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The last week in MLB was about a starting pitcher delivering a masterful performance in the postseason, a shortstop will miss National League Championship Series due to injury and a manager in the American League has been fired.
Verlander’s Gem Puts Astros Up 2-0 in ALCS
The Houston Astros have a 2-0 lead in the ALCS against the New York Yankees due to timely hitting and a fantastic outing from starter Justin Verlander.
Verlander was locked on the mound since the first inning of Game 2 facing the Yankees. He tossed a complete game, striking out 13 batters, allowing one run and surrendering just five hits.
This marked the seventh time in Verlander’s career that he fanned 10 or more batters in a postseason start, and no other starter has more than five.
Cliff Lee, Randy Johnson, and Bob Gibson are the only other starters to are the only other starters to accomplish this feat five times in their career, per Andrew Simon of MLB.com.
Cliff Lee, Randy Johnson and Bob Gibson all struck out 10+ in a postseason game five times in their careers.
— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) October 14, 2017
Verlander also becomes the first Astros pitcher to toss a complete game since Mike Scott in Game 4 of the 1986 NLCS., per Greg Rajan of the Houston Chronicle.
Also, Justin Verlander’s complete-game victory is the first by an #Astros pitcher since Mike Scott in Game 4 of the 1986 NLCS.
— Greg Rajan (@GregRajan) October 14, 2017
The other impressive aspect of the start was Verlander was still lighting up the radar gun in the ninth inning with a fastball velocity of 96 mph.
This was vintage Verlander years ago with the Detroit Tigers when he was almost untouchable.
The Astros acquired the right-hander to deepen their rotation and give them a veteran presence for October, but he might help them advance to the Fall Classic.
Seager Out for NLCS with Back Injury
The Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to advance to the NLCS as they’re facing the Chicago Cubs, but they’ll have to accomplish that without shortstop Corey Seager.
The Dodgers left Seager off the 25-man roster for the NLCS because of a back injury, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Corey Seager (back) NOT on #Dodgers NLCS roster. Charlie Culberson is.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) October 14, 2017
Seager had a very productive season for the Dodgers as he compiled a .295 batting average and .854 OPS in 145 games with 33 doubles, 22 home runs, and 77 RBIs.
If this were any other team, losing a player like Seager would be catastrophic. However, the Dodgers still have Cody Bellinger, Yasiel Puig, Justin Turner, and Chris Taylor.
It hurts to be without Seager, but the Dodgers have other players in the lineup who can contribute.
Red Sox Let Farrell Go After Go Five Seasons
The Boston Red Sox will be looking for a new manager in 2018 as they fired John Farrell earlier this week.
The #RedSox announced today that John Farrell will not return as manager in 2018. A search for a new manager will begin immediately.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 11, 2017
The Red Sox were eliminated from the postseason as the Astros defeated them in four games during the ALDS.
Farrell made a statement regarding the decision, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Statement from John Farrell (part 1 of 2): pic.twitter.com/ifAEwpXhXY
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) October 11, 2017
Statement from John Farrell (part 2 of 2): pic.twitter.com/ZHV721a1Pw
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) October 11, 2017
The fact that Farrell guided the club to 93-win campaigns and a division title in each of the last two seasons illustrates the high expectations of being the manager of the Red Sox.
A possible replacement for Farrell is Alex Cora, who is currently a bench coach with the Astros, per Buster Olney of ESPN.
Red Sox will go through the process of interviewing candidates, but Alex Cora–with Red Sox history–may well emerge as next Boston skipper.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 11, 2017
Author Profile
- Chris is a New Jersey native whose favorite sports team is the Arizona Diamondbacks. He previously attended Western New England College to study Sports Management. Chris has been following the Diamondbacks since he was 12. You can find him on Twitter at @aecanada12.
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