Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Sports

Yankees turn to Cole; Phillies look to push Padres to brink

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The 2022 MLB playoffs are down to just four teams, each vying for a spot in this year’s World Series.

The American League Championship Series shifted to the Bronx for Game 3 but saw similar results as the Houston Astros pushed the New York Yankees to the brink of elimination with a 5-0 win.

In the National League Championship Series, it will be Game 4 between the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies. After splitting the opening two games in San Diego, the Phillies took a 2-1 series lead with a 4-2 Game 3 victory on Friday night.

More: Who has the NLCS edge? Predictions for Padres-Phillies | Who will rule the ALCS? Predictions for Yankees-Astros | Bracket, results and more

Astros lead series 3-0

Game 3 takeaways

The Astros are a monster juggernaut that looks hard to stop. The depth of Houston’s rotation shined on Saturday night when Cristian Javier shut down the Yankees’ lineup over the course of 5⅓ innings pitched, allowing just one hit while walking three and striking out five. Houston saw contributions from up and down the lineup, with the totality of the Astros’ RBIs coming from their bottom three hitters: Trey Mancini, Christian Vazquez and Chas McCormick, who started the scoring with a two-run homer in the second inning, capitalizing off an outfield error that resulted from a miscommunication.

Meanwhile, New York’s offense looked lifeless, managing just three hits all night. While Yankees ace Gerrit Cole looked sharp in the early innings — the lone runs unearned after the error from Bader, things began to fall apart in the sixth when the Astros loaded the bases via an Alex Bregman double, Kyle Tucker walk and Yuli Gurriel single. Yankees manager Aaron Boone yanked Cole for Lou Trivino, who allowed all three inherited runners to score. That gave Cole a final line of five innings pitched with five runs, three earned, two walks and seven strikeouts. Given the performance from Javier, Cole needed to be in top form, and he came up short. — Joon Lee

Astros piling on

After Trey Mancini hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Alex Bregman, Christian Vazquez singled in two more runs. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Houston has never lost a postseason game in which it scored five or more runs.

Yankees starter Gerrit Cole exited after allowing five runs, which is tied for the most he has ever allowed in a postseason appearance.

Yankees blunder leads to Astros home run

After a miscommunication by Yankees outfielders Aaron Judge and Harrison Bader allowed Christian Vazquez on base, Chas McCormick launched a two-run shot to put Houston on the board first. It’s McCormick’s second home run of the series.

Arrivals

San Diego Padres at Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies lead series 2-1

Hoskins and Harper, oh my

Soto goes deep

Phillies tie it up

What a start

It was a wild first inning in Game 4 between the Phillies and Padres as both starting pitchers were pulled for just the second time in postseason history.

Phillies lefty Bailey Falter gave up four runs in the top of the inning while getting just two outs while Padres righty Mike Clevinger was sent to the showers in the bottom of the first without getting anyone out. The result was a combined, seven run inning with the Padres coming out on top, 4-3.

It was the first time both starters were pulled that early in a playoff game since Game 4 of the 1932 World Series. — Jesse Rogers

Padres add to their lead

Brandon Drury doubled in Josh Bell and Jake Cronenworth, increasing the Padres’ lead to three.

Manny mashes one

Manny Machado opens up the scoring in Game 4 with a 379-foot solo dinger in the top of the first. According to ESPN Stats and Information, it’s his sixth postseason home run as a Padre, passing Ken Caminiti for the most career playoff homers in franchise history.

Our picks

Padres 7, Phillies 6: It’ll be a wild affair as both teams will use their bullpens early and often in Game 4, but the Padres will survive because the Phillies won’t get the shutdown innings they did in Friday’s win. — Jesse Rogers

Padres 7, Phillies 6: Just how quickly San Diego manager Bob Melvin and Thomson have to pull their starting pitchers could be the bellwether for a game that is the likeliest in this series to go sideways. The Phillies have to be careful about overextending their bullpen. The Padres, with Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola looming, absolutely need to win Game 4. These teams are too closely matched for the series not to return to San Diego. — Jeff Passan

Phillies 6, Padres 5: Clevinger has been trying to pitch through a sore knee — without a lot of success, posting a 7.10 ERA over his past seven starts (including five runs in 2⅔ innings against the Dodgers in the division series). Feels like an early Phillies lead and they hold on to get one win away from the World Series. — David Schoenfield

Arrivals


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