Today on Pinstripe Alley - 10/8/22

The playoffs are off and running, and what a first day it was. While we can debate whether expanded playoffs constitute a good thing for modern baseball, it was at least quite a lot of fun to have wall-to-wall postseason baseball for a full day. The prospect of another such day or two this weekend is an exciting one.

On the site, we roll on with playoff team previews, with Josh looking at the favorites, the Dodgers, Jeff profiling the Astros, and Estevão analyzing the defending champion Braves. I’ll also catch you up on everything that went down on the first day of the postseason, and Matt will remember some of the biggest moments from Roger Maris’ 1961 campaign.

Today’s Matchup:

Off-day

Today’s Wild Card Series Games:

Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays (CLE leads 1-0)
Progressive Field in Cleveland (winner faces Yankees in ALDS)
Game 2: Triston McKenzie (CLE) vs. Tyler Glasnow (TB)
First pitch: Saturday Oct. 8th, 12:07pm ET (ESPN2)

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners (SEA leads 1-0)
Rogers Centre in Toronto (winner faces Astros in ALDS)
Game 2: Kevin Gausman (TOR) vs. Robbie Ray (SEA)
First pitch: Saturday Oct. 8th, 4:07pm ET (ESPN)

New York Mets vs. San Diego Padres (SD leads 1-0)
Citi Field in New York (winner faces Dodgers in NLDS)
Game 2: Jacob deGrom (NYM) vs. Blake Snell (SD)
First pitch: Saturday Oct. 8th, 7:37pm ET (ESPN)

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Phillies (PHI leads 1-0)
Busch Stadium in St. Louis (winner faces Braves in NLDS)
Game 2: Miles Mikolas (STL) vs. Aaron Nola (PHI)
First pitch: Saturday Oct. 8th, 8:37pm ET (ESPN2)

Fun Questions/Prompts:

1. What was the biggest surprise from the first day of playoff games?

2. Do you expect DJ LeMahieu on the Yankees’ ALDS roster?