Some things went as expected and others not so much as the Texas Rangers ousted the Tampa Bay Rays in four games while the Milwaukee Brewers survived the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games in the Division Series of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies choked yet again in the post-season.
The Yankees took it on the chin in five games against the Detroit Tigers while Philadelphia blew a 2-1 series lead and lost in five games to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Phillies, baseball's only 100-plus game winning team in 2011, lost Game Five at home, 1-0 as the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter tossed a three-hitter against them to clinch the series.
The turning point of the Divisional playoff between the Red Birds and Phils was Game Two, when with ace Cliff Lee pitching and the Phillies leading 4-0, the Cardinals stormed back to win that game in Philly and even the series.
The Yankees simply could not get the offense going in Game Five against the Tigers and lost, 3-2 as seldom used player Don Kelly hit a home run in the top of the first inning for Detroit and eventually pitcher Jose Valverde, perfect in 50 save attempts during the regular season and post-season, nailed it down in the ninth inning for the Tigers.
Texas cruised past Tampa Bay enroute to the 3-1 series win after spotting the rays a 9-0 win in Game One in Texas by winning three straight, including two in Tampa.
The Milwaukee Brewers got a clutch single from Nyjer Morgan to win, 3-2 in 10 innings in the deciding Game Five against upstart Arizona, which had rallied from down 0-2 in the series to push the Brew Crew to the brink.
Now it is on to the next round, the League Championship Series for the Brewers and Cardinals in the National League while the Texas Rangers face the Tigers in the ALCS, starting Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
No comments:
Post a Comment