75, winning it all (’72-’74), while being swept by eventual 7 game World Series losing Baltimore (Orioles–remember them) in ’71 and Boston Red Sox in ’75.
Houston has one title to show for its 4 straight ALCS appearances, losing in the round to eventual champion Boston (Red Sox), their LCS opponent this year as well, with higher ranked Houston about 7:5 series favorite) and 6 game W.S. losing, T.B. last year.
The Astros took the Dodgers in game 7 at Dodger Stadium in the ’17 World Series while losing an incredible, totally unprecedented all road World Series to Washington with the exponentially annoying “Bellman” cashing in 2019, his number and #’s.
During that incredible run of 8 straight NLCS appearances, the Braves managed to win but one crown, to this point, the only one in their 54 completed Atlanta seasons (’66-2020, with no completed season in 2020) and also the lone Atlanta major North American sports title in roughly 170 seasons (55 Falcons, 53 Hawks, whose fine play into a 6 game “semis” loss to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks–the “div” series some “revenge” for Atlanta vs Milwaukee, may have “turned” Atlanta/Georgia fortunes, as the college Bulldogs are ranked first and Saban(o) and ‘Bama lost at Texas A and M. Alas never count Nick “insurance ads” Saban(o) out. We shall see. You add the combined Thrashers and Flames seasons, all of course sans title.)
Andy B Sports 