As the 2023 postseason continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. ALCS Game 3:
Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer is set to take the mound tonight for the first time since September 12, when he posted 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on 72 pitches. The Rangers will hope for a similar outcome tonight as the ALCS heads to Globe Life Field for Game 3 today, as manager Bruce Bochy has indicated that Scherzer’s “baseline” for tonight could be around 70 pitches as he makes his first competitive appearance in more than a month, taking the mound against Astros righty Cristian Javier. Scherzer sports a 3.77 ERA and 4.32 FIP in 27 starts this season, though those numbers (3.20 ERA and 3.41 FIP) are far more impressive in eight starts since joining the Rangers.
Javier, meanwhile, posted mediocre numbers during the regular season with a 4.56 ERA and matching 4.58 FIP. That being said, Javier is an accomplished postseason pitcher with a career 1.91 ERA in 37 2/3 innings of work, including 16 1/3 scoreless innings across three career postseason starts. The clubs have also indicated that changes to their starting lineups may be in the cards tonight, with Astros manager Dusty Baker suggesting a move down the lineup could be in play for outfielder Kyle Tucker, who’s marred in an 2-for-22 slump this offseason. Meanwhile, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays that, per Bochy, rookie outfielder Evan Carter could move up to the third spot in the lineup for this evening’s game. The rookie has torn the cover off the ball this postseason, with a .350/.536/.700 slash line in 28 trips to the plate.
2. NLCS Travel Day:
The Diamondbacks are heading back to Arizona licking their wounds today, as after sweeping the Brewers and Dodgers out of the playoffs en route to the ALCS the club was unable to recreate that magic against in Philadelphia. After losing 5-3 in Game 1 with ace right-hander Zac Gallen on the mound, the club turned to veteran Merrill Kelly and got an even more worrisome outcome, as the Phillies dominated in a 10-0 romp that sent them to Arizona with a 2-0 lead in seven-game set. Pending free agent Aaron Nola dominated the Diamondbacks over six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, while Kyle Schwarber slugged two of the club’s three home runs on the evening. Philadelphia has yet to announce the club’s Game 3 starter for tomorrow, while the Diamondbacks will go with youngster Brandon Pfaadt as they try to avoid falling into an 0-3 hole in the NLCS.
3. Braves Live Chat:
The Braves installment of the 2023-24 edition of MLBTR’s Offseason Outlook series was published yesterday, as the club looks for answers following a second consecutive 100+ win campaign cut short in four games at the hands of the Phillies during the NLDS. If you have any questions about the coming offseason in Atlanta, you can tune in at 1:15pm CT for a live chat with MLBTR’s Anthony Franco. This link will allow you to submit a question in advance, participate live, or read the transcript afterward.
Carter may not get to hit 3rd much next year because the “college baseball version of Mike Trout” will be hitting 3rd for them. It’s great to have 2 top 10 prospects in MLB in the same outfield. The next 6 years seem so bright!
Plus the only long term contract they have is Seager. DeGrom and Semien’s contracts will end just as the young guys are hitting Arb. They did a great job building this team.
I do see langford up sooner than later next season and I think that a DH outfield rotation could do well for him and our current outfield
The Rangers and orioles will be strong for a long long time. It will be really fun to watch them go. This is Max’s type game where he does well. It will be interesting. The Rangers being so deep I. The outfield they could cast aside R Acuna’s little brother is an amazing thing.
1. Anticipating another thrilling performance: I can’t wait for Scherzer to dazzle us with another one of his classic 3 innings and 7 earned runs masterpieces against Houston.
2. @In Seager/Bauer We Trust: It seems like that game didn’t quite offer the finely balanced showdown I suggested yesterday.
3. Thanks for sharing this! It’s always great to have an opportunity to engage with experts and discuss the upcoming offseason. It’ll be interesting to hear Anthony Franco’s insights and thoughts on the Braves’ plans for the future. I’m sure many fans, including myself, have questions and are eager to get some clarity on what the team has in store. Looking forward to the chat!
After 2 innings Scherzer has already given up 3 runs.
5-0 Astros after 4 innings.
The hill I have decided to die on today is that the Dodgers Ownership was too cheap to retain Corey Seager and Trea Turner, so they ran out one of the two worst Middle Infields in Baseball this year (Red Sox are the other).
Run back the exact same team/results but with Seager/Turner and they win 120 games and are still playing
Well… at least, they decided to spend some money on Trevor Bauer and used him to avoid elimination in the playoffs… oh wait
It’s true they didn’t wanna pay Seager, but Turner wanted to play in the east. No way they were signing him unless they moved back to Brooklyn.
Don’t worry, they have Gavin Lux…oops!
Maybe they can use all that money they saved to have Ohtani play the middle infield.
Well…at least the World Series should be interesting. The Rangers and Phillies are both red hot and should match up well against each other.
The Astros as much as I hate saying it, are not done yet… Alverez looking like David Ortiz 2.0
Yeah, last night made me a believer too. If they win tonight, this has the makings of a long, interesting series.
It’s too big of a game for these shenanigans. Bochy should drop that number down to 50 and be ready for a quick hook because you know Scherzer will want to stay in no matter what.
Posts that include “shenanigans” always get my thumbs up!
Pretty positive that “meanwhile” has to start the sentence and it can’t come in the middle. How do you get this right and wrong in the same article?