Archives › Matthew Pouliot
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After going down 6-0 to the Cardinals in the top of the fourth, the Giants came right back and knocked Lance Lynn out of the game in the bottom of the inning, closing to within 6-4. However, they’ve been unable to make up any additional ground the last two innings, leaving them with a two-run…
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Umpire Jeff Nelson admitted after Sunday’s game that he botched the call at second base that aided the Tigers in a two-run eighth inning against the Yankees. Omar Infante was attempting to return to the bag after rounding second on a single, but he was clearly tagged out by Robinson Cano on the play. Nelson…
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If the Giants are going to prevail tonight, they’ll have to duplicate the Cardinals’ comeback from Game 5 of the NLDS. David Freese and Carlos Beltran homered Sunday as the Cardinals built a 6-0 lead over the Giants in the NLCS opener. Freese’s two-run homer was the only scoring through three innings, but the Cardinals…
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Alex Rodriguez came up with his first hit since Game 4 of the ALDS when he singled off reliever Phil Coke in the ninth inning Sunday against the Tigers. But hitting left-handers hasn’t been a real problem for him at any point this season. In his three at-bats against righty Anibal Sanchez today, Rodriguez struck…
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Did you ever notice that when baseball broadcasters start talking about the ninth-inning mentality and about all the setup men who couldn’t handle the closer’s role, they never go on to name names? Moments after John Smoltz went on his little spiel about how not everyone can pitch the ninth Sunday, Phil Coke finished shutting down the…
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My belief isn’t that we need more instant replay in baseball because umpire’s are incompetent. My belief is that it’s needed because a lot of things happen in baseball that are way too tough to call at normal speed. This, however, was not one of those plays. In the eighth inning of Sunday’s ALCS Game…
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Robinson Cano has a way of making baseball look effortless. Which is all well and good when he’s batting his usual .310 with very good power. When he slumps, his usual manner makes him look lackadaisical and disinterested, even though he might be anything but. Cano went hitless in a fifth straight game Sunday in…
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The Yankees were already going it without Mariano Rivera this month, a strange sight to everyone who has followed baseball since the mid-1990s. But then Rivera was only out there for one or two innings per night. Derek Jeter was the immovable object. The Yankees have played in 158 postseason games since 1996, and Jeter…
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In bizarre fashion, Jose Valverde’s meltdown pays off for Tigers
Oct 14, 2012, 1:27 AM EDT
For all of the drama, Detroit pulled out Saturday’s Game 1 by a 6-4 score in 12 innings. And thanks to Jose Valverde‘s four-run ninth inning, the Tigers… – were able to extend the Yankees pen prior to Hiroki Kuroda making his first ever start on three days’ rest on Sunday. Rafael Soriano and David…
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Derek Jeter suffered a fractured left ankle diving for a Jhonny Peralta grounder in the 12th inning of Saturday’s loss to the Tigers and will miss the rest of the postseason. The Yankees were down 5-4 when Jeter ranged to his left in order to make a play. He grabbed the ball but tumbled down…
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Alex Rodriguez got the start on Saturday, but he wasn’t around for the finish. After going 0-for-3, he was removed for pinch-hitter Eric Chavez with the Yankees down to the Tigers 4-0 in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the ALCS. Up with the bases loaded and two outs in the first, Rodriguez hit…
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Yeah, that was a particularly gruesome way to lose. But that will only make the eventual payoff that much sweeter. Of course, the Nationals aren’t guaranteed anything going forward after losing in the NLDS to the Cardinals on Friday night. Shutting down Stephen Strasburg early was a move geared towards protecting the future, but the…
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Having spent most of his career with the Royals and Mets, Carlos Beltran hasn’t gotten to play in may postseasons. In fact, this is just his third in 15 major league seasons. However, he’s certainly made the most of his limited October action. Beltran went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two walks in Friday’s Game…
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No major league team had ever blown more than a four-run lead to lose an elimination game. No team until the Nationals managed to let a six-run lead slip away in a 9-7 loss to the Cardinals in Game 5 of the NLDS. One imagines Davey Johnson will put much of the blame for Friday’s…
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Tigers manager Jim Leyland announced his ALCS rotation with Doug Fister and Anibal Sanchez getting the ball in the first two games in New York this weekend. Justin Verlander is scheduled to pitch Game 3 and a potential Game 7. Max Scherzer will be held back until Game 4, meaning he’ll get just one start…
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Because of the unusual playoff schedule this year, the only way the Yankees will be able to get two starts out of CC Sabathia in the ALCS is by using him on short rest once. That’s because the Yankees won’t have a day off before the ALCS begins Saturday in New York. The Tigers get…
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The Yankees decided it wasn’t in their best interests to play Alex Rodriguez against Jason Hammel in Friday’s Game 5. So why on earth would he start against any of the right-handers the Tigers will throw in the ALCS? Here’s how he’s performed against Detroit’s rotation: Doug Fister: 1-for-5, 1 BB, 1 K Max Scherzer:…
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Adam Jones hit 32 homers and scored 103 runs for the Orioles during his finest regular season to date. Which is pretty hard to believe giving how badly he bombed during the ALDS. Jones went 2-for-23 against the Yankees and led the world in ugly at-bats. To go along with his six strikeouts, he had…
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CC Sabathia goes nine as Yankees beat Orioles, move on to ALCS
Oct 12, 2012, 8:03 PM EDT
Just as Justin Verlander pitched the Tigers past the A’s, CC Sabathia proved to be the dominant presence as the Yankees beat the Orioles 3-1 in Friday’s decisive Game 5 and advanced to the ALCS. Sabathia, coming off a win in Game 1 in which he nearly went the distance, did go nine this time…
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After beating the Reds in Thursday’s dramatic Game 5 to advance, the Giants can’t wait too long to start thinking ahead to their NLCS rotation. Whether they face the Cardinals or Nationals, it seems pretty certain that they’ll set it up so that Madison Bumgarner pitches Games 1 and 5 and Matt Cain goes in…
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Darren O’Day isn’t a conventional pitcher. He’s given plenty of quality right-handed hitters a tough time during his big-league career. Still, it was kind of telling that Alex Rodriguez couldn’t catch up to his 85-mph fastball in Thursday’s loss to the Orioles. A-Rod did get a single and a walk in five plate appearances Thursday.…
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It’s not complicated: the A’s would have been a whole lot better off this week having to face Justin Verlander twice in seven games than twice in five games. And just as it’s always been, it’s absurd that MLB starts off the postseason with a best-of-five round before moving on to two best-of-sevens. Given time…
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Alex Rodriguez takes seat again, yet Curtis Granderson is even worse
Oct 12, 2012, 12:54 AM EDT
Alex Rodriguez was removed for a pinch-hitter for the second straight game Thursday and rightfully so. Yet A-Rod hasn’t been the Yankees’ worst performer through four postseason games. That title goes to Curtis Granderson. Granderson went 0-for-5 with three more strikeouts in Thursday’s loss to the Orioles. He’s 1-for-16 with nine strikeouts in the series,…
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Way too much Justin Verlander. Detroit’s ace held down the A’s for the second time in five games Thursday, pitching a complete-game shutout and striking out 11 as the Tigers won 6-0 to move on to the ALCS. Verlander fanned 22 in his two starts, setting a new record for strikeouts in a Divisional Series.…
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Austin Jackson doubled in Omar Infante in the third and then scored on a wild pitch as the Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the A’s in the deciding Game 5 of the ALDS on Thursday. Verlander has limited the A’s to a two-out double in the first and a two-out walk in…
