Four games today! More tomorrow! And the next day!
Today's action kicks off in Baltimore, where the Tigers would like to tie things up against the Orioles. They have Justin Verlander going this afternoon; he used to be the best pitcher on the planet. This year he wasn't, and the Tigers have a bullpen that... well, they would kill to have Toronto's bullpen. Wei-Yin Chen starts for Baltimore.
Later this afternoon, the Giants and Nationals commence their series with Jake Peavy matching up with Stephen Strasburg, who will get to pitch in the post-season this year. The Nationals have been the best team in the NL all year long, but the Giants have had their way in recent Octobers.
The evening action begins in St Louis with the pitching match-up of the post-season: Adam Wainwright, one of the very best pitchers in all of baseball, who went a dazzling 20-9 2.38 this season, against the Best Pitcher in The Universe: Clayton Kershaw, coming off the finest season by any pitcher in the current century (20-3, 1.77.)
Then it's back to the AL, where that Irresistible Force from Kansas City will try to go up two games on the mighty Angels of Anaheim, who employ the best baseball player in the world and have spent the last two months playing like the best team in the world. And now find themselves needing a win, rather badly. They'll be giving the ball to rookie Matt Shoemaker - he was their best pitcher in the second half but hasn't been on the mound in almost three weeks because of an oblique strain. As for the Royals - what can you say? How can you resist? Of Wednesday's game, the great Charles Pierce, remembering a sardonic crack by Spaceman Bill Lee about one of his old managers ("Darrell Johnson has spent the whole season falling out of trees and landing on his feet.") wrote that:
Kansas City’s Ned Yost fell out of a tree and, on the way down, Yost hit every branch, was mauled by a passing turkey buzzard, was nibbled upon by squirrels, was briefly impaled on thorns, performed a double backflip and then a two-and-a-half in the pike position, and still landed on his feet.
And nailed the landing. Don't forget that.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20141003135729911