Announcement

**Udog** · 09-30-2019, 10:04 PM

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

Payrolls for the 10 playoff teams in baseball:

New York $203,897,446
Washington $197,203,691
LA Dodgers $196,279,677
St Louis $162,620,267
Houston $158,053,000
Milwaukee $122,530,400
Minnesota $119,651,933
Atlanta $115,247,089
A’s $92,178,833
Tampa Bay $60,084,133

**********

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

13) Three years ago, the Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years; Sunday, they fired manager Joe Maddon, who led them to that title.

When he was in Boston, Cubs GM Theo Epstein fired manager Terry Francona after the 2011 season; Francona won two World Series in eight years with the Red Sox, Boston’s first World Series titles in 86 years.

Not a lot of loyalty there, in either case.

Maddon is 65 years old and made $6M this year; his successor will be younger and a lot cheaper.

12) The analytics crowd in baseball doesn’t value the field manager as much as they should; teams live/travel together for 7+ months. Having the right manager makes all the difference.

If you read this site, you know I love numbers, but those guys aren’t playing fantasy baseball, managers have to deal with fragile egos and huge egos and convince guys to accept what is best for the team- they have to have real life people skills. You think major league players like to be platooned constantly?

My point is this; maybe it isn’t Joe Maddon’s fault the Cubs faded down the stretch; maybe the roster Theo Epstein gave him just wasn’t good enough.

11) Angels fired manager Brad Ausmus after only one season, a year where one of their starting pitchers was found dead in his hotel room on a road trip; not exactly an ideal scenario.

Popular wisdom is that the Angels will go after former Angel coach Maddon to be their next manager.

10) Pirates fired manager Clint Hurdle, who was 735-720 in nine years managing the Pirates, with three playoff appearances. From 2013-15, Pirates were 280-206, and made the playoffs all three years. He also led the Rockies to a World Series; pretty strong resume.

9) Cleveland Indians won 93 games this year, the most by any non-playoff team since 2000, when the Mets went 94-68 but missed the playoffs by a game.

8) Pete Alonso hit 53 homers for the Mets this year; 31 of them came with the bases empty.

7) Friday night against the Dodgers, San Francisco became the first team since the 1950 Cardinals to score 2 or less runs in a game, while stranding 17+ runners on base.

6) Monthly sports betting handle:
May: Nevada $317.3M, New Jersey $318.9M
June: Nevada $322.5M, New Jersey $317.3M
July: Nevada $235M, New Jersey $251M
August: Nevada $287.7M, New Jersey $293.5M (Pennsylvania $109M)

5) Early in his career, Dodger SS Corey Seager irritated LA officials with the number of swings he took before, during and after games; they thought he overdid it. Seager was obsessed with perfecting his swing; when he had to miss 2018 with elbow/hip injuries, he became more coachable this year and had a solid 2019, hitting .272 with 84 RBI.

4) 10 years ago, the under-18 U.S. national baseball team had Tony Wolters, Nick Castellanos, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado on it, as well as pitchers Kevin Gausman, Robbie Ray and Jameson Taillon. Pretty good team; half of the 20 players made the major leagues.

3) Rutgers fired football coach Chris Ash before baseball season ended, which is unusual. Not a lot of college football coaches get the boot before Columbus Day.

2) Steelers 27, Bengals 3:
— This was a bad football game; the Bengals’ offensive line was terrible.
— Andy Dalton was sacked eight times; he averaged 2.3 yards/pass attempt.
— Two of Pittsburgh’s three TD’s were on drives of less than 50 yards.

1) I know he is just an actor and he isn’t the characters he portrays, but I would still be queasy if Robert DeNiro was mad at me.

**Udog** · 09-30-2019, 10:05 PM

MLB
Weather Report

Tuesday, October 1

Wednesday, October 2

**Udog** · 09-30-2019, 10:07 PM

911MILWAUKEE -912 WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON is 26-9 SU (18.5 Units) vs. an NL team with a batting average of .255 or worse in the second half of the season in the current season.

913TAMPA BAY -914 OAKLAND
OAKLAND is 19-8 SU (14.3 Units) in home games vs. good power teams - averaging 1.25 or more HR's/game in the second half of the season in the current season.

MLB
Dunkel

Tuesday, October 1

Milwaukee @ Washington

Game 911-912
October 1, 2019 @ 8:08 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Milwaukee
(Woodruff) 15.583
Washington
(Scherzer) 18.603
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 3
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
-175
7 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-175); Under

Wednesday, October 2

Tampa Bay @ Oakland

Game 913-914
October 2, 2019 @ 8:09 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Tampa Bay
(Morton) 16.296
Oakland
(TBD) 14.877
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Tampa Bay
by 1 1/2
9
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Oakland
-150
7 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Tampa Bay
(+130); Over

MLB
Long Sheet

Tuesday, October 1

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

MILWAUKEE (89 - 73) at WASHINGTON (93 - 69) - 8:08 PM
BRANDON WOODRUFF (R) vs. MAX SCHERZER (R)
Top Trends for this game.
MILWAUKEE is 191-144 (+31.3 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 80-56 (+20.5 Units) against the money line when the total is 8 to 8.5 over the last 2 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 39-36 (+19.8 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +125 to +175 over the last 3 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 87-80 (+9.4 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 50-40 (+17.0 Units) against the money line on the road when the total is 8 to 8.5 over the last 3 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 125-86 (+28.2 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 139-98 (+29.1 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 80-62 (+14.9 Units) against the money line after a loss over the last 2 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 88-73 (+20.8 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 50-37 (+18.2 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
WOODRUFF is 18-4 (+13.1 Units) against the money line in all games this season. (Team's Record)
WOODRUFF is 13-2 (+10.6 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
WOODRUFF is 9-1 (+8.5 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season. (Team's Record)
WASHINGTON is 175-149 (-20.6 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 47-49 (-18.2 Units) against the money line when the total is 8 to 8.5 over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 212-185 (-59.0 Units) against the money line as a home favorite of -125 to -175 since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 91-71 (-16.6 Units) against the money line in home games over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 19-23 (-15.9 Units) against the money line when playing with a day off over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 106-94 (-13.5 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 92-83 (-25.1 Units) against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 46-46 (-14.1 Units) against the money line in home games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
SCHERZER is 1-7 (-10.2 Units) against the money line as a home favorite of -125 to -175 over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
SCHERZER is 6-9 (-11.0 Units) against the money line in home games this season. (Team's Record)
SCHERZER is 2-6 (-10.7 Units) against the money line in home games after a win this season. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
MILWAUKEE is 4-2 (+2.1 Units) against WASHINGTON this season
4 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+1.8 Units)

BRANDON WOODRUFF vs. WASHINGTON since 1997
WOODRUFF is 1-0 when starting against WASHINGTON with an ERA of 1.38 and a WHIP of 0.538.
His team's record is 1-1 (+0.0 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-1. (+0.0 units)

MAX SCHERZER vs. MILWAUKEE since 1997
SCHERZER is 2-2 when starting against MILWAUKEE with an ERA of 1.80 and a WHIP of 0.900.
His team's record is 3-5 (-5.2 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 5-3. (+1.8 units)

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

Wednesday, October 2

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

TAMPA BAY (96 - 66) at OAKLAND (97 - 65) - 8:09 PM
CHARLIE MORTON (R) vs. SEAN MANAEA (L)
Top Trends for this game.
OAKLAND is 96-64 (+22.8 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
OAKLAND is 52-27 (+15.8 Units) against the money line in home games this season.
OAKLAND is 62-40 (+17.7 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
OAKLAND is 127-92 (+30.7 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters over the last 2 seasons.
OAKLAND is 38-24 (+11.9 Units) against the money line after a loss this season.
OAKLAND is 41-24 (+23.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
OAKLAND is 24-14 (+15.4 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
TAMPA BAY is 186-138 (+23.7 Units) against the money line in all games over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 79-66 (+15.5 Units) against the money line in road games in night games over the last 3 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 76-70 (+19.4 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 38-23 (+23.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
MORTON is 12-1 (+10.8 Units) against the money line on the road when the total is 8 to 8.5 over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
OAKLAND is 4-3 (+1.5 Units) against TAMPA BAY this season
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+2.9 Units)

CHARLIE MORTON vs. OAKLAND since 1997
MORTON is 2-1 when starting against OAKLAND with an ERA of 3.20 and a WHIP of 1.144.
His team's record is 2-5 (-6.2 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 3-4. (-1.5 units)

SEAN MANAEA vs. TAMPA BAY since 1997
MANAEA is 1-1 when starting against TAMPA BAY with an ERA of 2.70 and a WHIP of 0.950.
His team's record is 2-1 (+0.9 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-2. (-1.3 units)

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

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, October 1

Tuesday’s game
National League Wild Card Game
Brewers (89-73) @ Nationals (93-69)
Woodruff threw four scoreless innings in two opens since coming off IL in September; he is likely to go two innings here, then it is a bullpen game. Woodruff is 2-0, 0.96 in four career games (2 starts) vs Washington, and is 1-1, 1.46 in four career playoff games (1 start, total 12.1 IP), all of which were LY.

Scherzer is 1-2, 6.11 in his last three starts; he is 2-2, 2.29 in nine career games (8 starts) vs Milwaukee. He is 4-5, 3.73 in 16 career playoff games (13 starts), 0-2, 4.66 in four playoff games (3 starts) for Washington.

Milwaukee is 4-2 vs Washington this year; home side won five of the six games, with Brewers losing two of three games in Washington.

Brewers are in playoffs for only 4th time since 1982, but 2nd year in a row; they lost NLCS in seven games LY.

Nationals are in playoffs for 5th time in eight years; they lost in NLDS last four times they were in playoffs, three times in a 5th game.

Wednesday’s game
American League Wild Card Game
Rays (96-66) @ A’s (97-65)
Morton is 3-0, 2.73 in his last five starts; he is 2-2, 4.60 in seven career playoff games (6 starts), and is 2-1, 2.97 in seven career starts vs Oakland.

Manaea is 4-0, 1.21 in five starts (29.2 IP) this year, as he comes back from injury; he is 1-1, 2.70 in three starts vs Tampa Bay. This will be his first postseason appearance.

Oakland is 4-3 vs Tampa Bay this year; teams split four games played here.

Rays are in playoffs for first time since 2013.

A’s are in playoffs for 2nd year in a row, 5th time in eight years- they lost the Wild Card game in New York LY.

MLB

Tuesday, October 1

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Washington Nationals
Washington is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games
Washington is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games at home
Washington is 1-8 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Milwaukee
Washington is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 8 games when playing Milwaukee
Washington is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing at home against Milwaukee
Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee is 10-5 ATS in its last 15 games
Milwaukee is 18-5 SU in its last 23 games
Milwaukee is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games on the road
Milwaukee is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Washington
Milwaukee is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Milwaukee's last 8 games when playing Washington
Milwaukee is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Milwaukee's last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington

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

**Udog** · 09-30-2019, 10:09 PM

Wild Card Trends
September 30, 2019
By VI News

MLB Wild Card History & Trends (2012-2018)

-- Favorites have won seven of the last eight Wild Card games

-- The 'over' is on a 3-1 run the past two years

-- Road teams have gone 8-6 overall

-- Favorites have gone 10-4 overall

-- Two wild card games have gone into extra innings and the underdog won both contests

-- The 'over'/under' has gone 7-7 overall

2018 WILD CARD RESULTS
Game Matchup Score Favorite-Underdog Over-Under
AL Oakland at N.Y. Yankees (-200) 7-2 Favorite Over (8.5)
NL Colorado (+125) at Chicago 2-1 (13) Underdog Under (7.5)

2017 WILD CARD RESULTS
Game Matchup Score Favorite-Underdog Over-Under
AL Minnesota at N.Y. Yankees (-255) 8-4 Favorite Over (7.5)
NL Colorado at Arizona (-150) 11-8 Favorite Over (8.5)

2016 WILD CARD RESULTS
Game Matchup Score Favorite-Underdog Over-Under
AL Baltimore at Toronto (-165) 5-2 Favorite Under (8.5)
NL San Francisco (-120) at N.Y. Mets 2-0 Favorite Under (6)

2015 WILD CARD RESULTS
Game Matchup Score Favorite-Underdog Over-Under
AL Houston (-110) at N.Y. Yankees 3-0 Favorite Under (7)
NL Chicago (-125) at Pittsburgh 4-0 Favorite Under (5.5)

2014 WILD CARD RESULTS
Game Matchup Score Favorite-Underdog Over-Under
AL Oakland at Kansas City (+100) 9-8 (12) Underdog Over (6.5)
NL San Francisco (-110) at Pittsburgh 8-0 Favorite Over (6.5)

2013 WILD CARD RESULTS
Game Matchup Score Favorite-Underdog Over-Under
AL Tampa Bay (-110) at Cleveland 6-2 Favorite Over (6.5)
NL Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (-145) 4-0 Favorite Under (7)

2012 WILD CARD RESULTS
Game Matchup Score Favorite-Underdog Over-Under
AL Baltimore (+210) at Texas 5-2 Underdog Under 9
NL St. Louis (+155) at Atlanta 6-3 Underdog Over 6.5

**Udog** · 09-30-2019, 10:09 PM

NL Wild Card Best Bet
Matt Blunt

Milwaukee at Washington (TBS, 8:08 p.m. ET)

Really meaningful baseball is back in all of our lives now with the playoffs set to go on Tuesday night, and Wild Card games can be a great way to kick off what should be a great October. Yet, generally speaking, since these Wild Card games were instituted in 2012, you generally don't want to close with a plus-sign beside your name in the ML prices.

Only three underdogs (outside of general pick'em range) have gone on to play in the Divisional round, so Brewers and Rays backers have that working against them.

The price seems to matter more than the site for these games, as road teams do own a 8-6 SU advantage overall, doing most of that damage in the National League with a 5-2 SU record. Even without Yelich available, a Milwaukee/LA Dodgers series has the narratives there to make that NLDS very interesting, but again, working a make-shift bullpen day on the road as (more importantly) big underdogs, against the great Max Scherzer isn't exactly ideal for Milwaukee.

Opening Odds: Milwaukee (+165) vs. Washington (-180), Total 7.5

Really tough spot for the Brewers overall, on the road, at the end of essentially a tough week-long road trip, their fourth city in a little over a week, off getting swept in Colorado, starting a guy they know can't stretch out much past three or four innings, against the great Max Scherzer and a Nats team that's won eight in a row. Did I leave anything out? Oh yeah, no reigning NL MVP available in your lineup.

Tough to make a case for the Brewers with all that stacked up in your face, but that may be precisely why there is a case on Milwaukee; it's hard to figure how they'll get it done. But I mean, it's not like Scherzer has been Scherzer since returning from the IL, sporting a 6.11 ERA in his final three starts of the year. I mean, it's not often you'll find three-game stretches in Scherzer's career where he had more hits allowed than innings pitched.

Washington's bullpen tightened up things down the stretch to secure this home playoff game, but now with the stakes amped up does the tightened pressure of the scenario have them revert back to their gas can-like ways? I mean the scores the last two times these two played this year finished 16-8 and 15-14. A relatively short, ineffective night from Scherzer puts that Nats bullpen in the spotlight early, and who knows how good of a thing that can be for Washington.

2019 Meetings (Brewers 4-2, Over 4-2)

May 6 - Milwaukee (-110) 5 vs. Washington 3, Over 7.5
May 7 - Milwaukee (-113) 6 vs. Washington 0, Under 8
May 8 - Milwaukee (-200) 7 vs. Washington 3, Over 8.5

Aug. 16 - Washington (-155) 2 vs. Milwaukee 1, Under 9
Aug. 17 - Milwaukee (+115) 15 at Washington 14, Over 10.5
Aug. 18 - Washington (-105) 16 vs. Milwaukee 8, Over 11

Basically what I'm saying here, is the case for Milwaukee can be there, but with all that's facing them in terms of negative situational angles, it's tough to consider pulling the trigger on the Brewers. It's also saying that I want no part of Washington here as even on an eight-game winning streak I'd have a tough time trusting them in a close game late.

A Woodruff-to-bullpen outing for Milwaukee should let the Nats offense click early, but teams are putting high stress innings on Scherzer much earlier these days, and a 3-3 type game going into the closing third of the game is very reasonable.

An early offensive explosion by the Nats against Woodruff, or a late implosion by the Nats bullpen likely has the 'over' get there with ease in either case, but even in a close game, I think we see a few more runs then this number suggests.

Washington's scored 4+ runs in eight straight games, and 6+ runs in six of those games. Get to that number early and even a 6-2 Nats win in a dominant outing by Scherzer gets the 'over' home. All those negative scenarios that have the Brewers fighting uphill from the start have them struggling to keep their opponent off the scoreboard early a real issue.

Washington likely wins, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't rooting for Milwaukee, but the 'over' is the play.

Best Bet: Over 7.5 runs

**Udog** · 09-30-2019, 10:10 PM

AL Wild Card Best Bet
Matt Blunt

Tampa Bay at Oakland (ESPN, 8:09 p.m. ET)

Really meaningful baseball is back in all of our lives now with the playoffs set to go on Tuesday night, and Wild Card games can be a great way to kick off what should be a great October. Yet, generally speaking, since these Wild Card games were instituted in 2012, you generally don't want to close with a plus-sign beside your name in the ML prices.

Only three underdogs (outside of general pick'em range) have gone on to play in the Divisional round, so Rays backers have that working against them.

The price seems to matter more than the site for these games, as road teams do own a 8-6 SU advantage overall, doing most of that damage in the National League with a 5-2 SU record.

Over on the other side, AL home teams have won three in a row – all three as hefty -160 chalk or greater – and only the first Wild Card game back in 2012 saw the underdog closing at plus-money win the game outright.

That was the great Baltimore Orioles team of 2012 that had a breaking-in Manny Machado, a Chris Davis that wouldn't strike out 80% of the time, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, and even Jake Arrieta on the initial climb of winning a Cy Young.

This year, the Rays have that underdog role working against them as they visit an Oakland franchise that's 0-2 SU in Wildcard games in the past. But the A's are also the only MLB franchise to make at least two Wild Card games and not win at least once, so it's not like history's completely on their side either.

Opening Odds: Tampa Bay (+126) vs Oakland (-136); Total 7.5

Still some pitching decisions to be made in this one for the hosts in Oakland, as Tampa's already decided to go with Charlie Morton this year and hope that the 2019 version of Charlie Morton stays hot. Morton was a huge reason as to why Tampa Bay found themselves in this game this year, and the way he closed out the year with his Rays team winning each of his last five starts was quite impressive.

And while Morton is coming off an impressive start of one-hit ball in six innings pitched, as good as that has to make some feel about he and the Rays chances in this game, it's got me a bit queasy. With it coming at the end of a solid stretch of pitching performances for Morton and it being do-or-die, that queasy feeling gets a little worse when thinking about backing Tampa Bay.

2019 Meetings (Athletics 4-3, Under 5-2)

June 10 - Rays (-240) 6 vs. Athletics 2, Under 9
June 11 - Athletics (+140) at Rays 3, Under 9
June 12 - Athletics (+136) at Rays 2, Under 8.5

June 20 - Athletics (-110) 5 vs. Rays 4, Over 7.5
June 21 - Rays (-101) 5 at Athletics 3, Under 9
June 22 - Athletics (-105) 4 vs. Rays 2, Under 9
June 23 - Rays (+115) 8 at Athletics, Over 9

Oakland's Wild Card history without a win in multiple appearances can be a mental hurdle if the A's let it. Last year's trip to New York for this game ended poorly for the A's as they went the bullpen day route that Milwaukee's likely to use some variation this year and got burned for it.

But Oakland fans only have to look to the Colorado Rockies as an example of the most recent team to get back to the Wild Card game after losing it the year before, as a 2017 NL Wildcard road loss turned into a 2018 NL Wild Card win for them.

It will be interesting to see who the A's start (and for how long), but it is hard not to like them at home for this game. Moneyball deserves a shot in a full playoff series for the first time since 2013, and the A's just have consistently better offensive production from their big names like Chapman and Olson to trust they'll get the job done. Last year's loss in New York was a necessary experience for those guys to improve, and it pays off with a Wild Card win this year.

Besides if you root for chaos in the playoffs at times, who's got a better shot to take out Houston then a division rival in the A's right?

Best Bet: Oakland ML

**Udog** · 10-01-2019, 08:05 AM

Scherzer, Nats open playoffs vs Brewers
Associated Press

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

START `EM UP

Max Scherzer throws the first pitch of this year's playoffs when Washington takes on the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL wild-card game at Nationals Park (8:08 p.m. EDT).

Since a 2013 AL Division Series victory for Detroit, Scherzer has made seven postseason appearances, in a mix of starting and relieving roles, and his teams are 0-7. Scherzer himself is 0-4 in that stretch, lowering his career record in the postseason from 4-1 to 4-5.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner was 11-7 with a 2.92 ERA was slowed by back trouble this season. The Nats will have Stephen Strasburg (18-6, 3.32) ready in the bullpen.

Brandon Woodruff (11-3, 3.62) will start for the Brewers. He has pitched in only two games since returning from a strained left oblique that sidelined him for nearly two full months; he went two hitless innings each time.

The Nationals are 0-3 in winner-take-all postseason games, all at home. They've never advanced in four previous trips to the playoffs over the past eight years.

The Brewers made it to Game 7 of the NL Championship Series last year before falling to the Dodgers. Milwaukee surged to the playoffs this September despite losing NL MVP Christian Yelich to a broken kneecap.

Milwaukee outfielders Ryan Braun and Lorenzo Cain each missed time in the last week with ailments. Braun expects to play; there's no decision yet on Cain.

WRIGLEY WRANGLING

The field of candidates to be the next manager of the Cubs is beginning to take shape. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein says former catcher David Ross is on the broad list being assembled by the front office. He also said he wants to talk to at least one member of the coaching staff about the job, and at least one other candidate is working for a team in the playoffs.

''We're full speed ahead,'' Epstein said.

The Cubs announced Sunday that manager Joe Maddon will not be back next year. His contract expired after they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

The 42-year-old Ross played on the 2016 Cubs team that won the World Series. He serves as a special assistant in the team's baseball operations department, and also works for ESPN.

''I think it's one of the best jobs in baseball,'' Ross said on the network Sunday. ''I've got a lot of close ties with those guys. I think the interest would be there. I think my heart is drawn to that dugout a little bit.''

HEY JOE

The Angels need a new skipper, and old friend Joe Maddon might be a fit. The dismissal of Brad Ausmus on Monday immediately sparked speculation that Maddon, a former Angels bench coach who parted ways with the Cubs one day earlier, could return to the franchise where he spent three decades of his career. The 65-year-old Maddon was a catcher, minor league manager and major league assistant with the Halos, and he has a cordial relationship with owner Arte Moreno. Rumors began to swirl about Ausmus' job security last week while Maddon's future was being debated in Chicago. The Cubs' only World Series-winning manager of the past century decided to leave the club by mutual agreement over the weekend.

WORK IT OUT

The Rays and A's will loosen up at the Coliseum, a day before they meet in the AL wild-card game Wednesday (8:09 p.m. EDT). The winner takes on the Astros, beginning Friday at Houston.

Charlie Morton (16-6, 3.05 ERA) pitches for Tampa Bay. He was 1-0 in two starts vs. Oakland this year, allowing one earned run in 13 1/3 innings and striking out 15. The 35-year-old is in his first season with the Rays - in 2017 with the Astros, he was the winning pitcher as a starter in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series against the Yankees and he won Game 7 of the World Series in relief against the Dodgers.

The A's have not yet announced a starter. They went with an opener - a strategy pioneered by the Rays - in the wild-card game at Yankee Stadium last year and it didn't work out too well. Liam Hendriks gave up a first-inning homer to Aaron Judge and New York won 7-2.

The Athletics went 4-3 against the Rays this year, with all the games in June.

Announcement

Tuesday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 10/1

Tuesday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 10/1

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment