The Opener: ALCS, NLCS, Lukes

Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. ALCS Game 2:

After a solo homer by George Springer in the first inning, Bryce Miller and the Mariners’ bullpen managed to shut down a Blue Jays offense that throttled the Yankees in the division series to take Game 1 of the ALCS 3-1. Seattle will look to build on that lead later today with right-hander Logan Gilbert (3.44 ERA) on the mound, while the Blue Jays will turn to rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage (3.21 ERA) as they look to tie up the series before it heads to Seattle for Game 3. Yesavage is coming off a dominant performance against New York where he struck out 11 in 5 1/3 hitless innings, but Gilbert had a strong showing in the ALDS himself. He struck out seven Tigers across six innings of one-run ball in his lone start in the series before pitching two scoreless innings of relief in Seattle’s marathon Game 5 win over Detroit. The teams are set to face off at 5:03pm local time this evening in Toronto.

2. NLCS Game 1:

Just over three hours later, at 7:08pm local time in Milwaukee, the Brewers and Dodgers will kick off Game 1 of the NLCS. Left-hander Blake Snell (2.35 ERA) is slated to take the mound for L.A. He’s already come up with wins for the Dodgers against both the Reds and Phillies this October, combining for 13 innings of two-run ball with 18 strikeouts. Milwaukee, meanwhile, has not announced a starter but plans to go with an opener for the start of the game, with either Quinn Priester (3.32 ERA) or Jose Quintana (3.96 ERA) to follow as a bulk arm. Quintana was the far more effective of the two in the NLDS, as he threw three scoreless frames against Chicago while Priester surrendered four runs and recorded just two outs in his lone appearance.

3. Lukes day-to-day:

Turning back to the ALCS, Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes exited yesterday’s game after fouling a ball off of his knee. He was eventually diagnosed as a right knee contusion after x-rays came back negative. It’s a good sign for his availability at some point later in the series, but manager John Schneider told reporters yesterday that it wouldn’t be known if Lukes was available for today’s game. Lukes will be evaluated by the Jays’ medical staff when he arrives at the park today. If he’s unavailable, Davis Schneider or Myles Straw would likely step into the starting lineup in his place.