Cnotes MLB 2019 Thru the World Series News, Notes, Trends Best Bets and Opinions !

[StarDust Bum]

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

HOU at TB 01:05 PM
TB +115
U 8.0

ATL at STL 03:07 PM
ATL +111
U 8.5

LAD at WAS 06:40 PM
WAS -128
O 8.0

NYY at MIN 08:40 PM
NYY -149
O 9.0

[StarDust Bum]

Molina wins it in 10th, Cards top Braves 5-4, Game 5 next
October 7, 2019
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ST. LOUIS (AP) They all knew. Every single one of them. Paul Goldschmidt and all the St. Louis Cardinals. Ozzie Albies and the rest of the Atlanta Braves.

Tough to beat Yadier Molina in a big postseason spot.

Molina pushed the Cardinals to a deciding Game 5 of the NL Division Series, poking a tying single in the eighth inning and then lifting a sacrifice fly in the 10th to beat the Braves 5-4 Monday.

''I like those moments,'' Molina said.

No kidding.

Molina slung his bat far into the outfield after his winning swing, and the crowd at Busch Stadium roared with the longtime heart of the franchise.

''An elite, special player, that's what he is,'' Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said.

Game 5 will be Wednesday back in Atlanta. The Cardinals will have ace Jack Flaherty on the mound, and the Braves will go with Mike Foltynewicz.

''In front of our home fans on Wednesday a Game 5,'' first baseman Freddie Freeman said. ''That's what it's all about so we'll be ready to go.''

Kolten Wong led off the St. Louis 10th with a ground-rule double against Julio Teheran. After Goldschmidt was intentionally walked, Wong advanced on Marcell Ozuna's forceout and easily scampered home on Molina's fly to the front of the warning track in left field.

Wong threw his hands in the air as he ran toward the plate. Molina rounded first base with his bat in hand, then flung it away as the celebration erupted. He discarded his batting helmet as the rest of the Cardinals poured onto the field.

''I lost it right there,'' the 37-year-old catcher said. ''I think I tossed the bat in the bullpen.''

Molina also made a throat-slashing gesture as he left the field. Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. made a similar motion across the top of his chest after hauling in Molina's flyball for the final out of Atlanta's 3-1 win Sunday.

Before coming up with his first career game-ending RBI in the postseason, Molina tied it at 4 with a two-out single in the eighth that went just off the top of the glove of a leaping Freeman.

''I thought it was going in there,'' the 6-foot-5 Freeman said. ''I just needed to be 6-7.''

On this day, there was no denying the nine-time All-Star in red.

Albies homered and drove in three runs for Atlanta, and Acuna Jr. had four hits. But the NL East champions went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position, a continuing problem in the postseason over the past two years.

The Braves left the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh. Acuna was stranded on third when Josh Donaldson flied out in the ninth.

''We're a hit away from - just some productive outs - from continuing to add on,'' manager Brian Snitker said.

Ozuna homered twice for St. Louis, and Goldschmidt also connected. But the NL Central champions were four outs from a second straight difficult loss before Molina delivered down the stretch.

''It's not an accident, the success that he has,'' Goldschmidt said. ''He works really hard at it.''

Albies gave Atlanta a 4-3 lead with a two-run homer off Dakota Hudson in the fifth, capping a three-run rally.

The Braves carried the advantage all the way into the eighth, but Goldschmidt doubled and Molina came up with the tying hit off Shane Greene.

''I mean, he's a ballplayer,'' Snitker said, handing Molina perhaps the greatest compliment that a baseball lifer will use. ''He plays the game, he plays the game in front of him probably about as good as anybody in the game.''

Carlos Martinez gave St. Louis a lift after Acuna led off the ninth with a double, retiring three in a row. The closer took the loss Sunday when he gave up three runs in the ninth.

Game 1 starter Miles Mikolas worked the 10th for the win.

Dansby Swanson had two hits and scored twice for Atlanta, which has dropped its last nine postseason rounds - just one off the major league record held by the Chicago Cubs. It is trying to advance to the franchise's first NL Championship Series since 2001.

''We battled and we gave ourselves a chance,'' Swanson said. ''We just weren't able to get it done today.''

St. Louis got off to a fast start, delighting the crowd of 42,203 on a picturesque October afternoon. Goldschmidt drove a 3-1 changeup from Dallas Keuchel deep to left with two out in the first, and Ozuna followed with a laser into the second deck in left for a 2-0 lead.

It was the first set of consecutive playoff homers for the Cardinals since Wong and Randal Grichuk accomplished the feat in Game 2 of the 2015 NLDS against the Chicago Cubs.

The Braves got one back on Albies' sacrifice fly in the third, but Ozuna led off the fourth with another drive to left for the first multihomer playoff game for a Cardinals player since Carlos Beltran in Game 2 of the 2012 NLDS against Washington.

Ozuna is batting .471 (8 for 17) with four RBIs in his first career postseason series.

Pitching on three days of rest, Keuchel allowed three runs and four hits in 3 1/3 innings in his 11th career postseason start.

SUPER SUB

Braves outfielder Adam Duvall drove in a run for the third straight game. He is the first major leaguer with five RBIs and no starts in a single postseason series since Mark Lewis for Cincinnati in the 1995 NLDS against the Dodgers.

WORTH REMEMBERING

Teheran was added to the roster after Chris Martin reported tightness in his left oblique while warming up for the eighth inning of Game 1.

UP NEXT

Flaherty and Foltynewicz each worked seven innings in Game 2. Flaherty allowed three runs while Foltynewicz pitched three-hit ball in Atlanta's 3-0 victory.

[StarDust Bum]

Rays pummel Greinke, Rays win Game 3
October 7, 2019
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Charlie Morton to the rescue, again.

Kevin Kiermaier hit a go-ahead, three-run homer as Tampa Bay teed off on Zack Greinke, and the Rays got another clutch playoff performance from Morton to beat the Houston Astros 10-3 Monday and cut their AL Division Series deficit to 2-1.

Facing the team he helped win the World Series two years ago, Morton allowed one run and three hits while striking out nine over five innings. The 35-year-old right-hander is 4-0 with an 0.95 ERA in four career elimination starts, including last week's wild-card win at Oakland.

''It's just what Charlie's done all year,'' manager Kevin Cash said. ''He's got that knack for doing some special things for us, and he did it again.''

Astros manager AJ Hinch announced after the game that Houston will start Justin Verlander on three days of rest in Game 4 of the best-of-five matchup at Tropicana Field on Tuesday. Tampa Bay will use Diego Castillo as an opener.

''He's one of the best pitchers in the world. No more complicated than that,'' Hinch said of Verlander. ''He's ready, and it's his game.''

Kiermaier got the wild-card Rays going with his long home run in the second inning. Ji-Man Choi and Brandon Lowe added solo shots off Greinke, who has never won in Tampa Bay, and Willy Adames added a solo blast against Wade Miley in the sixth.

Tampa Bay's four home runs matched a franchise record for a postseason game. The Rays also went deep four times against the Boston Red Sox during the 2008 AL Championship Series and did it again during last week's 5-1 wild-card victory against the Athletics.

''For us to put three runs on the board, that felt great. That was huge for us,'' Kiermaier said. ''After that, it's just, `Hey, Charlie Morton, go do your thing, go do what you do.' And he did just that.''

Jose Altuve homered for the Astros, who are one victory away from their third straight appearance in the ALCS, and had two of Houston's three hits off Morton. It was Altuve's 10th career postseason home run, tied with Chase Utley for the most by a second baseman in major league history.

Morton, who won 29 games for Houston over two seasons before joining the Rays as a free agent last offseason, departed with an 8-1 lead. Four relievers finished the combined seven-hitter for the Rays, who have never been swept in a playoff series.

Now, they must avoid being ''Verlandered'' - a term coined by Cash after the series opener - in Game 4.

''He's tough. We've got to enjoy what we accomplished today and certainly hope we can have better at-bats, production, get something going against him,'' Cash said. ''We'll worry about that (Tuesday). Right now, the guys are pretty pumped about what they just did tonight.''

Verlander, who pitched seven scoreless inning to win Game 1, has only started on fewer than the standard four days of rest once. That was in the 2011 ALDS, when his first appearance was limited to one inning by rain.

''The thought process is five-game series are pretty crazy and we've got to win. Never know what can happen,'' Verlander said. ''You can't put all your eggs in one basket and say if we lose tomorrow, we've got Justin and Gerrit (Cole) for Game 5. It's a crazy game.''

The Astros won the first two games with a pair of dominating pitching performances from Verlander and Cole, who combined to limit the Rays to one unearned run and five hits with 23 strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings. Houston's other pitchers have allowed 12 earned runs in 11 1/3 frames, an ERA of 9.53.

With Morton on the mound, and returning home for the first playoff game at Tropicana Field in six years, the Rays were confident they would find a way to get back into the series against Greinke, an 18-game winner who was 8-1 with a 3.02 in 10 starts after being acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline.

Kiermaier's homer to right-center whipped a sellout crowd of 32,251 waving bright yellow rally towels - more than twice the 14,734 the Rays averaged during the regular season - into a frenzy. The party continued when Choi homered with two outs in the third and Lowe led off the fourth with an opposite-field shot that made it 5-1.

Morton, meanwhile, remained perfect in potential postseason elimination games, including a pair of Game 7 victories during Houston's 2017 World Series run. He shrugged off yielding Altuve's homer and throwing 31 pitches in the first inning to hold the Astros potent lineup in check while his offense was building a comfortable lead.

''I've seen this out of Charlie,'' Hinch said. ''When you get him early, get some opportunities early, you have to maximize them if you can. Same thing he did in the wild-card game. He settled in nicely and got them through five innings.''

GREINKE'S STRUGGLES

In six career regular season appearances at Tropicana Field, including five starts, Greinke is 0-4 with a 4.45 ERA. His start Monday was his first at the domed stadium since May 2, 2010, when he was a member of the Kansas City Royals. Including Monday, he's allowed eight homers in 36 innings.

Greinke was pulled after 61 pitches, and his ERA over 12 career postseason starts rose to 4.58.

HOMER STREAK

The Astros have homered in 28 consecutive games, including the first three of the ALDS. It's the second-longest streak in major league history. The New York Yankees homered in 31 straight games from May 26 to June 30 of this season.

UP NEXT

Cash plans to play matchups with his bullpen after Castillo in Game 4.

[StarDust Bum]

Scherzer, Zimmerman lead Nats past LA 6-1 to force Game 5
October 7, 2019
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WASHINGTON (AP) Max Scherzer is 35. So is Ryan Zimmerman.

The Washington Nationals would not be headed to a win-or-go-home Game 5 in their NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers without them.

''We're a bunch of viejos. We're old guys,'' Scherzer joked. ''Old guys can still do it.''

Sure can. And for a guy whose teams used to lose repeatedly in the postseason, Scherzer sure is delivering now.

Every time he's pitched this October, the Nationals have won. His latest outing was a season-saving, seven-inning masterpiece that combined with Zimmerman's three-run parabola of a homer to lift the wild-card Nationals to a 6-1 victory over league-best Los Angeles on Monday night, tying the best-of-five NLDS at two games apiece.

''I was just gassed. I was out,'' said Scherzer, who threw 109 pitches. ''I was empty in the tank.''

Scowling and muttering to himself as showers fell for part of his gritty performance, Scherzer allowed one run and four hits while striking out nine - and, most importantly for Washington, he prevented LA from closing out the NLDS after taking a 2-1 lead into Game 4.

''He really gave it all he had,'' said Anthony Rendon, who drove in three runs for Washington.

With fans who braved rain chanting, ''Beat LA!'' in the late going, Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson combined to get the last six outs for Washington, which will send Stephen Strasburg to the mound against Walker Buehler on Wednesday night at Los Angeles.

''If I could bet, I'd bet on him,'' Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton said about Strasburg. ''He's a very good pitcher. A polished pitcher. To have him healthy and ready to go in that situation only boosts our confidence.''

Whichever team advances to the NL Championship Series will face the Braves or Cardinals next. Their NLDS heads to a Game 5 at Atlanta on Wednesday.

Zimmerman showed what he still can do at the plate by taking a 97 mph pitch, the second thrown by reliever Pedro Baez, and turning it into a high-arching 400-foot-plus rainbow that descended onto the green batter's eye in straightaway center field for a three-run shot that made it 5-1.

''Zim put a really good swing on it,'' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

That was after Julio Urias, LA's third pitcher and the one charged with the loss, began the fifth by serving up a line-drive single to Trea Turner, who finished with three hits. Rendon, who led the majors with 126 RBIs during the regular season but entered Monday with just one in the playoffs, delivered a run-scoring single that made it 2-1.

Rendon also brought home runs via sacrifice flies in the third and sixth.

That was plenty for Scherzer, who clenched his teeth while getting through his last inning after loading the bases by issuing a pair of walks with one out in the seventh. But he got out of that by striking out pinch-hitter Chris Taylor and getting Joc Pederson - whose liner on a first-pitch cut landed about an inch foul - to ground out.

Scherzer shook his arms and yelled as he stalked to the home dugout.

''You can't say enough about his compete,'' Roberts said. ''He just sort of wills his way to getting outs.''

The Dodgers' lone run came when Justin Turner connected for a no-doubt-about-it homer to left on Scherzer's 10th pitch, a 95 mph fastball. But from there, facing an LA lineup stacked with a half-dozen lefty hitters, Scherzer displayed the sort of ornery dominance that helped him win three Cy Young Awards.

''He might look like a maniac out there,'' catcher Kurt Suzuki said, ''but he's smart.''

Scherzer entered these playoffs on a skid: His teams, Detroit and Washington, had been 0-7 in his most recent seven postseason appearances. But the Nationals won the NL wild-card game last week, which he started; Game 2 of the NLDS, when Scherzer struck out all three batters he faced in relief of Strasburg; and now Game 4.

Scherzer said a Game 5 appearance was out of the question.

''That pushed me all the way to the edge and then some,'' he said. ''So, yeah, I can't imagine any scenario where I'm pitching.''

LA's own three-time Cy guy, Clayton Kershaw, will be available to follow Buehler, Roberts said.

The Dodgers are trying to get to the NLCS for the fourth year in a row, while the Nationals have never been to that round since moving from Montreal in 2005. Washington will be playing in its fourth NLDS Game 5 in the past eight years; the Nats are 0-3 so far, with all those losses at home, including against the Dodgers in 2016.

Zimmerman for so many years was the face of the franchise for the Nationals, who made him their first draft pick 14 years ago. So he's been through all their highs, including four NL East titles, and lows, including early exit after early exit in the playoffs. He no longer is an everyday player - Game 4 marked his second start of this postseason - and his teammate-mandated dugout dance after his homer consisted of pretending to use a walker.

''He's been here forever,'' Rendon said. ''Man, he means everything to this city, to this team.''

This could be a last hurrah for Zimmerman with the Nationals, who hold an $18 million contract option on him in 2020. He insists he's not thinking about the future, other than figuring that he'll continue playing beyond this season.

''There's been a lot of people,'' Zimmerman said, ''that think these are my last games.''

That prompted Scherzer to pipe up.

''I really don't think,'' Scherzer said, ''these are his last games.''

TRAINER'S ROOM

Nationals: CF Victor Robles was out of the starting lineup for the second game in a row after straining his right hamstring in Game 2.

UP NEXT

The Game 5 starting pitchers both already have shown what they can do in this series. Buehler allowed just one hit in six innings and got the win in LA's 6-0 victory at home in Game 1 last Thursday. Strasburg started Game 2 a night later, a 4-2 Washington victory, and took a perfect game into the fifth inning while outdueling Kershaw. Strasburg struck out 10 and gave up just one run in six innings, leaving his career postseason ERA at 0.64 - the best in history for pitchers with at least four starts.

[StarDust Bum]

Torres leads Yankees to 5-1 win and sweep of Twins
October 7, 2019
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Gleyber Torres got New York going with a second-inning home run, scored on each of his two doubles and made a pair of sparkling defensive plays, fueling the Yankees to a 5-1 victory over Minnesota on Monday night to finish yet another sweep of the Twins and advance to the AL Championship Series.

Didi Gregorius hit two RBI singles for the Yankees, who stretched their postseason winning streak over the Twins to 13 straight games. Minnesota has lost 16 consecutive postseason games, matching matched the North American major sports record held by the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL from 1975-79.

New York starts the AL Championship Series on Saturday, at home against Tampa Bay or at Houston.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY OCTOBER 8, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
4:15 PM Houston Astros Tampa Bay Rays Tropicana Field


********************************


MLB PLAYOFF'S OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD.

10/07/2019.......3-5-0.........37.50%......-11.25
10/06/2019.......1-1-0.........50.00%........-0.50
10/05/2019.......2-1-0.........66.67%.......+5.00
10/04/2019.......3-3-0.........50.00%........-0.50
10/03/2019.......1-3-0.........25.00%........-9.65
10/02/2019.......1-1-0.........50.00%........-1.35
10/01/2019...... 0-2-0........ 0.00%....... -10.50


Totals............11-16-0........ 40.74%...... -28.25


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BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS.............UNITS. ............O/U...............UNITS.............TOTALS

10/07/2019.............2 - 0............+11.95.............0 - 4.............-22.00..............-10.05
10/06/2019.............0 - 0............+0.00...............1 - 1.............-0.50................-0.50
10/05/2019.............0 - 1.............-5.00...............2 - 0.............+10.00.............+5.00
10/04/2019.............2 - 1.............+3.45..............3 - 1.............+9.50...............+12.95
10/03/2019.............1 - 1.............+1.35..............0 - 2.............-11.00..............-9.65
10/02/2019.............0 - 1..............-6.35..............1 - 0.............+5.00...............-1.35
10/01/2019.............0 - 1..............-5.00..............0 - 1..............-5.50...............-10.50


Totals.....................5 - 5.............+0.40..............7 - 9.............-14.50...............-14.10

[StarDust Bum]

Tuesday’s 6-pack

Interesting spreads for this week’s college football:

— Oklahoma (-10) vs Texas

— Iowa State (-9.5) @ West Virginia

— Washington State @ Arizona State (-2.5)

— Washington (-5.5) @ Arizona

— Cincinnati (-7) @ Houston

— Penn State (-3.5) @ Iowa


Quote of the Day
“I thought he represented himself well. He gave us a chance. Gotta tip your cap to him. You’re talking about a guy who didn’t make our opening 53 and all of his things, we know his story. But you also got to acknowledge that he’s done some good things at every step along the way through the team developing process when given an opportunity and that’s why he’s in the position that he’s in and that’s probably why he made the positive showing as positive as he did today.”
Mike Tomlin, talking about his new QB, Devlin Hodges

Tuesday’s quiz
Which NFL team was the first to both win and lose a Super Bowl?

Monday’s quiz
Russell Wilson played college football for NC State, Wisconsin.

Sunday’s quiz
Tampa Bay Rays played the Phillies the one time they made the World Series.

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Tuesday’s List of 13: Nobody asked me, but……

13) 49ers 31, Browns 3— Monday at the Mirage Casino here in Las Vegas, someone wagered $120K to win $52K on the 49ers’ money line in this game. Good night for that guy.

— Mayfield completed 8-22 passes for 100 yards; a WR did drop an easy TD that turned into an INT when game was 14-3, but still, he had a miserable night.
— Total yardage was 446-180; luckily for TV networks, only one more primetime game for the overrated Browns.

12) Patrick Mahomes tweaked his ankle Sunday night when one of his own linemen stepped on the ankle while he was pass blocking.

Colts’ defense blitzed on 41.9% of Kansas City’s dropbacks, and they were effective.

11) Redskins fired coach Jay Gruden early Monday morning, which won’t help anything; he was 35-49-1 in Washington, with one playoff appearance.

Washington’ problem is that their owner is horrendous and he meddles; here are the Redskins’ head coaches since Daniel Snyder bought the ball club in 1999:

1994-2000: Norv Turner 50-60-1
2001: Marty Schottenheimer 8-8
2002-03: Steve Spurrier 12-20
2004-07: Joe Gibbs 31-36
2008-09: Jm Zorn 12-20
2010-13: Mike Shanahan 24-41
2014-19: Jay Gruden 35-49-1

Bill Callahan is the Redskins’ interim coach; he also replaced Jon Gruden as the Raiders’ coach when Gruden jumped to the Buccaneers.

10) Steelers kicked off to start overtime Sunday, which is very unusual, since a TD on the first possession ends the game. Ravens punted on their first drive, so it didn’t come into play, and Mike Tomlin was celebrating like they won the game when Baltimore punted, but Steelers fumbled and lost the game anyway.

Will be interesting to see how the Pittsburgh media deals with Tomlin if he has his first losing season as a head coach- they’re 1-4 right now, with the 3rd-string QB starting for a while.

9) Oregon State executed a drop kick/onside kick against UCLA Saturday; was pretty cool to see, and it worked like a charm. Beavers led 21-0 before first quarter was half over.

8) With Devlin Hodges expected to start at QB for the Steelers in LA Sunday, Paxton Lynch, a former 1st round draft pick of the Broncos, is going to be Hodges’ backup.

7) Quote of the Day, part II:
“I (bleep)ing love this!!!!”
Younger guy sitting in front of me the other night in the Aria sportsbook; he was just sitting there taking in all the action, when a couple of his bets won, he started yelling. Good stuff.

6) Blue Ribbon Basketball’s preseason top 6 teams:
Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, Florida, Louisville

5) Tampa Bay 10, Astros 3— Rays drew 32,251 for a 1:00 playoff game, and the TV guys were raving about what a great crowd it was. These teams play Game 4 at 4;30 tomorrow, will be interesting to see what they draw for that game.

4) Cardinals 5, Braves 4 (10)— Molina tied game with an 8th inning single, then won it with a sac fly in the 10th. Decisive Game 5 is Wednesday in Atlanta.

3) Tennessee Titans cut kicker Cairo Santos Monday, after he went 0-4 on field goals in their ugly 14-7 home loss to Buffalo Sunday; they’re expected to sign former Bears’ K Cody Parkey to replace Santos.

2) Kansas Jayhawks fired their offensive coordinator Sunday after only six games; you wonder what thats all about. The new OC has a small-college background- the NAIA team he coached LY averaged 55 ppg and 540.3 yards/game.

Jayhawks rank 101st nationally in scoring, 102nd in yards gained, 104th in passing and 116th in first downs per game.

Remember that college assistant coaches are equal parts tacticians/recruiters; players win games, and Kansas is obviously behind its Big X opponents in talent level.

1) Michael D. Smith posted this on Twitter Sunday:

2004 draft class ranked by career passing yards:
56,545 Ben Roethlisberger
56,537 Eli Manning
56,121 Philip Rivers
24,887 Matt Schaub
6,271 JP Losman
2,370 Luke McCown
929 Jim Sorgi
718 Craig Krenzel
342 John Navarre
195 Cody Pickett
136 Matt Mauck
53 Larry Fitzgerald

[StarDust Bum]

LEADING OFF: Verlander on short rest, Yadi magic
October 7, 2019
By The Associated Press

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:

RESTED ENOUGH

Justin Verlander will start on three days of rest as the Astros try to put away the Rays in Game 4 of their AL Division Series at Tampa Bay. It will be Verlander's second career start on short rest - the other came after a one-inning, rain-shortened appearance in the 2011 ALDS. Houston won the first two games of the series with a pair of dominant pitching performances from Verlander and Gerrit Cole, who combined to limit the Rays to one unearned run and five hits over 14 2/3 innings. Houston's other pitchers have allowed 12 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings, an ERA of 9.53.

''The thought process is five-game series are pretty crazy and we've got to win. Never know what can happen,'' Verlander said after the Astros' 10-3 loss in Game 3 on Monday. ''You can't put all your eggs in one basket and say if we lose tomorrow, we've got Justin and Gerrit (Cole) for Game 5. It's a crazy game.''

Tampa Bay will use Diego Castillo as an opener, and manager Kevin Cash said he'll play matchups with his bullpen after that.

BIG BIRD

The Cardinals and Braves are off before Wednesday's decisive Game 5 in Atlanta. Yadier Molina rallied St. Louis in Game 4, poking a tying single in the eighth inning and lifting a sacrifice fly to end it in the 10th. Molina slung his bat far into the outfield after his winning swing, and the crowd at Busch Stadium roared with the longtime heart of the franchise. Molina has 10 tying or go-ahead RBIs in his postseason career, tied with Sandy Alomar, Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench for most by a catcher.

''I like those moments,'' Molina said.

St. Louis will have ace Jack Flaherty on the mound Wednesday, and the Braves will go with Mike Foltynewicz.

EMPTY SEATS

Major League Baseball failed to sell out at least three of four postseason games Monday, leaving lots of empty seats at Tampa Bay, St. Louis and Washington. Sub-capacity crowds have become an expectation at Tropicana Field - even in October - but they were more striking elsewhere. The Cardinals, whose fans tout themselves as the best in baseball, hosted the Braves in front of 42,203 supporters, about 2,000 fewer than Busch Stadium's listed capacity. Meanwhile, entire sections in the upper deck were nearly empty as Max Scherzer pitched for Washington against the Dodgers. Prior to Monday, the only 2019 playoff games that failed to sell out were NLDS Games 1 and 2 at Dodger Stadium. Attendance during the regular season fell 1.7% this year for its fourth straight decline.

[StarDust Bum]

[StarDust Bum]

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, October 8

American League
Astros (2-1) @ Rays
Verlander is 6-1, 1.83 in his last seven starts; he is 6-3, 2.87 in 10 starts at the Trop, and is 14-7, 3.05 in 26 playoff games (25 starts).

Bullpen game for Tampa Bay; hard to handicap bullpen games.

Houston is in playoffs for 4th time in five years; they won 2017 World Series, lost ALCS LY. Astros are 5-5 vs Tampa Bay this year; home side won eight of the ten games, including all three games in this series.

Rays won the Wild Card game last Wednesday; they’re in playoffs for first time since 2013. Tampa Bay is 1-3 in the ALCS, winning their first one in 2008, losing the last three.




MLB

Tuesday, October 8

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Trend Report
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Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Tampa Bay is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 9 games
Tampa Bay is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games at home
Tampa Bay is 14-6 ATS in its last 20 games when playing Houston
Tampa Bay is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Houston
Tampa Bay is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing Houston
Tampa Bay is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Houston
Tampa Bay is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing at home against Houston
Houston Astros
Houston is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Houston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games
Houston is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
Houston is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Houston's last 14 games on the road
Houston is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
Houston is 6-14 ATS in its last 20 games when playing Tampa Bay
Houston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
Houston is 1-8 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Houston is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay


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MLB
Dunkel

Tuesday, October 8


Washington @ LA Dodgers

Game 915-916
October 9, 2019 @ 8:37 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
(Strasburg) 18.454
LA Dodgers
(Buehler) 17.250
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 1
9
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
LA Dodgers
-150
7
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(+130); Over


-----------------------------------------


MLB
Long Sheet

Tuesday, October 8

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON (109 - 56) at TAMPA BAY (98 - 68) - 7:07 PM
JUSTIN VERLANDER (R) vs. DIEGO CASTILLO (R)
Top Trends for this game.
HOUSTON is 45-35 (-12.7 Units) against the money line in road games this season.
HOUSTON is 70-45 (-8.1 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
HOUSTON is 17-18 (-12.2 Units) against the money line in road games after a loss this season.
TAMPA BAY is 188-140 (+24.1 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 116-70 (+28.8 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 78-72 (+19.8 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 21-14 (+8.8 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 5-5 (+1.5 Units) against HOUSTON this season
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=-0.8 Units, Under=-0.4 Units)

JUSTIN VERLANDER vs. TAMPA BAY since 1997
VERLANDER is 11-4 when starting against TAMPA BAY with an ERA of 3.01 and a WHIP of 1.090.
His team's record is 15-6 (+6.4 units) in these starts. The OVER is 6-13. (-8.1 units)

DIEGO CASTILLO vs. HOUSTON since 1997
No recent starts.

----------------------------------------------------

[StarDust Bum]

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

HOU at TB 07:07 PM

TB +208

O 7.5

[StarDust Bum]

Rays chase Verlander early, beat Astros 4-1 to even ALDS
October 8, 2019
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Willy Adames homered and made a sensational relay throw from shortstop, Tommy Pham also went deep and the Tampa Bay Rays chased Justin Verlander early in beating the Houston Astros 4-1 Tuesday night to even their AL Division Series at two games apiece.

Ryan Yarbrough and five other pitchers combined on a six-hitter for Tampa Bay. Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell came out of the bullpen for his first career relief appearance, holding off Houston in the ninth inning to earn the save.

Verlander, starting on short rest after dominating the wild-card Rays in Game 1, looked uncomfortable on the mound and was pulled in the fourth after giving up four runs.

The best-of-five series shifts back to Houston for a decisive Game 5 on Thursday.

Verlander, whose eight career ALDS victories are a major league record, yielded three runs in the first. Adames homered leading off the fourth to make it 4-0, and the Houston ace didn't make it through the inning.

The Rays helped themselves by playing stellar defense, especially with the Astros threatening to cut into their three-run deficit. Adames and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier executed a perfect relay to nail Jose Altuve trying to score from first on Yordan Alvarez's double that Kiermaier handled cleanly off the wall before turning and throwing to cutoff man Adames. He fired home just in time to get the speedy Altuve.

Ji-Man Choi turned two line drives into unassisted double plays at first base.

Rays opener Diego Castillo was followed by Yarbrough, who worked two scoreless innings to get the win. Nick Anderson handed off to Colin Poche, who gave up an eighth-inning homer to Robinson Chirinos.

Emilio Pagan and Snell finished up for the Rays, who have rebounded from losing the first two games of the series on the road to Verlander and Houston's other headliner, Gerrit Cole.

Altuve drew a one-out walk and Alex Bregman singled to enable the Astros to bring the potential tying run to the plate in the ninth.

Snell, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner who started Game 2, entered and struck out Alvarez before retiring Yuli Gurriel on a sharp grounder up the middle - exactly where the Rays were playing him - to end the game.

Charlie Morton, who helped Houston win the World Series two years ago, began the Rays' comeback by beating his former team 10-3 on Monday.

Needing one victory to advance to the AL Championship Series for the third straight year, the Astros opted to start Verlander on just three days of rest in hopes of closing out the Rays, who have won three elimination games in a week to stay in the running for their first trip to the ALCS since 2008.

Manager AJ Hinch said it was an easy decision to go with Verlander, who was 8-0 in 12 ALDS appearances, including 11 starts, before Tuesday night.

Verlander limited the Rays to one hit over seven scoreless innings in Game 1, and it looked as though Tampa Bay might be in for another long night when the Astros ace fanned Austin Meadows to begin the bottom of the first.

What transpired over the next six batters - beginning with Pham's 408-foot, first-inning shot to left-center that got a yellow flag-waving, boisterous crowd of 32,178 into it - figures to fuel second-guessing of Hinch that'll extend well beyond the end of the series if Houston doesn't return home and win Game 5.

Four of the next five Rays also reached base, building the lead to 3-0 with Travis d'Arnaud hitting a sharp grounder through the hole between third base and shortstop for an RBI single and Joey Wendle lining a double into the right-field corner to drive in another run.

PACKED HOUSE

Seating capacity at Tropicana Field was reduced to 25,025 this year, but the Rays removed the tarps covering a portion of the upper deck to allow more fans an opportunity to buy tickets for Games 3 and 4. After drawing 32,251 - more than twice the club's AL-worst season average of 14,734 per game - on Monday, attendance was announced as 32,178 on Tuesday night.

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said the team, which routinely ranks near or at the bottom of the majors in attendance, appreciated the support.

''Certainly, players like to play in front of a lot of fans. Everybody recognizes that,'' Cash said. ''But when it mattered, when it counted ... they showed up.''

CROWDED AISLE

Astros SS Carlos Correa returned to the lineup for the ALDS after missing the final seven games of the regular season due to back tightness that flared up during a flight to Seattle. He said Tuesday that he's 100 percent healthy and he's not placing any limitations on himself in the playoffs. He also revealed what he's doing to try to avoid his back tightening up again during a plane ride.

''I'm laying on the aisle,'' Correa said, adding he ''felt awesome'' when he arrived in Florida before Game 3.

''Got my sleep, got my rest,'' he added. ''Just happy to be back with the team and on the field once again.''

Hinch doesn't have any objection to the new routine.

''I'm a `yes' on any of that that makes him feel better,'' Hinch said. ''I've not gone to the part of the plane where he's sprawled out, but he can do whatever he wants, as long as he's healthy.''

UP NEXT

Game 5 in Houston on Thursday.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
5:02 PM St. Louis Cardinals Atlanta Braves SunTrust Park
8:37 PM Washington Nationals Los Angeles Dodgers Dodger Stadium

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY OCTOBER 10, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:07 PM Tampa Bay Rays Houston Astros Minute Maid Park


************************************


MLB PLAYOFF'S OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD.


10/08/2019.......1-1-0.........50.00%......+4.90
10/07/2019.......3-5-0.........37.50%......-11.25
10/06/2019.......1-1-0.........50.00%........-0.50
10/05/2019.......2-1-0.........66.67%.......+5.00
10/04/2019.......3-3-0.........50.00%........-0.50
10/03/2019.......1-3-0.........25.00%........-9.65
10/02/2019.......1-1-0.........50.00%........-1.35
10/01/2019...... 0-2-0........ 0.00%....... -10.50


Totals............12-17-0........ 41.37%...... -23.35


*****************************


BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS.............UNITS. ............O/U...............UNITS.............TOTALS


10/08/2019.............1 - 0............+10.40.............0 - 1............-5.50................+4.90
10/07/2019.............2 - 0............+11.95.............0 - 4.............-22.00..............-10.05
10/06/2019.............0 - 0............+0.00...............1 - 1.............-0.50................-0.50
10/05/2019.............0 - 1.............-5.00...............2 - 0.............+10.00.............+5.00
10/04/2019.............2 - 1.............+3.45..............3 - 1.............+9.50...............+12.95
10/03/2019.............1 - 1.............+1.35..............0 - 2.............-11.00..............-9.65
10/02/2019.............0 - 1..............-6.35..............1 - 0.............+5.00...............-1.35
10/01/2019.............0 - 1..............-5.00..............0 - 1..............-5.50...............-10.50


Totals.....................6 - 5.............+10.80...........7 - 10.............-20.00...............-9.20

[StarDust Bum]

Wednesday’s 6-pack

Trends for this week’s NFL games:

— Ravens covered once in last nine division games.

— Green Bay covered 10 of its last 13 games.

— Giants are 7-2 ATS in last nine games as a road underdog.

— Jaguars are 4-22 ATS in last 26 games vs NFC teams.

— Minnesota is 21-5-1 in last 27 games as a home favorite.

— Chargers covered twice in last 10 games as a home favorite.


Quote of the Day
“I thought it might happen last week after the Giants game — based on reports. And [the Redskins] never said, ‘You’re not getting fired,’ so I assumed I was. I had a good staff there, and hopefully they can make it work in the last 11 games and stick around. It’s a good group.”
Jay Gruden

Wednesday’s quiz
Burgess Meredith was famous for playing Rocky Balboa’s trainer in the Rocky movies; what villain did he play on the old Batman TV series?

Tuesday’s quiz
Kansas City Chiefs were the first team to both win (IV) and lose (I) a Super Bowl.

Monday’s quiz
Russell Wilson played college football for NC State, Wisconsin.

*******************

Wednesday’s Den: Notes on all the NFC teams…….

Arizona:
— Cardinals have only one takeaway in their last four games (-2 in TO’s for year).
— Arizona is 14-10-1 ATS in last 25 games as a home underdog.
— Road team covered their last four games.

Atlanta:
— Falcons allowed 12 TD’s on their opponents’ last 25 drives.
— Atlanta averaged 8.1+ yards/pass attempt in four of their five games.
— Falcons covered only four of their last 19 road games.

Carolina:
— Panthers are 3-0, scoring 32.7 ppg, with Kyle Allen at QB.
— Carolina has nine takeaways (+5) in its last three games.
— Panthers ran for only 39 yards in Week 2’s 20-14 home loss to Tampa Bay.

Chicago:
— Bears allowed total of 45 points in Weeks 1-4, then gave up 24 points to Oakland Sunday.
— Chicago was 8-13 on 3rd down vs Washington; other four games? 15-53
— Bears are 0-5 SU/ATS in their last five post-bye games.

Dallas:
— First three games: 18-31 on third down. Last two games: 6-19.
— Cowboys were outscored 26-3 in first half of their last two games.
— Dak Prescott: 35-18 as an NFL starter; 24-5 vs losing teams, 11-13 vs winning teams.

Detroit:
— All four Detroit games have been decided by 4 or fewer points.
— Lions have nine takeaways but also six giveaways in four games this year.
— Detroit won/covered six of its last seven post-bye games.

Green Bay:
— Packers are +7 in turnovers, won/covered four of first five games.
— Green Bay is 22-13-2 ATS in last 37 games as a home favorite.
— Packers scored 88 points in first half of games, 37 in second half.

LA Rams:
— Rams scored 69 points in last two games, but lost both of them.
— Under McVay, LA is 13-7 ATS away from home.
— Average points scored in 2nd half of Ram games this year: 34.8

Minnesota:
— Vikings ran ball for 172+ yards in 4 of 5 games; Bears held them to 40.
— Under Zimmer, Minnesota is 24-7-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— Under is 4-1 in Viking games, only one of which was decided by less than 10 points.

NY Giants:
— Giants scored 32-24 points in their wins, 17 or less in their losses.
— Big Blue is 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games as a road underdog.

— Giants covered 10 of their last 13 games on natural grass.

New Orleans:
— Saints are 18-8 ATS in their last 26 road games.
— NO opponents converted only 17 of last 49 third down plays.
— Saints won all three of Bridgewater’s starts, scoring 33-12-31 points.

Philadelphia:
— Eagles are 3-0 when they score 31+ points, 0-2 when they do not.
— Philly is 5-3 ATS in its last eight games as a road underdog.
— Eagles have converted 37-70 third down plays this year.

San Francisco:
— SF ran ball for 702 yards in their last three games.
— 49ers have 11 takeaways in four games, but also eight turnovers.
— Last time SF was NFC’s last unbeaten team was 1984.

Seattle:
— Seahawks scored 27+ points in each of their last four games.
— Seattle is just 21-59 on 3rd down, but scored 98 points on 16 red zone drives.
— Seahawks are 8-4-1 ATS in last 13 games as a road underdog.

Tampa Bay:
— Buccaneers allowed 31+ points in four of their five games.
— Tampa Bay has eight takeaways (+6) in its last four games.
— Average total in Bucs’ last three games: 71.0.

Washington:
— Redskins didn’t score in second half of their last two games.
— Washington is 0-5, with last four losses all by 10+ points.
— Would expect them to run ball with Callahan the new coach.

[StarDust Bum]

Nats, Dodgers decide NLDS in Game 5
October 8, 2019
By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) Stephen Strasburg's 2012 shutdown is a distant memory by now.

This sort of setting and stakes - Game 5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the outcome of the NL Division Series on the line - is exactly why the Washington Nationals protected the pitcher they drafted No. 1 overall all those years ago.

Strasburg will get the ball for visiting wild card Washington, and Walker Buehler will be on the mound for league-best LA on Wednesday night in the finale of the best-of-five series.

''Better to be at home than on the road in Game 5,'' Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger said.

The Dodgers were 59-22 at home in the regular season, when they drew over 3 million fans.

''We play great at home. Walker loves being at home, our guys hit well at home,'' Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. ''Very confident we're going to come out of this and move on.''

The Dodgers are trying to reach the NL Championship Series for the fourth consecutive year, while the Nationals have never won a playoff series since the franchise moved from Montreal to Washington in 2005.

''We've got their big horse against one of our horses,'' Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki said.

Each starter already had a fantastic outing to earn a win in the series: Buehler gave up just one hit while tossing six scoreless innings in Game 1; Strasburg struck out 10 and allowed one run in six innings in Game 2.

That lowered Strasburg's postseason ERA to 0.64, the lowest for anyone with at least four career starts.

''It's something that you train for, you dream about as a kid,'' he said, ''and you want to have those opportunities to just see how your stuff stacks up.''

It's the sort of production Washington was envisioning when general manager Mike Rizzo held the righty out of the playoffs seven seasons ago, a year after Strasburg had Tommy John surgery.

''Try not to look in the past. Try not to look in the future. Really just try and be in the moment,'' Strasburg said when asked about 2012 on Monday night, after Washington beat Los Angeles 6-1 in Game 4 to force a Game 5. ''Once you start thinking about how things could have been or what things might happen, it takes your focus away from what your job is.''

Buehler will be making his sixth postseason start; he is 1-1 with a 3.03 ERA. Last year, he appeared in one game in the NLDS, two in the NLCS and one in the World Series, in which the Dodgers lost to the Boston Red Sox.

''Something I'm familiar with,'' he said of the pressure of the playoffs, ''and getting to do it at home certainly helps.''

As important as Strasburg and Buehler are sure to be, the bullpens could hold the key.

Washington's relievers had the worst ERA in the NL in 2019, but manager Dave Martinez has relied heavily on starters to come out of the 'pen during the playoffs, with mixed results, including giving away Game 3 of the NLDS during LA's seven-run sixth.

It was the Dodgers' turn to struggle in Game 4, when the Nationals produced a four-run inning against relievers.

One thing to keep an eye out for Wednesday: The Dodgers will have three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw available to enter in relief.

Three years ago, when LA eliminated Washington in the NLDS, Kershaw came out of the bullpen in Game 5 to earn the first save of his career.

Roberts said there's potential for Kershaw to go multiple innings.

''It's kind of whatever is called for,'' the manager said.

Don't expect to see that sort of thing from the Nationals' three-Cy guy, Max Scherzer.

He threw 109 pitches over seven innings in Game 4, then said he didn't think he'd be able to pitch again Wednesday, because, as Scherzer put it, ''My arm is hanging right now.''

That 2016 exit against the Dodgers is part of a bleak playoff history for the Nationals: They have been eliminated from the NLDS four times over the past eight years and are 0-3 in Game 5s.

''Maybe,'' lefty reliever Sean Doolittle said, ''we can flip that script.''

One difference this time: Those Game 5s were all in Washington.

Another key difference for the Nationals: Strasburg is starting in a Game 5 for the first time.

''He's been a workhorse the whole season, so just the fact that he's carried it over to the playoffs has been amazing,'' said Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon, who led the majors with 126 RBIs this season and drove in three in Game 4. ''So looking forward to playing behind him.''