Guardians Stay Alive by DefeatingWhite Sox 9-3
The Cleveland Guardians finally broke out the lumber by scoring nine runs on eleven hits in
defeating the Chicago White Sox. This was the Sox first loss in the playoffs after sweeping
two games in the Wild Card Round and winning the first two in this Division Series in
Cleveland. I guess playing on the road calmed Cleveland down a little and allowed them to
concentrate on what they knew they had to do.
The White Sox took an early one run lead in the bottom of the first. Sam Antonacci led off
with a walk and advanced to second base on a single by Miguel Vargas. Kyle Teel doubled
to right field scoring Antonacci.
Cleveland basically broke it open by scoring four runs in the top of the third. Travis Bazzana
led off with a walk and came around to score on singles by Brayan Rocchio and Steven
Kwan. With two outs Jo Adell ripped a three-run triple down the first base.
The Sox got one run back in the bottom of the fourth as Chase Meidroth and Tristan Peters
hit back-to-back doubles. 4-2 Guardians.
Cleveland made it 5-2 in the top of the fifth. Jose Ramirez doubled to left field and came
around to score on a force out off the bat of Chase Delauter.
Chicago scored a run the hard way in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs Braden
Montgomery walked and went to second off a single from Randal Grichuk. Then Colson
Montgomery and Sam Antonacci were both plunked by pitches, scoring Montgomery. 5-3
Guardians.
Cleveland made it 7-3 in the top of the eighth. Travis Bazzana walked and Patrick Bailey
singled to open up the inning. With two outs Jose Ramirez brought them both home with a
triple to left field.
The Guardians weren’t finished as they pushed across a couple more insurance runs in the
top of the ninth. Nathaniel Lowe and Petey Halpin led off the inning with walks. Angel
Genao doubled to left scoring Lowe. Brayan Rocchio later singled to left scoring Halpin. 9-
3 Cleveland.
And that’s how it ended.
Cleveland implemented that Relief Pitcher Conga Line that’s quite popular these days.
They sent a total of seven pitchers to the mound. The septet surrendered only six hits and
those three White Sox runs.
So, the Guardians earned the right to continue the series tomorrow at 5:00 ET.
Dodgers Close Out Series with Braves
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-1 tonight and won the Division
Series three games to one. They will now await the winner of the Padres-Brewers series
and play for the National League Pennant.
Atlanta actually scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the first. Michael Harris
led off with a single to right field and made his way around the bases on a ground out and a
wild pitch. 1-0 Braves.
The Dodgers tied it up in the top of the second. Shohei Ohtani walked. He then stole
second base and advanced to third on a throwing error. Max Muncy reached base on
another error as Ohtani scored.
Los Angeles broke that tie in the top of the seventh. A single by Teoscar Hernandez and a
Josue De Paula walk put runners on first and second. Kyle Tucker walked to load the bases.
Andy Pages’ single sent two runners to the plate. 3-1 LA.
The Dodgers got an insurance run in the top of the ninth off Max Muncy’s home run to right
field. 4-1 Los Angeles.
And that was it…the Dodgers win the series three games to one and move on to the League
Championship Series, better known as the LCS.
This pitcher-by-committee thing is working quite well. The Dodgers utilized five hurlers who
limited Atlanta to one run on three hits. Los Angeles managed only five hits but the final
score is what counts.
Tampa Bay Sweeps the Yankees…On to the LCSThe Tampa Bay Rays continued their improbably playoff series run with a 4 to 3 victory over the New York Yankees. The Rays had the best record in the American League this season
and showed why by sweeping the Yankees in the Division Series.
Tampa scored first in tonight’s game. In the top of the third Jonny DeLuca led off with a
single to left. Taylor Walls singled sending DeLuca to second. With two outs, Jonathan
Aranda singled to right field scoring DeLuca. Walls was thrown out at home on the same
play. 1-0 Rays.
New York tied it up in the bottom of the third. Spencer Jones led off with a walk and made it
to second base on a ground out. Ben Rice then singled to right field scoring Jones.
The Rays again took the lead in the top of the fourth as Ryan Vilade homered to right field.
2-1 Tampa.
New York tied it up in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs Anthony Volpe beat out an
infield single. Volpe scored on a double courtesy of Spencer Jones. 2-2.
Tampa Bay struck again in the top of the sixth. With two outs Junior Caminero singled to
center and came around to score on a home run from Victor Mesa. 4-2 Rays.
We had some controversy in the bottom of the sixth. George Lombard walked. With two
outs Anthony Volpe hit a deep fly to left field that was originally called a home run. Video
review showed that a fan had reached over the top of the wall in an effort to catch the ball.
The umps concluded that the fly ball would have hit near the top of the wall, not over, so
Volpe was credited with a double and Lombard was allowed to score. It was the right call.
4-3 Tampa.
And that’s the way it ended… 4-3 Tampa Bay.
I’ll be honest with you…I didn’t see Tampa Bay play a game this year. I couldn’t have named
one player on this team. But after watching these last three games against the Yanks,
these guys are the real deal.
They’ll play the winner of the White Sox – Guardians series in the LCS. Stay tuned!
Brewers Eliminate Padres…Play
Dodgers in LCS.
In a tense game four between two evenly matched teams, the Milwaukee Brewers hung on
the defeat the San Diego Padres 3 to 1 to win the Division Series three games to one.Milwaukee scored first in tonight’s contest with a run in the top of the third. Sal Frelick led
off with an infield single and came all the way around to score on a single off the bat of
Garrett Mitchell.
San Diego tied it up in the bottom of the third when Fernando Tatis led off the inning with a
home run to center field.
The Brewers took back the lead in the top of the fifth. Garrett Mitchell led off the inning with
a triple to right field. He then scored on Jackson Chourio’s single to right field. 2-1
Milwaukee.
Milwaukee added to their lead in the top of the sixth. Jake Bauers led off the inning with a
single to right and advanced to third on a double from Cooper Pratt. Bauers scored on a
sac fly off the bat of Sal Frelick. 3-1 Brew Crew.
And that’s all the scoring in tonight’s contest.
The Padres were shut out over the last five innings and managed only three hits for the
game.
The Brewers go on to meet the Los Angeles Dodgers in the LCS. First game details to be
determined. What a great game this was…
Dave’s Dime…Playoff Teams’ Payroll
I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I like to cheer for major league teams that have lower
payrolls than some of those high-roller franchises. I think it’s good for the game when
those teams without the massive funding end up making a mark in the post season.
Especially, since Major League Baseball is the only one of the big four major professional
sports leagues without a salary cap. More on that discrepancy to come this winter.
So, let’s see where the twelve teams that made the playoffs stack up as far as the big bucks
go. Here’s a list of their payrolls for the 2026 season:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers - $430.4 Million…they’ve advanced to the National League
LCS.
3. New York Yankees - $342.8 Million…they lost three-in-a-row to the Rays in the
Division Series.
4. Philadelphia Phillies - $321.3 Million…lost a close Wild Card Series to the Braves.
6. Boston Red Sox - $270.5 Million…swept in the Wild Card Series by the Yankees.
7. San Diego Padres - $263.7 Million…currently in a tough Division series with the
Brewers. Update…lost game four tonight. 8. Chicago Cubs - $261.5 Million…swept in the Wild Card round by the Padres.
9. Atlanta Braves - $245.8 Million…eliminated from the post-season tonight vs. the
Dodgers.
10. Houston Astros - $234.5 Million…swept by the White Sox in the Wild Card series.
19. Milwaukee Brewers - $153.5 Million…finished the year with the best record in MLB.
Fighting it out right now with the Padres.
26. Chicago White Sox - $115.4 Million…had a four-game winning streak in the playoffs
until today’s loss to the Guardians.
27. Tampa Bay Rays - $114.1 Million…while I’m typing this the Rays are leading NY in the
bottom of the ninth with the hopes of sweeping the Division Series. And they just
did. Rays move on to the LCS
29. Cleveland Guardians - $$88.8 Million…staved off elimination today vs. the White
Sox.
So, as of the end of play tonight, we still have the Brewers, White Sox, Rays, and Guardians
to cheer for. Go teams!!!
