You know The Suits were upset when Minnesota took a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st. Then, as they watched the Yankees rattle off eight of the last nine runs, they got so excited they had to recharge the batteries of their sex robots and holler their secrets and fears into a pillow. Network Executives beat Schadenfreude 1-0. Yankees at Indians will start tomorrow evening. It's the Twins' 13th straight postseason loss.
*In a completely not-shocking move, Justin Verlander will start G1. Hinch:
Verlander has pitched extraordinarily well since he got here. The five starts we've seen have been exceptional. Dallas has pitched very well recently as well and obviously has a long history here....we decided to go 1 Verlander, 2 Keuchel, which leaves open the option at the back end to do whatever we went if it ends of being a Game 5.
*FiveThirtyEight simulated each game 10,000 times and factored in travel, rest, and pitching. The Astros won G1 58% of the time, and G2 (Keuchel vs. Pomeranz) 60% of those simulations.
*Hinch hasn't committed to naming a G3 or G4 starter but is still open to using McCullers in relief.
*A couple of notes regarding the 25-Man Roster, which has to be set by tomorrow morning:
-Colin Moran, J.D. Davis, and Reymin Guduan will not be a part of this round of the playoffs.
-Tony Kemp, Max Stassi, and Francis Martes were sent to West Palm Beach in case they're needed later.
This likely means that Juan Centeno and Tyler White will make the 25-Man ALDS roster. Centeno was chosen over Stassi mainly thanks to his arm.
*Josh Reddick is feeling better and is a likely option for G2, since he will probably be held out of G1.
*If you're a Wall Street Journal subscriber, you can read Jared Diamond on the Astros' Great Baseball Experiment.
*Will Leitch has your Astros' playoff dossier.
*Presumably because the Red Sox are terrified of the color Orange, the Astros are asking fans to Orange-out Minute Maid Park.
*Brian T. Smith writes that the Astros have the ability to boost an entire city.
*Carlos Correa is super-impressed with what Jim Crane and the Astros have done to help Puerto Rico.
*Marwin's dedication to the game is paying off.
*The New York Post's Mike Vaccaro says the Mets should hire Alex Cora to be their next manager.
From Boston
*A.J. Hinch knows about Boston's pitching. Hinch:
When you're talking about a potential game where you've got to get to Sale, or you've got to get to Kimbrel, with Price mixed in. That combination, in a short series, is very threatening. We'll grind out our at-bats, and I like our guys, and we'll be able to (complete). But that's the combination that makes it tough.
*The Boston Herald's Michael Silverman probably spent a few minutes on FanGraphs and determined that the Red Sox are elite defensively and the Astros are "okay with the gloves."
*The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo, on how the Astros and Red Sox match up.
*Alex Speier says the Red Sox' pitching staff turned in one of the more dominant pitching seasons in history.
Elsewhere
*Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto held his post-mortem press conference, and it was bleak.
We have a long way to go to bridge the gap between where we are today and where the Houston Astros are...I do believe that we're making progress. I don't believe that we're nipping at the heels of the Astros. That's going to take some time. And frankly, a little bit of luck.
*The Rays and former Astros pitching coach Jim Hickey will part ways after eleven years.
*Definitely read this Paris Review piece on the legend of Babe Ruth's 1932 called shot.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
