Life's Too Sports

The Atlanta Braves scored six runs in the sixth inning on Thursday, en route to their lopsided 10-2 victory over the Dodgers in NLCS Game 4. Despite being blown out in Game 3, Atlanta's bounce-back effort in Thursday's Game 4 propels them to a 3-1 series advantage as they seek to advance to their first World Series since 1999. As expected, the Braves' winning formula proved once again to be solid pitching and timely hitting, much as they received in their  Game 1 and Game 2  victories earlier in the week. Meanwhile, the Dodgers' October opposition benefitted (once again) from the inability of star pitcher Clayton Kershaw to deliver in a clutch moment. Despite allowing only one run through five innings of work, Kershaw's solid outing quickly crumbled in the sixth, and reliever Brusdar Graterol was unable to stop the bleeding. With the score tied, 1-1 in the bottom of the inning, Braves' first baseman Freddie Freeman stepped to the plate hungry to deliver a clutc...

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers by the score of 8-7 in NLCS Game 2 on Tuesday. For the Braves, this evening's victory propels them to a flawless, 7-0 record thus far in the 2020 MLB Postseason. Despite Atlanta's Game 1 win coming courtesy of a ninth-inning rally, NLCS Game 2 proved to be much less stressful . . . for awhile. As the contest progressed, the Dodgers' greatest threat seemed to come in a pivotal third inning plate appearance, when Will Smith grounded into a force-out to strand the bases loaded. From that moment forward, it was all Atlanta, as the Braves' star-studded lineup sought to capitalize on Clayton Kershaw's absence (due to back spasms). The Braves' offensive onslaught began in the fourth inning, when Freddie Freeman launched a home run for the second consecutive night to make it 2-0. In the fifth, however, their lead became nearly insurmountable. Cristian Pache and Freddie Freeman both recorded RBI knocks before Los Angel...

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers by the score of 5-1 in NLCS Game 1 on Monday night. Both teams entered the contest with flawless postseason records of 5-0. The Dodgers swept the Brewers and Padres. The Braves swept the  Reds  and  Marlins . Thus, in Game 1 of the NLCS, something had to give. The first inning brought immediate joy to the Atlanta fanbase, as veteran Freddie Freeman shook off the rust with a solo shot to give the Braves a 1-0 edge. In the fifth, however, Dodgers' infielder Enrique Hernandez launched a solo blast of his own, knotting the score at one run apiece. Predictably, runs were difficult to come by in Monday night's matchup. Braves' starter Max Fried posted a truly impressive line (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO). Meanwhile, Dodgers' starter Walker Buehler posted a respectable line in his own right, despite a high pitch count due to a plethora of walks issued (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 7 SO). Nonetheless, Atlanta flexed thei...

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees by the score of 2-1 in Game 5 of the ALDS on Friday evening.  Despite finishing their 2020 campaign with the best record in the American League (40-20), Tampa Bay's season hung in the balance in a decisive ALDS contest against their pesky division rivals. Both the Rays and Yankees swept their American League Wild Card Series matchups (against the Blue Jays and Indians, respectively) to qualify for Major League Baseball's final eight. And in Friday's decisive Game 5, it seemed as though the 27-time MLB champion Yankees may be poised for yet another ALCS appearance. In the first inning, the Rays had a golden opportunity to jump out to an early lead with the bases loaded, but failed to capitalize. In the fourth, Yankees' outfielder Aaron Judge went deep to give New York a slim 1-0 advantage. However, Tampa Bay responded in the fifth with a solo shot of their own, courtesy of leadoff hitter Austin Meadows. Aside from two midd...

For the first time since 2001, the Atlanta Braves are headed to the NLCS. Through the opening two rounds of the 2020 MLB Playoffs, Atlanta posts an impressive 5-0 record (including four shutouts): NL Wild Card Series Game 1: Braves 1, Reds 0 (13) Game 2: Braves 5, Reds 0 NL Divisional Series Game 1: Braves 9, Marlins 5 Game 2: Braves 2, Marlins 0 Game 3: Braves 7, Marlins 0 In NLDS Game 3 on Thursday, the Braves left no doubt that they belong amongst baseball's final four. Despite stranding the bases loaded in the second inning, Atlanta's offensive firepower seemed poised to break Miami's spirit in the ensuing innings. In the third, Atlanta scored four runs, including perhaps their biggest offensive contribution of the contest -- a two-run double from their red-hot catcher, Travis d'Arnaud. During this inning, Marcell Ozuna also drove in a run to extend his hot streak, and Dansby Swanson recorded a sacrifice fly for good measure. In the fourth, Atlanta struck again -- ...

The Oakland Athletics tallied five unanswered runs in the late innings of ALDS Game 3 to extend their season. Despite  edging the Chicago White Sox  in the American League Wild Card Series, the Athletics' window of success seemed to be closing against the rival Houston Astros in the 2020 ALDS. The Astros took Game 1 by the score of 10-5 and Game 2 by the score of 5-2. Thus, the A's entered Wednesday's contest in need of three consecutive victories to stave off elimination and propel themselves into the ALCS. While there's still much work to be done, Oakland has to feel thrilled with their comeback efforts in Game 3. After squandering two early leads and allowing the Astros to score five times in the fifth inning, all hope seemed to be lost for the scuffling A's. With the seventh inning underway, Houston led Oakland 7-4, standing merely nine outs away from their fourth consecutive ALCS appearance. And then, Chad Pinder struck for an electrifying three-run shot to kno...

The Atlanta Braves overcame the Miami Marlins by the score of 2-0 on Wednesday to take a 2-0 series lead in the NLDS (best-of-5). For Atlanta, it's been relatively smooth sailing thus far in the 2020 MLB Postseason. Following a  Freddie Freeman walk-off  in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series, the Braves dropped the hammer in Game 2 to sweep the Cincinnati Reds, winning their first postseason series in 19 years. Atlanta followed up their Wild Card Series success with an  explosive 7th inning  to propel them to victory in NLDS Game 1 against the Marlins. However, Wednesday's victory seemed to carry additional weight, as the Braves now stand only one win away from their first NLCS appearance since 2001. Though the scoreboard reflects a close contest, Game 2 was never truly in doubt. Dansby Swanson homered in the second inning, Travis d'Arnaud homered in the fourth, and the Braves carried their 2-0 lead throughout the remainder of the afternoon. However, per...

After defeating the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Wild Card Series, the Atlanta Braves entered Tuesday's NLDS contest poised to defy history. In recent weeks, there has been much talk of the Miami (Florida) Marlins' impressive playoff history. Despite 2020 serving as their third postseason appearance, the franchise has never lost a playoff series in its 28-year history -- winning two World Series titles and posting an overall series record of 7-0. Although Ronald Acuna Jr. went deep in Atlanta's first at-bat of Game 1 on Tuesday, the momentum quickly shifted in favor of Miami. Miguel Rojas knotted the score with a home run in the second inning -- and in the third, the Marlins tacked on three additional runs, courtesy of RBIs from Garrett Cooper and Brian Anderson. The Braves managed to cut into their deficit in the bottom of the third with a pair of RBI doubles from Marcell Ozuna and Travis d'Arnaud. However, Marlins' starter Sandy Alcantara helped his tea...

Despite falling to the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, the Oakland Athletics rebounded with consecutive wins in Games 2 and 3 to snag their first postseason series victory in 14 years, advancing to the ALDS for the first time since 2013. After digging a 3-0 hole in Thursday's decisive Game 3, Oakland rallied with four runs in the fourth inning to take the lead. However, their biggest hit of the afternoon came in the bottom of the fifth, with the score tied 4-4. In perhaps the most crucial plate appearance of his life, Chad Pinder stepped to the plate with an opportunity to defy history. Prior to this at-bat, Pinder had posted a 2-for-35 career mark with the bases loaded. However, on Thursday, he came up with a massive two-run single to propel the A's to a 6-4 advantage. And they didn't look back. Oakland now looks forward to a best-of-5 series with the Houston Astros to be played on neutral ground at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Needless to say, th...

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 5-0 in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series on Thursday. Atlanta's first postseason series victory since 2001 sends them to an NLDS match-up with the victor of the (3) Cubs - (6) Marlins series -- beginning on Tuesday, October 6. The Braves' offensive firepower was largely held in check in their  Game 1 victory , and for the majority of Game 2, the Reds stifled this team once again. However, it's pretty difficult to lose a series when your opposition fails to score -- and that's exactly what happened here. Atlanta's second consecutive shutout was largely due to the efforts of starting pitcher Ian Anderson, who went six scoreless innings -- allowing two hits, two walks, and striking out nine batters. The Braves broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth, when Ronald Acuna Jr. drove an RBI double to left-center field to score Austin Riley. And in the eighth, Atlanta buried any h...

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 1-0 in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Wednesday. Despite Reds' starter Trevor Bauer pitching an absolute gem (7.2 IP, 2 H, 12 SO), the Braves managed to capitalize in the clutch moments of a scoreless contest. Atlanta didn't make an error on Wednesday afternoon. Their defensive capabilities were on full display in the seventh inning, when Austin Riley's diving tag prevented Aristides Aquino from breaking the scoreless tie. Meanwhile, the Braves also received a stellar performance from their young starter Max Fried (7.0 IP, 6 H, 5 SO). As the matchup crept closer to becoming the longest scoreless game in MLB postseason history, however, it was Atlanta's relievers who repeatedly dealt clutch strikes to escape jams. In the 11th inning, Tyler Matzek struck out Mike Moustakas to strand the bases loaded. In the 12th, Matzek struck out Freddy Galvis with two runners in scoring positi...

The San Francisco Giants saw their season come to a premature conclusion on  Sunday , largely due to the subpar efforts of home plate umpire Rob Drake. According to Umpire Auditor, Drake made 27 incorrect calls during Sunday's game. Alongside the image posted above, Giants' insider Alex Pavlovic tweeted: "Rob Drake was awful all afternoon. Ended the game (and season) on this pitch. Bring on the robots." While it is easy to blame San Francisco's demise on a bad strike call rather than assessing their failures as a whole (the team wasted golden opportunities to clinch a postseason berth on  Thursday  and  Friday ), it isn't as though one poor call ended their season. All three of Austin Slater's strikeouts (including the one that eliminated San Francisco from postseason contention) came on pitches that Statcast registered as balls. In the seventh inning, Drake also rung up Mauricio Dubon on a pitch inside; in the eighth, he rung up Evan Longoria on a pitch b...

Following heartbreaking losses on Thursday and Friday , the San Francisco Giants (29-29) entered Saturday evening's matchup with their postseason fate still in their own hands. Unfortunately for the Giants, that is no longer the case. Despite a solid outing from Johnny Cueto, San Francisco's offense was unable to produce on Saturday. After the Giants finally tallied a pair of runs in the eighth inning, the Padres countered with three in the ninth en route to a lopsided 6-2 victory. Although San Francisco is technically tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League's 8-seed (at 29-30), Milwaukee owns the tiebreaker heading into the final day of the regular season. In other words: for the Giants to qualify for the 2020 MLB Playoffs on Sunday, they must win  and the Brewers must lose. There is a small silver lining for San Francisco in considering the status of the St. Louis Cardinals (29-28). If the Cardinals lose to the Brewers tomorrow, their season i...

On Thursday, the San Francisco Giants suffered a heartbreaking loss against the Colorado Rockies. On Friday, the San Francisco Giants suffered a heartbreaking loss against the San Diego Padres. If that sounds like déjà vu, it should. Despite a shaky bullpen performance, the Giants seemed poised to turn their fortunes around after a 5-4 victory in Game 1 of Friday's double-header. However, any celebration was short-lived, as Trent Grisham launched a walk-off home run to propel the Padres to a 6-5 victory in Game 2. For San Francisco, the Game 2 defeat was particularly painful, as they took a major hit in the expanded Wild Card standings (pictured below) while allowing a visiting team to celebrate a walk-off victory on their home field. 2020 -- it's been an odd year. Furthermore, a proclivity for blowing leads isn't promising for these Giants (29-29) as they head into their two most crucial games of the season. The good news : the Giants still control their own d...

Thursday's extra-inning loss was nothing short of heartbreaking for the San Francisco Giants. Consecutive victories over the Rockies had catapulted this team back into the 7-seed before their 3-0 lead disappeared in the final game of the series. The Giants will certainly feel the effects of Thursday's defeat after stranding the winning and tying runs at third base (in the 10th and 11th innings, respectively). However, despite the obvious blow, San Francisco's playoff hopes remain alive . Courtesy of the Cardinals' victory over the Brewers on Thursday, the Giants enter Friday clinging to the 8-seed. Here's a look at the National League postseason picture. The Giants are slated to finish their season with a four-game set against the Padres (including a double-header on Friday). On paper, this matchup doesn't look great for two reasons . First,  San Francisco is 1-5 against San Diego this season, and the Padres have doubled the Giants' offensive ou...

Entering Wednesday's slate of games, the National League playoff picture looks like this. Though the Dodgers, Braves, Cubs, and Padres have had the privilege of celebrating postseason births, the 5-8 seeds remain hopelessly undecided. In the National League Central, the Cardinals, Reds, and Brewers are all looking to clinch the 5 or 6-seed and avoid Wild Card positioning. In the National League East, the Phillies have an uphill climb if they wish to surpass the Marlins to do the same. And then there's the San Francisco Giants. Projected to finish 24-36 during their 2020 campaign, the Giants have already exceeded expectations this season. However, entering this final homestand , San Francisco hoped to catch fire and steal one of the Wild Card playoff spots. Despite losing in embarrassing fashion on Monday, the Giants rebounded with an impressive win on Tuesday to work their way back into a tie with the Reds and Brewers. And now, only six games remain. Unfortunately for San Franc...

With eight games remaining in their 2020 campaign, the San Francisco Giants (26-26) currently hold 10th place in the National League postseason race. 2020 has proven to be a challenging year for everyone, and the Giants' regular season efforts are no exception. Despite starting the season with a record of 8-16, the team caught fire in late August  to propel themselves back into relevance. However, the Giants' final stretch will determine whether their resurgence is enough to play for baseball's ultimate prize. There will be eight National League postseason contenders this season.  Due to a divisional record tiebreaker, San Francisco will need a combination of losses from the Cardinals (26-24), Phillies (27-26), Reds (27-27), or Brewers (26-26) to snag the 7 or 8-seed. The Giants' final homestand begins tonight, with the Rockies flying in for a four-game set. San Francisco will then conclude its season with four against the Padres (including a Friday doubleheader to make...

On September 16, the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first MLB team to punch their ticket to the 2020 MLB Playoffs.  As of September 18, the Dodgers boast a record of 36-15, and seem to be on their way to an eighth consecutive NL West Division title. However, despite their tremendous regular season success, Los Angeles has repeatedly failed to capture a World Series trophy since 1988. Here are five reasons they will be unsuccessful once again in 2020. 1. Clayton Kershaw It's no secret that Clayton Kershaw's regular season success has not translated to impressive postseason numbers during his illustrious career. In 2,322 innings pitched, Kershaw currently holds an astounding regular season record of 174-76 with an ERA of 2.44. Meanwhile, Kershaw has pitched 158.1 postseason innings to claim a record of 9-11 with a 4.43 ERA. These numbers from the Dodgers' ace are no coincidence, as he has taken the mound in 32 playoff games and failed to impress more often than not. Aside fr...

With the NBA and NHL deep into their respective playoff brackets, MLB approaching its modified postseason format, and the first NFL Sunday on tap for tomorrow, I thought it might be interesting to illustrate some of the more meaningful moments in my time as a sports fan. Recognizing that everyone invests in a unique combination of teams, I'm interested to know how my "Top 10 Sports Moments" stack up with those of my readers.  Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below and don't forget to "Subscribe" for future post notifications :) 10. The 2018 World Series: Red Sox beat Dodgers in 5 games As an avid San Francisco Giants fan, something about the Dodgers losing in the World Series is simply irresistible. There's nothing sweeter than watching your rivals spend absurd amounts of money each offseason, stack their roster to clinch the NL West, and ultimately crumble when it matters most. While this one wasn't quite as memorable as the Dodgers...

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Seattle Mariners by the score of 10-1 on Wednesday night to extend their winning streak to five games. Following the Giants' come-from-behind victory on Tuesday, the team boasted its first winning record since August 2. And on Wednesday night, their offensive onslaught continued. Celebrating P!nk's birthday a day late, Mike Yastrzemski "got the party started" in the third inning, connecting on a three-run blast to spearhead San Francisco's potent attack. In the ensuing frames, the team did insurmountable damage, scoring thrice in both the fifth and sixth to erase any hope of a Seattle comeback. Joining Yastrzemski in tallying a multi-hit evening for the Giants were Wilmer Flores, Joey Bart, Mauricio Dubon, and Evan Longoria. Longoria's three RBIs were especially key in tonight's victory, coming on a pair of singles in back-to-back innings to increase San Francisco's lead to 6-0. They didn't look back. ...