In the MLB playoffs, the National League took center stage yesterday, first in St. Louis, and then in Atlanta:
Cardinals 9 Pirates 1
The Cardinals teed off on AJ Burnett early, scoring seven runs in the third inning before making an out, and coasted the rest of the way to take a 1-0 lead in their series. Carlos Beltran homered, his 15th postseason homer. Adam Wainwright took advantage of that offensive explosion, throwing seven innings, allowing just one run and four hits. These two teams will take the field again today at 1:00 pm. Lance Lynn will toe the rubber for the Cardinals, and he will be opposed by Gerrit Cole.
Dodgers 6 Braves 1
In Atlanta, the Dodgers got off to a quick 5-0 lead over the Braves and Kris Medlen. With Clayton Kershaw on the mound, with a five-run lead in the fourth inning, it just doesn’t seem fair. Kershaw finished with 12 strikeouts in seven dominant innings of work, giving up only the one run and three hits. The Braves struck out 15 times in total. The teams return to the field for game two tonight at 6:00 pm. The Braves will send Mike Minor to the hill and he will be opposed by Zack Greinke.
The Tampa Bay Rays are in Boston to take on the Red Sox to start their series, and the Detroit Tigers are in Oakland to take on the A’s tonight. As promised, here are my predictions for these series:
Tampa Bay Rays - Boston Red Sox
The Rays are feeling no pain, and no pressure. They have been playing under a lot of duress the last two games, when they were in winner-take-all games against the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Indians. They come into this series having won ten out of their last twelve, including five in a row. They’re not afraid to play on the road, especially with game one starter Matt Moore. The Rays are 14-2 away from home when Moore starts. Jon Lester will pitch game one for the Sox, and he has been brillant this year, finishing with a 15-8 record. Lester is 5-1 in his last eight starts, with a 2.22 ERA. I’m sticking with my pick from the beginning of the year. The Tampa Bay Rays will take this series.
Detroit Tigers - Oakland A’s
The A’s are the AL West’s version of the Tampa Bay Rays. They just go out and win, regardless of the odds. The Tigers come in as the better team, and with their pitching, should be able to defeat the A’s in the series. However, the injury to Miguel Cabrera may make a difference here. If no one else picks up the slack for the Tigers, they may have a problem. Oakland’s Yoenis Cespedes has also been slowed by injuries, so the A’s are also a little short-handed. The Tigers’ pitching and experience may be too much for the A’s. I’m sticking with the Tigers to take the series.
You’ll need to keep the TV remote handy if you want to watch all of today’s action. Here are today’s games:
PIrates @ Cardinals Gerrit Cole vs Lance Lynn 1:00 pm MLB NETWORK
Rays @ Red Sox Matt Moore vs Jon Lester 3:00 pm TBS
Dodgers @ Braves Zack Greinke vs Mike Minor 6:00 pm MLB NETWORK
Tigers @ A’s Max Scherzer vs Bartolo Colon 9:30 pm TBS
SATURDAY
Rays @ Red Sox David Price vs John Lackey 5:30 pm TBS
Tigers @ A’s Justin Verlander vs Sonny Gray 9:00 pm TBS
SUNDAY
Cardinals @ Pirates Joe Kelly vs Francisco Liriano 4:30 pm TBS
Braves @ Dodgers Julio Teheran vs Hyun-Jin Ryu 8:00 pm TBS
Here is the complete post season schedule in MLB:
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Who were the first two wild card teams ever? The answers comes later, alligator.
In other baseball news,
Sources are reporting that the Cincinnati Reds have fired manager Dusty Baker:
Ken Rosenthal has his take on Baker:
On a side note:
With all due respect to all the players that have excellent postseason numbers, it is time that MLB clearly separated World Series Records from overall postseason numbers. Before divisional playoffs, players from the pennant winner in each league advanced to the World Series. Mickey Mantle’s record of 18 homers in World Series play, along with Babe Ruth’s 15 in second place, will probably never be surpassed. Postseason numbers are important to keep track of, but should never be compared equally to players who only had the World Series to play in during their postseason careers.
Speaking of which, Fox Sports has a list of their 15 top ML current players who have never played in the World Series:
Let’s go to the gridiron:
The NFL week kicked off last night in Cleveland as the Browns got past the Buffalo Bills 37-24. Both starting quarterbacks, Brian Hoyer of the Browns and EJ Manuel of the Bills had to leave the game due to injuries. Brandon Weeden brought the Browns back from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter and finished completing 13-24 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. Former UM wide receiver Travis Benjamin returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown for the Browns. The Browns may be for real.
Here is the complete schedule for week 5 in the NFL:
LAST NIGHT
Cleveland 37 Buffalo 24
SUNDAY
Baltimore @ Miami -2 1/2 1:00 pm CBS
Two teams with massive offensive line issues square off at the Seven Names Stadium. The Ravens are not the same team that won the Super Bowl in February, but they haven’t fallen off the face of the earth, either. The Dolphins got plastered by the Saints, but if anyone had predicted they’d be 3-1 after four games this season, I would have taken it gladly. Ryan Tannehill showed last week that he still has work to do, and we probably should be a little more patient with the second-year QB. He is going to need to be more aware of the pass rush, especially with Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil. They are as good as they come. I’m picking the Dolphins this week, minus the 2 1/2 points, but this pick is not one made with the heart. I like the Dolphins’ sixth ranked defense against the Ravens’ 27th ranked offense. I feel strongly about this one.
New Orleans @ Chicago +3 1:00 pm FOX
New England @ Cincinnati +2 1:00 pm CBS
The Bengals played awful last week in a 17-6 loss to Cleveland, but they can’t possibly be that bad, can they? If they can’t eliminate the mistakes, then maybe they are. The Bengals have committed six turnovers the past two weeks. New England has won seven of the last eight meetings with the Bengals, including all four games with Tom Brady at the helm. The Patriots will miss “Big Daddy” Vince Woolfork, out for the year with a torn achilles tendon. I’m seeing an upset here, and will take Cincy at home plus the two points.
Detroit @ Green Bay - 5 1:00 pm CBS
Kansas City @ Tennessee +3 1:00 pm CBS
Seattle @ Indianapolis +3 1/2 1:00 pm CBS
Love the Colts in this one, gladly taking the 3 1/2 points at home. The Seahawks have a history of not playing well in 1:00 pm games in the Eastern time zone. As good as Russell Wilson has played so far, Andrew Luck is a special talent and has some excellent receivers around him, including former UM receiver Reggie Wayne, and FIU's T. Y. Hilton.
Jacksonville @ St. Louis -10 1:00 pm CBS
Philadelphia @ NY Giants -2 1:00 pm FOX
Carolina @ Arizona +1 4:00 pm FOX
Denver @ Dallas +9 4:25 pm CBS
Peyton Manning is at least two touchdowns better than Tony Romo, and the Dallas pass defense is one of the worst in the NFL. Period. I have no further analysis here. I’m taking the Broncos, minus the 9 points.
Houston @ San Francisco -7 8:30 pm NBC
I believe this game will be close. The teams have split their last two games, with the home team winning each time by three points. The Texans are still smarting from their loss to Seattle, in which they blew a 17-point lead. The 49ers beat up on the St. Louis Rams last week, dominating both offensively and defensively. Frank Gore ran for 153 yards last week and QB Colin Kaepernick was effective, yet conservative, completing 15-23 passes for 167 yards and two TD’s. I’ll take Houston plus the seven points.
San Diego @ Oakland +4 11:35 pm NFL NETWORK
MONDAY
NY Jets @ Atlanta -9 1/2 8:30 pm ESPN
The visiting Jets could be what the doctor ordered for the Atlanta Falcons. The Atlanta defense is licking their chops to get after Jets rookie QB Geno Smith, who leads the league in turnovers with 11 - eight interceptions and three fumbles. The Falcons are having trouble scoring in the red zone, and the Jets aren’t exactly pushovers on defense. Tony Gonzalez and Julio Jones had huge games last week, and they are looking to build on that, especially during the absence of injured running back Steven Jackson. I just don’t see the Jets being able to outscore the Falcons. I’ll stick with the Falcons at home and give the nine and a half points.
After the Buffalo - Cleveland game last night, my season numbers so far are: 17-10-2 against the spread, and 21-8 straight up. We’ll see what the rest of this weekend brings.
In Dolphin news:
Daniel Ellerbee is pumped to play against his former team:
Armando Salguero has more:
Here’s ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog, with more news from all around the league:
Of course, we can all continue to sleep at night, knowing full well that Aaron Hernandez remains in jail, where he belongs.
In college football, the University of Miami Hurricanes are back on the practice field as they prepare to take on Georgia Tech this Saturday in their first ACC game this season. Kickoff is at 3:30 pm at the Seven-Names Stadium. You can watch the game on ESPN-U.
Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have all the latest from Coral Gables:
The FIU Panthers are in Hattiesburg to take pn the Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi at 4:00 pm tomorrow. No TV or Radio. Could be the week they win a game? Southern Mississippi is only favored to win by 16 points over the Panthers.
Here’s the latest from FIU, courtesy of David J. Neal:
Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and FSU:
From Gainesville and the University of Florida:
Here are the NCAA Football rankings for this week and they include Florida State (#8), Miami (#14), and Florida (#18).
Here is the complete schedule in College Football for week 6, including TV info and yesterday’s results:
In Miami Heat news,
Jesus Shuttleworth is back and ready to go:
NHL Hockey is back, and the Florida Panthers got off to a good start in their season opener yesterday:
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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Who were the first two wild card teams ever?
The year was 1995. The New York Yankees were the first AL Wild Card, while the Colorado Rockies were the NL Wild Card combatants.
Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
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