After a 6-2 victory in Sport 5 of the American League Championship Sequence on Friday night time, the Seattle Mariners are one win away from clinching the primary pennant within the franchise’s 49-season historical past and turning into the newest staff to make its World Sequence debut.
This, in fact, means the Toronto Blue Jays are two wins away from finishing an exhilarating comeback that will give them the membership’s first American League title since 1993.
And the reward for ending a long time of heartbreak? Subsequent Friday, all of the Mariners or Blue Jays must do is determine a approach to take down the seemingly unbeatable Los Angeles Dodgers whereas additionally serving because the final line of protection for the work stoppage to finish all work stoppages. Higher get pleasure from that champagne social gathering in Toronto, in whichever locker room it takes place!
The Dodgers will likely be well-rested for the World Sequence and within the midst of a historic run after finishing their march via the Nationwide League bracket by capping off a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers with a 5-1 victory on Friday.
Shohei Ohtani pitched six-plus scoreless innings and hit three dwelling runs within the clincher, and as unbelievable as that’s, the Dodgers have been in place to win the pennant after he had mainly finished nothing this month (no less than by their requirements). The 2-way unicorn entered Friday batting .158 with two homers and 6 RBIs, whereas giving up three runs in six innings in his solely NL Division Sequence begin on Oct. 4.
Nonetheless, the Dodgers are 8-1 within the playoffs whereas trailing simply 9 innings of their victories. Los Angeles was fueled by a pitching rotation mixed for a 1.64 ERA with an 83/21 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 66 innings.
Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have been significantly dominant within the NLCS once they placed on the Ohtani spectacle by permitting two runs in 22 2/3 innings with 25 strikeouts and simply 4 walks within the first three video games.
Among the many Dodgers’ 4 starters, solely Yamamoto threw no less than 100 innings within the common season. Ohtani continued his gradual restoration from a second Tommy John surgical procedure, whereas Glasnow and Snell mixed for 29 video games whereas recovering from arm accidents.
That was 21 extra video games than the Dodgers obtained from rookie Roki Sasaki, who suffered a proper shoulder harm in Might however emerged because the membership’s nearer within the playoffs.
This was the state of affairs we imagined may spell doom for the remainder of the Dodgers’ opponents this month and for a sport whose energy brokers are salivating on the concept of locking out gamers and making an attempt to implement a wage cap after the 2026 season.
However do not blame the Dodgers for constructing a staff with the presents that baseball’s least aggressive house owners gave them and for determining one of the best ways to win throughout the parameters offered.
Mookie Betts was donated by John Henry, who determined he would moderately waste the goodwill generated by briefly turning the Crimson Sox right into a juggernaut by enjoying together with his soccer, hockey and racing toys.
The Braves, who generated greater than $600 million in income in 2024, decided not to re-sign Hall of Fame first baseman Freddie Freeman after serving to them win the World Sequence in 2021. Arte Moreno, not content material with making certain that Mike Trout by no means performed a significant sport after his age-23 season, wasted the primary six years of Ohtani’s profession, poking at a routine-oriented participant who definitely did not appear to care about his standing as the middle of the Angels’ cross-town universe.
However none of those house owners are going to look within the mirror and notice their function in constructing the Dodgers machine. And Bud Selig and particularly Rob Manfred usually are not able to the self-reflection essential to see how the continued enlargement of the playoffs has rendered the common season practically meaningless.
The Dodgers have been a simple joke once they adopted 100-win seasons with first-round exits in 2019, 2022 and 2023. So that they performed with their meals this season, gained 93 video games totally on muscle reminiscence and centered completely on being prepared for October.
To date so good. Good luck, Mariners or Blue Jays. You may want it subsequent week — and in 2027, the remainder of us will too.
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