I want to read about the ALCS first.
Get Your Kicks On Route 66
(Which ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, for you youngsters.)
Like the traffic to get to Dodger Stadium, the National League Championship Series moved very slowly at first, with Game 1 being a fairly ho-hum 5-2 affair in which we approached peak #bullpenning. Jose Quintana and Clayton Kershaw were both pulled after five innings, less than 90 pitches, in a 2-2 tie game, with Kershaw on seven days' rest and Quintana having thrown only 12 pitches in Game 5 of the Division Series two days prior. Kershaw's two runs did come on a homer by Albert Almora, and combined with the four taters he allowed to the Diamondbacks, he became the first pitcher in Dodgers history to serve up five homers in one postseason.
Yasiel Puig joined a fine list of Dodgers luminaries with his two hits and two runs driven in. It was already his third such game this postseason (out of four the Dodgers had played); Dodgers to post that line three times include Duke Snider, Dusty Baker, Davey Lopes, Adrian Gonzalez, and Juan Uribe. Kenley Jansen nailed down a four-out save by striking out all four batters he faced, and in so doing, became (incredibly) only the second pitcher in postseason history to record a save of 4+ outs where every out was a K. Brian Wilson of the Giants also did it in an NLCS Game 1, seven years ago against the Phillies.
Game 2 looked a lot like Game 1, with Addison Russell finally opening the scoring with a leadoff homer in the 5th and then the Dodgers answering on an insignificant Justin Turner single in their half. Stuck on 1-1 for three more innings, it was Turner's last at-bat of the night that would make headlines. Facing "reliever" John Lackey, who managed to get neither a loss nor a blown save because the first run didn't belong to him, Turner launched a 416-foot blast to straightaway center for the second walkoff home run in Dodgers postseason history. You may have heard of the first, 29 years earlier to the day. (Turner and Kirk Gibson also both made their major-league debuts on September 8, though 30 years apart and not 29.)
Turner was thus credited with all four RBIs in the 4-1 win; he and Ron Cey (1978 WS) are the only Dodgers to drive in every run (four or more) in a postseason win. Lackey, meanwhile, gave up just the second walkoff homer of his career; as a starter, he's usually not out there in a position to take a complete-game loss in the 9th inning. But on May 25, 2008, he had finished eight innings on only 79 pitches, and was sent back out to get burned by Carlos Quentin as the White Sox walked off 3-2. It was also just the second time in Lackey's career that he failed to record an out; on May 16, 2009, making his season debut after suffering a forearm strain in spring training, he threw his first pitch behind Ian Kinsler, then hit him with the second one and was ejected.
For Game 3, the only thing that changed was the backdrop; even with the wind blowing out at Wrigley, the Cubs offense sputtered its way to only one run, that on a solo shot by Kyle Schwarber. That came in the 1st inning and provided a brief lead before Andre Ethier and Chris Taylor answered with home runs the next two innings. Taylor added an RBI triple in the 5th to become the sixth Dodger with a three-bagger and a four-bagger in the same postseason game. Ethier did it himself in 2009, along with Mike Marshall (1988), Pedro Guerrero (1981), Davey Lopes (1978), and Steve Garvey (also 1978).
The game, and possibly the Cubs' series, could be epitomized in the image of Carl Edwards issuing a four-pitch walk to Yu Darvish-- yes, the Dodgers' pitcher-- for a 4-1 lead in the 6th. Thanks to all those years in the American League, it was only Darvish's second career RBI (he homered in an interleague game last year), and the first bases-loaded walk issued to a pitcher in a postseason game since "The Burt Hooton Game" in 1977, when the Dodgers pitcher gave up three consecutive bases-loaded walks against the Phillies, one of which was to starter Larry Christenson.
The final score of 6-1 gave the Cubs their third straight loss by at least three runs; the only other time where that happened in the first three games of a postseason series was the 1910 fall classic against the Athletics. The Cubs eked out a win in Game 4 of that series but then lost in 5. (Wait for it.)
Speaking of eking out a win in Game 4, the Cubs opened Wednesday's game with a pair of (of course) solo homers in a bizarrely-sequenced 2nd inning. Rizzo struck out swinging. Contreras homered. Russell struck out swinging. Baez homered. Jay struck out swinging. "KS-HR-KS-HR-KS". It was only the second inning in postseason history where exactly five batters came to the plate, three struck out, and two homered, and the other one didn't alternate. The Cardinals did it against the Cubs two years ago in the Division Series; their homers were back-to-back jacks by Kolten Wong and Randal Grichuk.
Cody Bellinger got one of those runs back with a solo homer in the 3rd, and Baez countered that with yet another solo homer in the 5th. Only five Cubs have ever had a multi-homer game in the postseason, but Baez is just the second player-- for any team-- to go deep twice when facing elimination by the Dodgers. Yogi Berra hit them in his first two at-bats against Don Newcombe (and was then intentionally walked twice) to propel the Yankees to a 9-0 shutout in Game 7 of the 1956 World Series, taking the title back from Brooklyn's lone win in '55.
Jake Arrieta was finally lifted in the 7th after striking out nine, but also allowing five walks, a hit batter, and throwing a wild pitch; only Kerry Wood (1998) and Bob Anderson (1958) had posted that line as Cubs in the live-ball era. Even without the WP and HBP, Wood was also the last Cubs pitcher-- regular or postseason-- to have 9 K, 5 BB, and get a win; that happened in another playoff game, the opener of their 2003 NLDS at Atlanta.
Wade Davis got a 6-out save despite allowing (what else?) another solo homer to Justin Turner in the 8th. Davis also threw two innings in the final game of the Division Series at Washington; he and Mariano Rivera (2001) are the only pitchers to record multiple 6-out saves when facing elimination in the same postseason. And if you've been counting along, you see there were five home runs in the game and the final score was 3-2. Game 4 was only the second contest in postseason history where both teams scored (this eliminates the 1-0 types) and every run was on a solo homer. The other only had three taters; the Phillies beat the Orioles 2-1 in the opener of the 1983 World Series.
Game 5 was a Quintana/Kershaw rematch, but on this night there was never a doubt. Four straight hits to start the 3rd knocked Quintana out of the game, and Enrique Hernandez had already mashed two home runs-- including a grand slam off Q's replacement, Hector Rondon-- before Kershaw even gave up a hit. Quintana, who of course was acquired mid-season from the White Sox, had a 7-run, 4-out game for the South Siders back in September 2012; by giving up 6 runs on 6 outs Thursday, he became just the third pitcher ever to have such a start (6+ ER on ≤ 6 outs) for both Chicago teams. Jason Beré (1995 and 2001) and Steve Trout (1979 and 1984) also share that distinction.
That hit that Kershaw finally gave up was a Kris Bryant homer, and of course, yet again it was a solo shot. That gave the Cubs four consecutive games where they scored in every game but all the runs came on solo homers. That's the first such streak in franchise history (to 1876), and the Cubs are only the second team to have four such games in one postseason. The 1983 Phillies also pulled it off, though not in four consecutive games.
As for all those solo shots, the NLCS had 13 of them in its five games, tying the postseason record for the first five games of any series (longer series have gotten to as many as 17). The short porch at Yankee Stadiums both old and new were the backdrop for many of the others; that record is shared with their 2009 World Series win over Philadelphia, and their 1995 Division Series against the Mariners.
Hernandez's grand slam already made him the first player in Dodgers postseason history to go deep twice with one of them being a slam. Good enough, right? In the 9th inning he came up one last time and did it again, this time with Yasiel Puig on first base. That made Hernandez the first player in postseason history (any team) with a 3-HR, 7-RBI game, and the fifth to go yard three times in a series-clincher. The rest of that list is Adrian Beltre (2011 ALDS), Adam Kennedy (2002 ALCS), Reggie Jackson (1977 WS, the 40th anniversary of which was the day before), and of course Babe Ruth (1928).
Speaking of Beltre, his three-homer game in 2011 was later followed by Albert Pujols going deep thrice against the Rangers in the World Series. Combine Hernandez's game Thursday with Jose Altuve's three-homer game to open the Division Series, and those are the only two postseasons ever to have multiple three-homer games.
The 11-1 final was the sixth time in the World Series era (1903) that a team posted a double-digit win to clinch a spot in the championship. Beltre's 2011 Rangers, the 1996 Braves (with a 15-0 beatdown of the Cardinals), and the 1974 Dodgers all did it in the current "playoff" format, while two other teams won their pennant by virtue of a 10-run win in the regular season. Those were the 1931 Athletics and the very first World Series participant, the 1903 Red Sox (then known as the Americans to distinguish from the NL's Braves).
If the Cubs had won, we could have gone with "Maddon said knock you out!" As it was, he managed to become the first person ever ejected from two postseason games in the same year. Not Bobby Cox, not Earl Weaver, not Lasorda, nobody. Intermission!
Houston, We Have A Pennant
Meanwhile, over in the American League, the Astros-- who tied for the major-league lead by scoring in double digits 23 times this year-- relapsed into "AL West" mode against the Yankees. They scrounged up just six hits, all singles, in Game 1, with half of those by Jose Altuve... and somehow managed to win behind Dallas Keuchel's seven scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts.
Altuve also had a pair of three-hit games in the Division Series against Boston, becoming the first Astro with three such games in one postseason. Craig Biggio is the only other one to have three total, but his were split between two seasons. As with all things "postseason Astros", it's a fairly small sample size, so in a similar vein, it's not surprising that Keuchel was just the third Astros pitcher ever to reach double digits in strikeouts in a postseason game. Mike Scott (14 in Game 1) and Nolan Ryan (12 in Game 5) both did it in the 1986 NLCS against the Mets. That also made the Yankees, who had at least 10 whiffs in all five games of their Division Series with the Indians, the first offense in postseason history to strike out 10 times in six straight postseason games.
Ken Giles was brought on with 1 out in the 8th, and hung on for a 2-1 victory despite giving up a solo homer to Greg Bird. Bird, of course, hit a solo homer for the Yankees' 1-0 win in Game 3 against Cleveland; he is just the third player to accomplish that feat (solo homer is team's only run) twice in the same postseason. Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates did it twice in their 2013 NLDS loss to the Cardinals, and then Matt Holliday went on to do it for the Cardinals in their World Series loss to the Red Sox.
Giles also came into ALDS Game 4 with a two-run lead but gave up a home run to Rafael Devers. Whether he really gave it up, versus it being a George Springer misplay off the Green Monster, is another argument, but it's in the boxscore, and it makes Giles the first pitcher ever to record two saves in the same postseason despite giving up a home run in each of them. (This includes "imputed" saves before they became official in 1969.)
We presume Justin Verlander was watching Keuchel's performance in Game 1 and, in classic Verlander fashion, said hold my beer. In Game 2 JV topped Keuchel with 11 strikeouts in seven innings... and then became the first starter this postseason to reemerge for the 8th. And then the 9th. He finished with 13 strikeouts to also join our Scott/Ryan list above, but there was one little problem: It was a 1-1 tie game. If you guessed that the last postseason starter to still be on the mound at any point in the 10th inning was Jack Morris in 1991, you'd be right. Granted, Verlander was sitting on 124 pitches, so it didn't seem likely, but fortunately Carlos Correa took care of that for us.
Correa's double down the right-field line resulted in a 2-1 walkoff on what is being termed "Altuve's Mad Dash" to beat Aaron Judge's throw to the plate. It was the first walkoff double in Astros postseason history, and combined with his solo homer in the 4th, he was the first Houstonian to have two extra-base hits and drive in both runs in a 2-0 or 2-1 win since Lance Berkman hit a pair of solo shots against the Pirates on July 8, 2010.
The walkoff also cemented Verlander's complete game, the Astros' first with 13+ strikeouts since Wade Miller threw a two-hitter against the Cubs on May 30, 2003. And only three other pitchers have ever thrown a 13-K CG against the Yankees in a postseason game: HOF'er Bob Gibson in 1964, HOF'er Sandy Koufax in 1963, and 12-year Dodger great (but not HOF'er) Carl Erskine in 1953. The 13 whiffs also extended the Yankees' streak of double digits to seven straight games, now their longest in the live-ball era (regular or postseason).
And if that score looks familiar, it's because Games 1 and 2 both ended 2-1 in the Astros' favor. Stop us if you've heard this before, because the Astros also won Games 1 and 2 of the Division Series by identical 8-2 scores over Boston. Obviously this isn't possible before 1969, but it's the first postseason where two different series have had that Games 1-2 phenomenon at all, much less to have it done by the same team.
They say there's no place like home, and the Yankees were certainly glad to return to the Bronx for Games 3 through 5. The first contest was over early when Todd Frazier and Aaron Judge battered Houston starter Charlie Morton for seven runs in the first four innings. Both players clobbered three-run homers, just the fourth time in Yankees postseason history that they'd hit a pair of three- or four-run homers in the same game. Chuck Knoblauch and Tino Martinez did it to open the 1998 World Series against San Diego with a 9-6 victory; the other pairs are Lou Piniella and Graig Nettles in 1981, and Tony Lazzeri and Bill Dickey in 1936. Morton, for his part, became the first Astros pitcher ever to give up seven earned runs in a postseason game, but Collin McHugh also became the first Houstonian to throw four hitless innings of relief in any road game since Jim Clancy did so at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh on May 4, 1991.
For a while it seemed like the most memorable moment of Game 4 would be Aaron Judge's 7-minute baserunning escapade. Instead it would be a bullpen meltdown that started with Judge's solo homer to lead off the 7th and a decision to pull starter Lance McCullers. Which backfired as the Yankees scored five runs off Chris Devenski, Joe Musgrove, and our pal Ken Giles (who at least didn't give up a homer this time). Houston had been 75-2 this season when leading by multiple runs after seven innings, and Gary Sanchez's go-ahead double in the 8th was just the second such hit for the Yankees all season. The other... was by Gary Sanchez to beat the White Sox on June 27. Alex Rodriguez, Tino Martinez, Thurman Munson, and Charlie Keller are the only other Yankees to have a go-ahead double that late in a postseason game.
The homer by Judge was only the second hit allowed by McCullers in the game, while Yankees starter Sonny Gray was pulled after five innings and only one hit. It was only the fifth time in postseason history that both starters allowed ≤ two hits but were gone in 6.0 innings or less. Of the others, one was that 2009 ALDS game suspended by rain in the 2nd; one had the starters combine for 12 walks; and two others were before the designated hitter and the starters got pinch-hit for in the 5th or 6th to try and jump-start the offense.
You can argue whether Game 5 was a masterful pitching performance by Masahiro Tanaka, or another sputtering performance by the Astros offense, but the outcome was almost never in doubt as the Yankees swung the "comeback" meter the other direction with a 5-0 shutout and a three-game sweep in the Bronx. It was the Astros' largest shutout loss in a postseason game (again, small sample size), and by yet again collecting only four hits, they became the second team in postseason history to have that few in three straight games and lose all of them. The 1971 Orioles managed that in Games 3 through 5 of their World Series loss to Pittsburgh. The Astros had only done it against the same opponent once before in their history, April 28-30, 1992, versus the Mets. Tanaka, who also threw seven scoreless innings with three hits and seven strikeouts in Game 3 against the Indians, joined Randy Johnson (2001), Roger Clemens (2000), and Kevin Brown (1998) as the only pitchers with two such starts in one postseason.
As mentioned, it was now the Astros' turn to need a comeback to avoid the "reverse sweep", and they had the advantage of Minute Maid Park and Justin Verlander again in Game 6. MMP appeared to be where the Astros left their bats instead of taking them to New York, and even then it took a few innings until Brian McCann's "ground-rule" double and Jose Altuve's two-run single put Houston up 3-0. In the first 49 innings of the series, it was only the third time the Astros had multiple hits in a frame; they didn't do it at all in New York. Verlander, meanwhile, scattered five singles and escaped a two-on jam in the 7th thanks to George Springer's leaping grab at the wall (a wall which was moved in this season thanks to the removal of Tal's Hill).
Combined with Game 2, it was the second time this series that Verlander had gone seven innings, allowed no more than one run, and struck out at least eight. The most recent pitchers to do that twice in a series were, naturally, Justin Verlander in 2013 and Justin Verlander in 2012, both with the Tigers. Obviously they play more rounds now, but he's the first pitcher in postseason history to have seven total such starts, topping Josh Beckett's six for the Red Sox and Marlins.
A deciding Game 7 really wasn't assured, however, until the Yankees brought David Robertson in to start the 8th. D-Rob faced four batters and gave up hits to all of them before being pulled; the last one finally scored on a sacrifice fly. It was the first time in his career that Robertson faced four batters and got none of them out, and bizarrely he was the first Yankee reliever to give up four runs in a postseason game since... David Robertson in the 2010 ALCS against Texas. He of course went to the White Sox and came back in the meantime.
Every Game 7 is a "tension convention" as the kids say, but Saturday especially so when the teams traded zeroes for the first 3 innings. It was the longest scoreless Game 7 (so, LCS or World Series) since the 2001 finale between the Yankees and Diamondbacks, and Charlie Morton became just the third starter ever to throw 5+ scoreless innings and allow ≤ 2 hits in a winner-take-all game. The aforementioned Justin Verlander did it in that 2013 ALDS, as did Noah Syndergaard in last year's Wild Card tilt.
Meanwhile, Evan Gattis broke things open with a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the 4th, joining Luis Valbuena (2015 ALDS) and Craig Biggio (2004 NLCS) as the only Astros to hit a go-ahead homer in a Game 5 or 7 (not Wild Card). The Astros lost those other two games, but that would not be the story this time as they tacked on another solo homer from Jose Altuve in the 5th. He became the first Astros hitter ever to homer in back-to-back potential elimination games.
CC Sabathia was knocked out shortly after Gattis's homer, having failed to record a strikeout. Combined with the two games where Luis Severino did it, the Yankees became the first team since the 1984 Padres to have three 0-K starts; that San Diego squad was ahead of its time at #bullpenning and none of those starters went more than two innings. Two other Yankees teams pulled it off, in the 1960 and 1947 World Series which both went seven games, as did the 1976 Royals.
When Brian McCann added two more runs in the 5th, the countdown was on and the ball belonged to Lance McCullers. Brett Gardner greeted him with a single, but that would be the only hit he allowed, retiring 12 of the last 14 Yankees (Todd Frazier walked), half of those on strikeouts. McCullers thus became the first player in postseason history to record a six-strikeout save (any length), and the third ever to post a four-inning save in a clinching win. Madison Bumgarner, of course, had his memorable five-inning game in the 2014 World Series, and Vida Blue did it for the Athletics in Game 5 of the 1972 ALCS at Detroit. No Astros pitcher had recorded any four-inning save since Ramon Garcia did it against the Cardinals on April 5, 1997.
I read this part first and want to go back to the NLCS now.
So Now What?
Now we wait. And in the ongoing argument of "down time to reset" versus "momentum carrying over", there's one factoid we've been studying for years now. In the last eight seasons-- and 10 of the last 11-- the team which won its pennant first, and thus had the longer time to sit around and wait before starting the World Series, lost that championship. Advantage Houston? We shall see.
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