2018 ALCS - Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox

Will Price make it through three innings?

that's one

Terrific game through 8 but yeah, it was weird. Two aces who had nightmare innings. The difference was at third - Bregman is just on a different level from Nunez (or Raffy, had he been playing). Until the ninth of course, but somehow it felt over before then.

I like David Price, so I hate seeing this.

we're edging towards last year's template: every ace gets shellacked

Altuve with zero hits against the Red Sox so far... if he was hitting true to form, they'd be winning right now.

Maldonado is a pretty blatant Achille’s heel.

had no idea superteams could have crap catching

I suppose the best catcher left is Grandal.

Someone knows why Stassi is not in the active roster?

TBS a much better broadcast team than the rest.

O_O

Yet another great game!

good game. porcello's 8th was everything i like about him.

Kimbrel really is bringing the Chapman 2016 postseason shivers.

Sale's stomach

https://nypost.com/2018/10/15/chris-sale-hospitalized-with-illness-as-red-sox-earn-split/

this game may go six hours

these fuckin games

Ron darling is about 100% more insightful than the regular suspects at NESN

Hit it to third.

maybe we can do a shift where bogaerts moves over to back up third on every play

Darling seems more natural/at ease/regular season-like with Anderson than he did with...was it Joe Simpson?

Who is the guy in the booth who just said there's never been a player in the history of the game who lied about whether or not he'd been hit by a pitch?

There's a pretty tasteless Osuna joke just waiting there for anyone who wants to make it.

Might as well finish the game, pal.

Lol yeah why pull him there

Darling has been below-par in past years compared to his Mets work.

and that was former Mets great Joe Smith yielding the gopher a few innings ago to Pearce.

Osuna was struck regularly in the 8th, like a gong

(Noel Coward ref that wouldn't fly now)

stealing signs seems a little different from felonious hacking into a rival's computer system and being jailed for it, but do go on

Guess who isn’t surprised?

— Chris Correa (@chriscorrea) October 17, 2018

What a great play by Gonzalez.

that was a dinger

or maybe not

That would have been the catch of the post-season

Good call--and I don't even care if Betts was a foot into the stands. If that's not interference, nothing is. Now they can follow up by showing that idiot the door.

i agree with the call, but the fan is innocent. he didn't reach into play and i think it's reasonable to put your hand in the way rather than letting the ball hit you in the stomach

yeah I would have done the same.

ALTUVE

man pitcher cant find the plate already walked one home i wldnt be swinging til theres two strikes

worst at bat ever

Kimbrel...

I don't know that I've ever seen three better plays than Betts, Reddick, and Benintendi in the last couple of innings of a game. What a finish.

they should play the last innings first if it's going to take 4:33 to play nine

Every single outing for Kimbrel has been interesting, but somehow, someway he gets it done #redsox

— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) October 18, 2018

I want to report this tweet

official time of game: four hours and 33 minutes. second-longest nine-inning game in playoff history. tied for the fourth-longest nine-inning game in *baseball* history, counting the regular season

— Jeff Sullivan (@based_ball) October 18, 2018

counterpoints to Pedro

also maybe it's time to stop treating kimbrel as the proven closer i don't know just a thought

— keithlaw (@keithlaw) October 18, 2018

if the Red Sox ultimately win the World Series they should make Craig Kimbrel pay for the rings

— Jeff Sullivan (@based_ball) October 18, 2018

does my dude have a Reagan/Bush '84 hat on pic.twitter.com/Lu5kzgAKds

— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) October 18, 2018

btw

"no interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence, railing, rope or into a stand to catch a ball. He does so at his own risk. However, should a spectator reach out on the playing field side of such fence, railing or rope, and plainly prevent the fielder from catching the ball, then the batsman should be called out for the spectator's interference."

so lousy call, utterly unsupported by the rule

Defense was the deciding factor in this game -- Benintendi's catch, Betts' throw, the interference non-call, Correa unintentionally trying for a "neighbourhood" play ...

so lousy call, utterly unsupported by the rule

It's borderline whether the fans reached out onto the field or not. But if the fielder leaves his feet to attempt the catch then you can't say he was "plainly prevented from catching the ball". Basically once the fielder leaves his feet, interference should automatically be ruled out.

also maybe it's time to stop treating kimbrel as the proven closer i don't know just a thought

For Keith Law, apparently small sample sizes don't apply to closers? Does he think that maybe Brasier should close based on his thirty something innings of above average performance? I honestly have no idea what Law is suggesting here.

Maybe I missed Law's tweet after Kershaw's disastrous G1 of the NLCS where he said that the Dodgers should stop treating him like the proven ace. Sometimes Law can be a real dick.

agreed but Kimbrel does seem pretty lost out there now, i mean when he's missing he's missing wide and far and it was luck that won that game for Boston.

so weird to have a great Sox team that's actually pretty likeable

this is the "likeable Yankees" mistake of 2017 all over again

but no big deal if you don't share my feelings. Hell, some of you still like Saturday Night Live.

Jay Jaffe:

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/david-price-sheds-an-albatross/

Who's the greatest defender who was ever asked to make a major position change for the World Series in the DH era?

https://www.mlb.com/news/red-sox-could-use-mookie-betts-at-2b-in-ws/c-299383740