Carpenter shuts out Phillies 1-0 as Cardinals advance to NLCS!

By Kshell

In big playoff games especially elimination games you tend to have great hype heading into the contest. Then once in a while you have a game like this game where the game actually exceeds the hype. In today's game five elimination game which saw the Philadelphia Phillies who are the heavy favorites to win the World Series take on the St.Louis Cardinals who were left for the dead just two weeks ago. You saw two former Cy Young award pitchers in Roy Halladay for the Phillies take on Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals. Both aces and former teammates were terrific as they combined to pitch 17 innings allowing only one run. Carpenter won the matchup with a complete game three-hit shutout to advance the Cardinals. The Cardinals scored early in this contest and that was all the scoring they would need.

The first inning would begin like the last time Roy Halladay took the hill for the Phillies. With the Cardinals scoring right out of the gate then be shutdown for the next seven innings. Halladay gave up a leadoff triple to Rafael Furcal to start the game. Skip Schumaker followed that up with an RBI double scoring Furcal. The Cardinals with the first two batters of the game already had a 1-0 lead on Halladay. Pujols would ground into a fielders choice as the Phillies recorded the out on Schumaker who tried to go to third. Pujols then moved up on a wild pitch into scoring position. After a fielding error by the Phillies Halladay finally put the scoring threat away. He got Matt Holiday to fly out then had a ground out to end the inning. That was a shaky first inning for the Phillies ace who was fortunate to only allow one run.

This game was a great pitching duel between Halladay and Carpenter. Both pitchers would go back and forth throwing up zero's on the scoreboard. In the fourth inning the Philles finally had a rally against Carpenter. The inning began with Utley being hit by a pitch. Hunter Pence grounded into a fielders choice for the first out. Ryan Howard came up only to line out to right centerfield for the second out. Shane Victorino singled advancing Pence to third base. Raul Ibanez came up to plate against Carpenter hoping to at least tie the game up. Carpenter made a mistake pitch to Ibanez as he smashed the ball to deep right field. The ball hung high up in the air only to be caught by Berkman at the wall as the Cardinals continued to lead 1-0 after four innings.

The game continued to go scoreless as both teams aces brought their best stuff. The Phillies were running out of outs as they were trailing 1-0 heading into the top of the seventh inning. The Phillies had one last chance in the bottom of the seventh inning. Leading off the inning was their slugger Howard who Carpenter fell behind 3-0. Charlie Manuel decided to green light his slugger. Carpenter left a ball over the plate as Howard had a good swing on the ball. The ball was a line drive to right field for the first out. Carpenter would retire the next two batters with ease. Carpenter was set to leadoff the eighth inning which left Tony LaRussa with a tough decision to make. With the Cardinals already up 1-0 so technically they don't have to score anymore LaRussa would stick with his ace and let him hit the in the eighth inning.


In the top half of the eighth inning the Cardinals had a chance to put Halladay and the Phillies away. Carpenter facing his old friend Halladay would actually single to lead off the eighth inning. Furcal tried to bunt and was safe on an error by the Phillies catcher. After a bunt and then Halladay intentionally walked Albert Pujols to face Lance Berkman. The Phillies were down just 1-0 but the Cardinals had the bases loaded with one out. Halladay would show why he is one of the games best pitchers. Halladay went after Berkman with cutters and changup's. On a 2-2 count he busted Berkman inside with a 90 mile per hour cutter for a huge second out for the strikeout. Halladay wasn't out of the jam yet as he still had to face Matt Holliday. Halladay would fall behind in the count 2-0 on Holliday but battled back to pound two more strikes. Then Holliday almost quieted the crowd as he belted the ball to deep left field. Holliday hit it at the end of the bat as Ibanez made the catch in left to keep the game at 1-0. For Halladay who was coming up to bat knew his night was over. Halladay who gave up a run in the first two batters settled down to allow no more runs like he did during game one. His fishing partner Carpenter was pitching so well that Halladay was on the hook for the loss 1-0.

After retiring the Phillies in the eighth inning instead of going to his closer the Cardinals turned to Carpenter to finish the Phillies. Carpenter retired Utley to start off the ninth. Then Pence was robbed of a base hit which set it all up for Howard. Carpenter would finish the Phillies season as Howard grounded out to first base. Howard on the play possibly hurt his MCL and will be evaluated later. The mighty Phillies were eliminated in the first round which was a stunning upset. The Phillies losing pitcher was Halladay who went eight innings, allowed six hits, one run and struck out seven. He was outshined by Carpenter who pitched nine innings, gave up just three hits while striking out three in a 1-0 shutout victory. For the Cardinals who were left for the dead  just two weeks ago to eliminate the "Dream Team" that was huge.

In conclusion, the baseball playoffs had our first stunning upset in years. The Phillies who had four aces were eliminated in the first round. Meanwhile the Cardinals will face off against the Brewers in the NLCS in a battle of the NL central. The Cardinanls led by LaRussa are back in the hunt for yet another championship. This was an incredible first round of playoff baseball. Hopefully the league championship series can follow this up. The Cardinals a team nobody was even talking about just two weeks ago are suddenly just four wins away from the World Series.

T-Plush sends Brew Crew to first playoff series win since 82'

By Kshell

The Milwaukee Brewers for the first time since 1982 have won a playoff series as they defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in extra innings. The Brewers were hoping to avoid blowing a 2-0 series lead then avoided a devastating loss as they blew the lead late in the game as well. This was your typical elimination game in the playoffs which saw some great pitching and some clutch hitting. The Brewers led by Nyjer Morgan who provided the game winning hit they will be advancing to the NLCS for the first time in franchise history. The Diamondbacks who had an incredible season saw their season end when their closer gave up the game winning hit to Morgan. This game went back and forth which is exactly what you want to see in playoff baseball.

This game was shaping up to be a pitchers duel between Yovani Gallardo and Ian Kennedy. In the third inning is when the first run of the game was finally scored. Gallardo who had allowed one hit to the first 11 batters of the game would finally make a mistake. Justin Upton homered opposite field to deep right field to give the Diamondbacks an early 1-0 lead. Meanwhile Kennedy kept putting up zero's on the scoreboard while Gallardo was doing his best job at damage control. The Brewers found themselves trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. The Brewers knew in this ballpark they had plenty of time and there was no panic. The Brewers would finally rally in the bottom of the fourth inning off of Kennedy.

In the bottom half of the fourth inning the Brewers finally got to Kennedy. Morgan began the inning with a leadoff double to deep right centerfield. Then he advanced to third on a wild pitch with still nobody out. Kennedy then walked Ryan Braun setting up Prince Fielder with first and third nobody out. Fielder popped out to shallow left center which didn't score Morgan. Kennedy then hit Richie Weeks giving the Brewers a bases loaded, one out situation. Kennedy fell behind Jerry Hariston Jr. 3-1 but jam Hariston Jr. to shallow right field. The ball was hit so shallow that Diamondbacks second baseman Aaron Hill had to make an over the shoulder catch which allowed Morgan to tag up to tie the game at 1-1. Kennedy would then retire Yuniesky Betancourt to finally end the rally.

In the sixth inning the Brewers would have one final rally against Kennedy. Braun led the inning off with a double to shallow left field. Kennedy then walked Fielder to give the Brewers a first and second no out situation. Kennedy would have Weeks pop up on a bunt attempt so no runners advanced. Hariston Jr. would fly out to centerfield as it appeared Kennedy was going to escape the jam. Then came up former Mariners shortstop Betancourt. Betancourt would single up the middle with two outs scoring Braun from second base. The Brewers led 2-1 and can now turn the ball over to their fantastic bullpen which has been lights out all season long. For Kennedy who would strike out the next batter his day would be done. The Diamondbacks were down to their final nine outs against the Brewers bullpen which had been lights out.

In the top of the eighth inning is when the game became interesting. The Brewers gave the ball to their newly acquired setup man Francisco Rodriguez who has plenty of postseason experience. Rodriguez began the inning by walking Hill then struck out Upton. Rodriguez allowed a single to Miguel Montero to set up first and third with only one man down. Rodriguez came up with another huge strike out where only a sacrifice fly would have tied the game up. Rodriguez on a full count to Chris Young lost him to ball four. The bases loaded were loaded with two outs as Rodriguez faced Ryan Roberts who hit a grand slam in game four. Rodriguez although shaky showed why he is a premium reliever as he got Roberts to ground out to a fielders choice. The Brewers were only three outs away from their first postseason series win in 29 years.

In the ninth inning the Brewers handed the ball to closer John Axford and his amazing mustache. Axford allowed a double to deep centerfield by Gerardo Parra. Axford allowed a single giving the Diamondbacks first and third with nobody out for Willie Bloomquist another former Mariner. Bloomquist shocked everyone as he attempted to pull off a suicide squeeze. Bloomquist actually was successful with the game tying bunt single scoring Parra. Axford  already blown the save was facing a first and second nobody out situation. Axford struck out Hill to record his first out. He would then face Upton only to have him ground out in a fielder's choice. Axford would finally end the inning with another ground out which he did a good job of damage control.

In the top of the 10th inning Axford was asked to pitch his second inning. That inning was a clean inning for Axford as he retired the Diamondbacks in order including ending the inning with a strikeout. Now the Diamondbacks turned to their closer J.J.Putz hoping to go multiple innings as well. Well that plan didn't go so well for the Diamondbacks. Putz would retire Craig Counsell to start the inning off. Putz gave up a single to Carlos Gomez. Gomez would then steal second base off of Putz. With one out Morgan singled up the middle as the throw to the plate was late. Gomez scored the winning run as Morgan was the hero. The Brewers won their first playoff series since 1982 by winning all three of their home games in the process. For the Brewers they received a strong pitching performance by Gallardo who went six innings allowing one run while striking out five. For the Diamonbacks their starter was just as good as Kennedy went six innings allowing two runs while also striking out five. Morgan was the player of the game going two for five with the game winning RBI while also scoring a run earlier in the game.

In conclusion, the year of Wisconsin just continues. The year began with the Green Bay Packers winning the Super Bowl, now the Wisconsin Badgers are competing for a national title. The Milwaukee Brewers not to be forgotten are just four wins away from the World Series. The Brewers will have a few more games to enjoy Prince Fielders. This was an incredible series with two evenly matched teams which saw the home team win every single game. The Brewers are going to party like it's 1982 all over again!

Tigers eliminate Yankees 3-2!

By Kshell

The baseball playoffs have been terrific so far with three of the four series going the full distance. Today saw the Detroit Tigers eliminate the team with the highest payroll the New York Yankees in five games by a score of 3-2. The Tigers were led by back to back homeruns in the first inning and never looked back. For the first time in playoff history you saw two pitchers making their first career playoff start in an elimination game. Remember Doug Fister and Ian Nova came out of the bullpen in game due to the rain. This game would quickly turn into the power of the bullpens as both teams starting pitching didn't last very long as the leash in a game of this magnitude is so short.



In the first inning the Tigers gave Doug Fister early run support. The second batter of the game Don Kelly belted a home run to deep right field to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. The following batter Delmon Young jacked the ball to deep left field giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first. Nova who had been so terrific in game one was down 2-0 in the games first seven pitches. For Doug Fister the first three innings were pretty easy for him then came the fourth inning where Fister would have to escape the jam.

In the fourth inning Fister walked Alex Rodriguez, after recording an out gave up a base hit. Fister allowed a single to Jorge Posada to shallow centerfield but that couldn't score Rodriguez from second base. Fister was in a bases loaded one out jam and it had appeared he was in for a big inning like in game one. This is when Fister buckled down as Russell Martin popped up to shallow right field. Then Fister would have Brett Gardner fly out in foul territory leaving the inning allowing zero runs. That was a big opportunity lost for the Yankees who had several chances this game.

The Tigers did their best to add to their 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning. Facing the Yankees third pitcher of the game already who happen to be C.C.Sabathia is when the Tigers scored their final run of the game. Former Yankees top prospect Austin Jackson legged out a double to begin the inning. Sabathia like most aces struck out the next two batters then intentionally walked Miguel Cabrera. Victor Martinez singled in Jackson to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. In the bottom half of the inning the Yankees would finally score a run. After Fister recorded two quick  outs he gave up a homerun to deep right field to Robinson Cano to cut the lead to 3-1. For Fister that would be his final inning as he allowed one run in five innings of work. He did his job unlike game one which was give the Tigers a terrific outing. For the Tigers there was plenty of big moments left in this playoff clinching game. The Yankees weren't about to go away that easily as they trailed 3-1 and were behind the eight ball as Ian Nova lasted only two innings allowing two runs.

Earlier in the day Jim Leyland announced he was not going to pitch Justin Verlander on two days rest no matter what. Well in the seventh inning that thinking almost left Leyland up for a ton of second guessing. The bottom of the seventh began with a strikeout then  Derek Jeter recording a "Jeter special" which was a clutch single to start a rally. That is when Leyland would pull Max Scherzer the game two starter for Joaquin Benoit. Benoit gave up a single to Curtis Granderson then an infield single to Robinson Cano as he misplayed the ball. Benoit with the Tigers clinging to a 3-1 lead saw Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez at the plate with the bases loaded and one out. Benoit who mixed his pitches well that whole at bat struck out Rodriguez for a big second out. Benoit then walked Mark Teixeira which cut the lead to 3-2 and the bases were still loaded. Benoit was facing Nick Swisher who homered off of him in game two. Benoit struck out Swisher for the biggest strikeout of his life. The Yankees left the bases loaded for the second time this game as the Tigers remained in the lead 3-2. For the Yankees time was running out as they were down to their final six outs. In the eighth inning after recording two quick outs Benoit gave up a base hit to Gardner which set up Jeter. Jeter hit the ball opposite field to deep right field only to see the ball caught at the wall. That would have been a go ahead homerun instead the Yankees were trailing 3-2 entering the ninth inning.

The ninth inning came with the Yankees sending up the heart of the order against Jose Valverde. Valverde guaranteed a Tigers series win and was perfect in save situations recording 49 for 49 saves. Valverde retired Granderson who flied out to shallow left field for out number one. Then came up Cano who torched the Tigers for six RBI's in game one which Valverde got him to fly out to centerfield. The Yankees season would come down to Rodriguez who has been a lighting rod  for past Yankees playoff failures. Valverde would finish off Rodriguez awful night with a strikeout to finish off the Yankees. For Rodriguez that would be his third strikeout of the game as he hit just .111 for the series. For the Tigers they are moving on the American League Championship series to take on the Texas Rangers.

For the Tigers they received a big outing from former Mariners pitcher Doug Fister. Fister who rebounded from his awful game one outing went five innings, allowing five hits, walking two, allowing just one run while striking out five batters. The Tigers unsung hero was Benoit who pitched 1.2 innings, allowed three hits, one walk but struck out three as he allowed zero runs in relief. Delmon Young was huge for the Tigers going two for four with a big homerun as was Kelly who hit a homerun. For the Yankees who left 20 men on base this was a tough loss. The Yankees saw their bullpen pitching seven innings allowing only one run. The damage had already been done though in the first inning.

In conclusion, the Detroit Tigers by not pitching Justin Verlander will have him available for game one of the ALCS. The Tigers will be going to the defending American League Champs house for the first two games so rain shouldn't be a factor there. The Tigers a team I picked to make the ALCS in the preseason have the right ingredients to go all the way. The Tigers finished off the evil empire when everyone in America was rooting for them. For the second straight year the Mariners have traded away a pitcher who won a clinching game five in that very same year. The Tigers finished off the Yankees is just the start to a great postseason as we have two do or die games tomorrow.

Game two LDS recaps

By Kshell

The baseball playoffs continued today as three games were all compelling. In a best of five game series game two is so crucial as teams are trying to even the series stealing homefield or teams are trying to go up 2-0. Today saw two road teams win  to steal homefield advantage while another team took care of business with a big inning to go up 2-0 in the series. One team saw a former Cy Young award winner blow a 4-0 lead. In another game the home team was down early but rallied late in the game with the go ahead man at the plate. In the third game saw a team blow a 4-1 lead only to score five runs to put the game away. In this following post I'll give a short recap of the three playoff games.

Brewers use five run sixth inning to win 9-4 over D-Backs; leads series 2-0:

The Brewers began this critical game two hoping to go up 2-0 in the series to be one game away from their first postseason series victory since 1982. The Brewers sent former Cy Young award winner Zach Greinke to the hill. In this game Greinke couldn't hang onto a 4-1 lead but the Brewers offense rallied in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead for good as the Diamondbacks bullpen imploaded.

The game started off terrific for the Brewers as Ryan Bruan hit a two-run homerun in the bottom of the first inning off of Daniel Hudson to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead. The Diamondbacks would respond in the top of the second inning with a Paul Goldschmidt homerun to cut the lead in half at 2-1.

In the third inning the Brewers would score two more runs as Prince Fielder would single in Ryan Braun with a shallow single. Richie Weeks would triple to deep centerfield scoring the slow footed Fielder from first base to give the Brewers a 4-1 lead. Chris Young of the Diamondbacks in the top of the fourth inning would go yard as the Diamondbacks pulled within 4-2.

In the fifth inning Greinke trying to hold a 4-2 lead couldn't do so. After allowing an Aaron Hill base hit he would make a mistake to all-star Justin Upton who homered to deep left field to tie the game up at 4-4. That would be Greinke's final inning as he last just five innings, allowing eight hits, four earned runs, three homeruns while striking out seven. The Brewers would change the series in the bottom half of the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the sixth inning Daniel Hudson retired the first batter he faced. After allowing a double to Jerry Hariston Jr. that would end Hudson's night as he was pulled for Brad Ziegler. After a walk and a balk the Brewers had first and third with one out with Jonathan Lecroy up. Lecroy had a sacrifice to Ziegler who committed a two base error scoring Hariston Jr. while allowing the Brewers to have second and third with one out while being up 5-4. After an intentional walk with the bases loaded the Brewers saw Corey Hart come up with an RBI single to give the Brewers a 6-4 lead. Nyjer Morgan would put the game away with a two-run RBI single extending the lead to 8-4. Braun would record an RBI single to give the Brewers the 9-4 lead. That is when Ziegler's day was finally over as he allowed four runs while not recording a single out. Hudson would receive the loss allowing five runs in 5.1 innings.

The Brewers were led by their offense and bullpen once again. The bullpen went four shutout innings striking out six Diamondbacks hitters. For the offense they were led by Ryan Braun who was three for four with three RBI's and two runs scored. The Diamondbacks were carried by Chris Young who was three for four with a homerun. For the Brewers they just have to win one game in the next three to win their first playoff series since 1982. For the Diamondbacks they are hoping to avoid being swept for the third time in franchise history in the postseason.

 Cabrera has huge game for Tigers as they even up the series with a 5-3 win over Yankees:

The Detroit Tigers earned the road split that they wanted as they return home hoping to finish the Yankees off in four games like they did in 2006. The Tigers received a lights out performance from Max Scherzer and fended off a late rally by the Yankees to tie the series up at 1-1.

Going up against veteran playoff pitcher Freddy Garcia the Tigers jumped on the board in the first inning. Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run home run opposite field scoring Miguel Ordanez to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead which is all Scherzer would need.

In the sixth inning after Garcia had settled down the Tigers got to Garcia again. Cabrera would single scoring former Yankees top prospect Austin Jackson to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Victor Martinez would also single giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead. That was all for Garcia as he went 5.1 innings, allowing four runs, three earned while striking out seven.

Curtis Granderson finally got the Yankees on the board with a homerun in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the lead to 4-1. In the top of the ninth Don Kelly who came in as a defensive replacement would single to shallow center scoring Brandon Inge giving the Tigers a 5-1 lead. The ball was then handed to their closer Jose Valverde who hadn't blown a save all season long.

Yankees made the ninth inning interesting as Nick Swisher led the inning off with a homer cutting the lead to 5-2. Jorge Posada would triple to deep center and then Valverde would walk Russell Martin would brought the tying run at the plate. Andrew Jones recorded a sacrifice fly scoring Posada cutting the lead to 5-3. Valverde then struck out Derek Jeter for the second out but would walk Granderson. Robinson Cano the go ahead runner at the plate who had six RBI's the previous game was the batter. Valverde got Cano to ground out to end the game as the Tigers held on.

The Tigers were led by Cabrera who was three for four with a homerun and three RBI's. Magglio Ordonez was three for three with a run scored. Scherzer went six shutout innings striking out five Yankees batters. Now the series will resume in Detroit as both aces will be taking the hill in what is now a best of three series. The Tigers recorded the split they wanted and now for the Yankees they must have at least a split or their season will end in disappointment.

Cardinals rally from 4-0 deficit to Lee to even series up:

The Cardinals who rallied just to make the postseason were asked to rally again. After blowing a 3-0 lead in game one it was the Cardinals who rallied this game. The Cardinals sent their ace Chris Carpenter on three days rest in game two. Carpenter was blown up but the bullpen kept the Cardinals in the game. After falling behind 4-0 to Cy Young award winner and postseason legend Cliff Lee the Cardinals rallied to beat the Phillies 5-4.

The game began horribly for Carpenter and the Cardinals. He loaded the bases with nobody out for Ryan Howard who had burned the Cardinals in game one. Howard then recorded a two-run RBI single to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Raul Ibanez would single scoring Hunter Pence to give the Phillies a commanding 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Phillies would tack on another run in the second inning on a Hunter Pence RBI single scoring Jimmy Rollins. With Cliff Lee on the mound the 4-0 lead seemed untouchable.

The mighty Lee would finally start to show signs of being human in October in the fourth inning. The inning would begin with a rare walk by Lee followed up by a strikeout. Lee would allow a base hit to set up first and second with one man down. Ryan Theriot doubled to right scoring Berkman while Molina advanced to third base to pull the Cardinals within 4-1. Jon Jay singles to right cutting the lead to 4-2.  Lee would record another strikeout only to allow an RBI base hit to Rafael Furcal scoring Theriot but Jay was gunned out at the plate by Raul Ibanez to keep the lead at 4-3. Carpenter was lifted for a pinch hitter lasting only three innings giving up four runs striking out just two.

In the sixth inning the Cardinals would finally tie the game up on Lee. After recording two quick outs Lee would allow a double to Theriot. The game would be tied up as Jay singled in Theriot. Allen Craig would lead off the seventh inning with a triple off of Lee. Setting up Albert Pujols who singled in the go ahead run to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead. Lee would be finished going six innings, allowing 12 hits, five runs while striking out nine.

The Cardinals would hang on for the 5-4 win sending the series back to St.Louis tied up at one game apiece. The Cardinals were led by Jon Jay who was two for three with two RBI's. Pujols was two for five with an RBI while the Cardinals bullpen went six shutout innings striking out six batters. For the Phillies who were the "dream team" they have lost their homefield advantage in a game they had to feel they let go.

In conclusion, the baseball playoffs at least had some drama and we have three of the four series tied up at one game apiece which is good. Baseball needs these series to go pretty far because too many times in the past the series have been short lived. I love the baseball postseason and hopefully this week when not competing with football others will enjoy them as well. October baseball nothing beats it. We saw two road teams rally to even up the series which is what playoff baseball is all about.

Game one LDS recap; game two ALDS recap Texas-Tampa Bay

By Kshell

The baseball playoffs on day two saw a rare moment in baseball playoffs. All four home teams won as there was plenty of offense to go around in these games. You saw Texas-Tampa Bay battle to see if this will be a series or if the Rays will control the series. The Yankees-Tigers resumed play after the game was postponed at 1-1 tie in the bottom of the second inning which proved to have a wild inning. In the Phillies-Cardinals game two great franchises saw Roy Halladay get roughed up early on but then return to form. Then the fourth game saw two teams who aren't in the playoffs very much in the Brewers and Diamondbacks. That game was your typical playoff game where there was no big innings but instead death by papercuts. In this following post I'll give a quick recap of each playoff game.


Robinson Cano drives in six runs as Yankees win 9-3 to take 1-0 series lead:

The game resumed at 1-1 in the second inning as both teams lost their ace pitchers. The Yankees went with Ian Nova while the Tigers went with Doug Fister. The game remained 1-1 until the fifth inning when Robinson Cano drove in former Tiger Curtis Granderson with an RBI double to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

In the six inning that is when Doug Fister would fall apart. Brett Gardner would have a two-run single driving in Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead. The Yankees would put the game away when Cano would hit a grand slam off of Al Aburquerque to give the Yankees an 8-1 lead.

The Yankees would win 9-3 as Cano would finish the game three for five with a home run, two doubles and six RBI's. Yankees "reliever" Ian Nova would get the win going 6.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs while striking out five. For the Tigers Doug Fister had a rough outing lasting only 4.2 innings giving up six runs while striking out six. For both teams losing their aces really hurt but the Yankees took advantage to take a 1-0 series lead.

Rangers use five run inning to even series with 8-6 win:

After being embarassed in game one at home the Texas Rangers bounced back in game two. After trailing 3-0 the Rangers exploded in the fourth inning scoring five runs off of James Shields. The Rangers also saw young pitcher Derek Holland step up when his team needed them most.

Leading 1-0, Matt Joyce hit a two-run homerun driving in Casey Kotchman to give the Rays a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. That is when the Rangers offense finally woke up after being outscored 12-0 through the first 12 and a half innings of play in the playoffs.

With the bases loaded former Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre was hit by a pitch to make the game 3-1. Mike Napoli came up with a big two-run base hit which tied up the game up at 3-3. Then Beltre would score on a wild pitch giving the Rangers a 4-3 lead. Mitch  Moreland would ground out which allowed Napoli to score. When the inning was over the Rangers held a 5-3 lead over the Rays.

In the sixth inning Ian Kinsler would add to the Rangers lead with a two-run double giving the Rangers a 7-3 lead over the Rays. In the top of the seventh the Rays would strike back as Eva Longoria would hit a three-run homerun to cut the lead to 7-6.  Mitch Moreland would homer in the bottom of the eighth to give the Rangers an 8-6 lead. The Rangers would hang on for the 8-6 win which would tie the series up at 1-1.

The Rangers offense exploded today unlike yesterday getting shutout. The Rangers would pound out 10 hits while scoring eight runs. The Rangers were led by several guys including Ian Kinsler who was two for five with two RBI's, Mike Napoli was two for four with two RBI's and two runs, and Mitch Moreland who was one for three with a homerun and two RBI's. Starting pitcher Derek Holland went five innings allowing one earned run with two strikeouts. The Rays didn't receive a good outing from James Shields who lasted five innings allowing seven runs while striking out six.

Phillies erupt late to win 11-6 behind Howard's key homerun:

The game started off rocky for the Phillies ace Roy Halladay unlike last year. Last year in the NLDS Halladay threw a perfect game against the Reds. This year he began the playoffs by allowing a three-run home run to Lance Berkman in the first inning as the Cardinals took a 3-0 lead.

Trailing 3-1 entering the sixth inning the Phillies erupted off of Kyle Lohse. With two men on Ryan Howard did what he does best which is hit a home run to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. Then Raul Ibanez followed that up with a two-run blast to give the Phillies a 6-3 lead.

The Phillies would score three more runs in the seventh innings. Howard would have a sacrifice fly to give the Phillies a 7-3 lead. Shane Victorino had a single scoring Chase Utley to give the Phillies a 8-3 lead. Raul Ibanez followed that with an RBI single to give the Phillies a commanding 9-3 lead.

The Phillies would hang on to win 11-6. Roy Halladay would earn the win going eight innings, allowing just three hits, three runs and eight strikeouts. The Phillies were led by their bats which saw Ryan Howard go one for three with a homerun and four RBI's. Raul Ibanez would go two for four with a homerun and three RBI's. For the Cardinals Lohse went 5.1 innings allowing six runs, five earned while striking out five.

Gallardo shuts down big D-Backs bats to lift Brew Crew to a 4-1 victory:

In a game which many expected to feature a ton of scoring instead was the low scoring game of the day. Led by Yovani Gallardo who pitched eight terrific innings for the Brewers. While the offense did just enough for the Brewers to earn the win.

There was no scoring until the fourth inning when Jerry Hariston had a sacrifice fly scoring Ryan Braun. The Brewers would score again in the sixth when Jonathan Lucroy drove in Yuniesky Betancourt to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead.

The game would be put away in the seventh inning when Prince Fielder hit a big two-run homerun off of Ian Kennedy to give the Brew Crew a 4-0 lead. Gallardo would allow a homerun in the eighth inning but that didn't matter as the Brewers won 4-1.

The Brewers were led by Gallardo who pitched eight innings, four hits, one run and struck out nine guys. While the Diamondbacks ace Ian Kennedy went 6.2 innings allowing four runs with three strikeouts. The Brewers were led by their stud hitter Fielder who was 2-4 with a homerun and two RBI's.

In conclusion, this was a good day for baseball as the home teams won so the crowd was exciting. I love this time of the year with the baseball playoffs. Expect to see more pitching as the playoffs go on as high scoring games only happen in the LDS while the playoffs go on pitching becomes more dominant.

Game one ALDS recap; Texas-Tampa Bay

By Kshell

Well that time of the year again where the baseball playoffs have begun. Today was a strange day for the first day of the postseason as one game featured a blowout while the other game was postponed after just an inning and a half. This wasn't like last year where you saw a perfect game on the first day. So like I'll be doing for the entire major league baseball playoffs I'll be recapping all the games as best as I can. For today there is only one game which features a rematch between the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers who played in a great five game series last year. The Texas Rangers unlike last year were hosting the game as the Tampa Bay Rays are the wild card team. The Rays who rallied from a 7-0 deficit on Wednesday to make the playoffs making up nine games in the standings on the Boston Red Sox.  Due to that game on Wednesday the Rays were throwing a pitcher who had made only one career start. The Rays also have to fly to Texas facing the Rangers ace C.J.Wilson so many expected the defending American League champions to defeat the Rays in game one. Well just like on Wednesday baseball is a funny game. Hero's can step up when you least expect it which is what happened today for the Rays.

Shoppach homers twice as Moore shuts out Rangers for Rays 9-0 win:

The Rays took it to the Rangers in game one improving to 3-0 all-time in the ballpark of Arlington in the postseason. The Rays behind seven shutout innings from their rookie pitcher Matt Moore won game one to take a 1-0 lead. The Rays were also helped out by slumping catcher Kelly Shoppach who was 3-5, two home runs and five RBI's.  Not bad for a guy who hit below .200 during the regular season.

The Rays started their scoring on C.J. Wilson in the second inning when veteran Johnny Damon hit a two-run homerun to right field to give the Rays a 2-0 lead. After Shoppach reached base, two batters later Matt Joyce drove in Shobbach to give the Rays a 3-0 lead.

Hanging onto a 3-0 lead the Rays made sure Moore's first career playoff start would be as easy as possible. In the third inning Shoppach put the game away when he hit a three-run homerun to deep centerfield scoring Ben Zohbrist and Eva Longoria to give the Rays a commanding 6-0 lead as C.J.Wilson was getting rocked.

In the fifth inning Shoppach took Wilson deep again for a two-run homerun as Damon was on base to give the Rays an 8-0 lead. That would be Wilson's final inning as he lasted five innings, allowing seven hits, eight runs, six earned, striking out six but gave up three homeruns a far cry from his start last year against the Rays.

The Rays would score their final run in the ninth inning on an infield base hit by Damon to give them a 9-0 shutout win in game one. For the Rays they were led by Shoppach who was 3-5 with two homeruns with five RBI's and three runs scored. Damon was 2-5 with a homerun, three RBI's and two runs scored. Moore pitched terrificly going 7 innings allowing no runs while allowing just two hits. He struck out six while walking on two batters. Making his second career start he doesn't seem fazed by the moment. In two starts he has won at Yankees stadium and now on the road in the playoffs so I think safe to say he won't be scared of pressure.

In conclusion, this was a boring first day as one game was a blow out and the other was rained out. Hopefully the baseball playoffs will provide plenty of great moments which I'm sure they will. The Rays taking game one is huge with James Shields and David Price behind Moore. Remember the Rangers won't have Cliff Lee this year who was 2-0 in that five game series win over the Rays last season. The Major League Baseball playoffs is underway and I'm pretty excited to finally care about baseball again. As a Seattle Mariners fan I stopped caring about baseball when in April, actually in July. I love baseball playoffs as every pitch can be the difference between a World Series title or losing in the first round. The Rays who won the American League in 2008 are off to a good start in this years postseason.