Chad Green (Bourne ‘11, ‘12) SportsPix Photo
Article By: Ethan Kagno
Braves 7 - Marlins 0 (Atlanta Wins Series 3-0)
The Atlanta Braves are back in the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2001, behind a stellar performance from Kyle Wright (Cotuit ‘13,‘14). The former Kettleer went six innings while allowing just three hits and punching out seven batters on 88 pitches. A.J. Minter (Cotuit ‘14) tossed a spotless 7th inning in relief. The Braves have posted a 0.92 ERA through five playoff games so far, with four of those wins resulting in shutouts. For Miami, Ryne Stanek (Bourne ‘11) and Brad Boxberger (Orleans/Chatham ‘07,’08) pitched back-to-back scoreless innings. As mentioned earlier this week, The Marlins have lost their first ever playoff series in team history as they won the World Series in each of their two previous playoff runs, in 1997 and 2003. The Braves will go on to face the winner of the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres divisional series.
Astros 11 - Athletics 6 (Houston Wins Series 3-1)
Despite the A’s jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first couple innings, the Astros offense exploded after tallying five runs in the 4th, followed up by six more runs in the next three innings. Michael Brantley recorded two home runs and Carlos Correa continued to shine. He went 3-4 with a home run and five runs batted in. The star shortstop has batted a robust 10-19 (.526) so far in the playoffs. Tommy La Stella (Bourne ‘10) reached on an infield single in the top of the 9th, scoring Marcus Semien however their attempted comeback was not enough. George Springer (Wareham ‘09,’10) and company will look to keep the bats hot against the New York Yankees or Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series.
Yankees 5 - Rays 1 (Series Tied 2-2)
The New York Yankees had to win to stay alive, and that’s exactly what they did. It didn’t take long until the Bronx Bombers got on the board with a Luke Voit (Harwich ‘11) solo shot in the top half of the second inning, later followed by a D.J. LeMahieu (Harwich ‘08) sacrifice fly. They added a couple of insurance runs in the sixth and eighth inning off of a Gleyber Torres home run and a Kyle Higashioka RBI single. Chad Green (Bourne ‘11, ‘12) earned the Game 4 win after pitching 2 efficient innings, allowing no hits or runs on 24 pitches. There will be a decisive Game 5 tomorrow night with the winner facing off against last year's American League Champions, the Houston Astros.
Dodgers 12 - Padres 3 (Los Angeles Wins Series 3-0)
The Los Angeles Dodgers wasted no time in their 3-0 sweep of the San Diego Padres. LA put up a crooked 5-spot in the third inning behind a pair of RBI singles from Justin Turner (Yarmouth-Dennis ‘05) and A.J. Pollock (Falmouth ‘08). The Dodgers also scored on a two-run single from designated-hitter Joc Pederson and a throwing error by San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. LA Dodger Will Smith became the first catcher to ever record a 5-hit performance in a postseason game, as well as the ninth player overall to ever do so, after cranking a two-run double in the last inning. This will be the fourth straight National League Championship Series for the Dodgers, while they’ve won their last two. Next, they go up against an Atlanta Braves squad that has surrendered only five runs combined over their last two series.
