“We got him 0-2 and just couldn’t put him away,” Roberts said. Then he fouled off two more pitches.įinally, he got one he liked from the Dodgers’ 16-game winner - a cutter that Rosario turned into a 105 mph rocket down the right-field line, higher and higher, straight as an arrow until it landed well back into the seats below the Chop House restaurant. Rosario swung and missed the first two pitches. Rosario got into an extended duel with Walker Buehler, who stepped up to start on three days’ rest after ace Max Scherzer wasn’t able to go because of a tired arm. Slow-running catcher Travis d’Arnaud was held at third by coach Ron Washington, surely aware of who was up next. With the score tied at one in the bottom of the fourth, Rosario came up after pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza extended the inning with a two-out double into the right-field corner. Rosario’s final hit was certainly the biggest of the 30-year-old Puerto Rican’s career. Will Smith worked a perfect ninth for his fourth save of the postseason after a brilliant relief stint by winner Tyler Matzek, who escaped a huge jam in the seventh by striking out the side. “We just couldn’t figure him out,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. Spurred on by chants of “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie” from the raucous sellout crowd of more than 43,000, Rosario finished 14 of 25 (.560) against the Dodgers, with three homers and nine RBIs. He was an easy choice as MVP of the series. Rosario set an Atlanta record and became only the fifth player in baseball history to get 14 hits in a postseason series. ![]() ![]() “Anything that was thrown at us,” Freeman said, “we were able to overcome it.” to a season-ending knee injury and slugger Marcell Ozuna to a hand injury and legal troubles. Rosario was acquired in a flurry of deals just before the July 30 trade deadline that rebuilt the Braves’ depleted outfield, which lost Ronald Acuña Jr. “We actually did it,” said longtime first baseman Freddie Freeman, sounding a bit bewildered. Twenty-two years of frustration, 12 playoff appearances that fell short of a pennant. The Braves lost the Series four other times during that decade, a run of postseason disappointment that marred a momentous streak that grew to 14 straight division titles.Īfter getting swept in the 1999 World Series by the Yankees, the Braves couldn’t even get that far in the postseason. That remains their only title in Atlanta. The Braves were Series regulars in the 1990s, winning it all in ’95 with a team that included Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Chipper Jones. “It’s a great moment in my life,” Rosario said through an interpreter. Game 1 is Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The Braves won the best-of-seven playoff four games to two, exorcising the demons of last year’s NLCS – when Atlanta squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads against the Dodgers – and advancing to face the AL champion Astros. Baseball is definitely 50% waiting for something to happen, 25% things happening, and 25% wishing the things that just happened didn’t happen.Eddie Rosario capped a remarkable NL Championship Series with a three-run homer, sending the Braves to the biggest stage of all with a 4-2 victory over the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night. Alternately, you could just sit nervously for about three hours, punctuating the time with very quick, intense moments of sadness and joy. ETĪll of the games will be broadcast on FOX. The best-of-seven schedule is as follows: While both teams ended up playing a grueling seven-games-in-seven-days series in the last round of the playoffs, the World Series schedule is a little bit more relaxed (and, bonus, no cross-country travel!). Usually the teams would switch off between their home fields, but since this is The Strange Year (for everything, not just sports), the MLB playoffs have been operating in a kind of modified bubble in Texas. ![]() The whole series will take place at the Texas Rangers’ new Globe Life Field in Arlington. The Dodgers and Rays will be strangers in a strange land (aka Arlington, Texas).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |