World Series Takeaways: Tired Dodgers bullpen forces Game 7 vs. Astros
After six games this close, it seems fitting that the 2017 World Series will go to the brink.
Facing elimination, the Dodgers got 4.1 scoreless innings from a heavily-taxed bullpen to out-duel Justin Verlander and force a seventh game. It’ll be Yu Darvish against Lance McCullers Jr. on Wednesday, but realistically everyone from Collin McHugh to Clayton Kershaw will be available in relief.
Before we turn our focus to Game 7, though, let’s linger a little longer on the moments that stood out from Game 6…
JUST A QUICK REST
The biggest question facing the Dodgers Tuesday wasn’t whether Rich Hill would pitch well but how the Dodgers’ bullpen would perform afterwards. There’s ample talent in the Los Angeles bullpen, of course, but Brandon Morrow, Kenta Maeda and Kenley Jansen have all been heavily taxed this month. Lately, that workload has seemingly diminished their effectiveness.
For one day at least, those concerns were allayed. Morrow and Maeda pitched scoreless innings, and Jansen closed the game out with two clean frames of his own. That allowed the Dodgers to win without using Kershaw, who was technically available, but it means Dave Roberts’ most trusted relievers could again be tested on consecutive days in Game 7.
REDEMPTION FOR MORROW
Roberts had already faced criticism for removing Hill too early. He had already faced criticism for relying on Morrow too much. So when Roberts replaced Hill with Morrow in the top of the fifth inning he would have been well aware that second-guessers were ready.
Some of the fans at Dodger Stadium booed the decision on the spot, and yet the move worked. Pitching for the sixth time in six World Series games and for the 13th time in 14 Dodgers playoff games, Morrow recorded three outs. The outing allowed Morrow some redemption after a rough Game 5 outing that saw him allow four earned runs on just six pitches.
BEST AGAINST … BEST?
Meanwhile, the Astros’ search for answers in the bullpen continued without resolution Tuesday after Verlander exited. Having watched Ken Giles and Chris Devenski struggle, Houston manager A.J. Hinch turned to Joe Musgrove in the seventh inning.
Musgrove was a useful pitcher this year, logging 109.1 innings as a swingman, but he posted a 4.77 ERA and his peripheral numbers were pretty ordinary, too. Hardly sounds like the ideal arm for a high-leverage moment in Game 6 of the World Series, but that perfect option simply hasn’t existed for Hinch of late (on paper, Will Harris looked like one preferable option).
Joc Pederson responded by homering against Musgrove and extending the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1. (The homer, Pederson’s third of the World Series, comes after a slow finish to the season that saw him collect just six big-league hits from July on.)
Later, Hinch asked Francisco Liriano to make his World Series debut in a surprisingly big spot. This one actually worked out perfectly as Liriano struck out Cody Bellinger to end the eighth, but it highlighted the lack of dependable options in Houston’s bullpen — particularly from the left side.
SWINGING AWAY
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Chris Taylor stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second and nobody out. With the Dodgers trailing by one in a must-win game, old-school baseball orthodoxy called for a bunt. By advancing the runners, Taylor would position Corey Seager to tie the game with a sacrifice fly.
Instead, the Dodgers asked Taylor to swing away and he delivered with the lone extra-base hit Verlander allowed, an RBI double that tied the score 1-1. An impressive performance in a huge spot from a player who didn’t even crack Los Angeles’ opening day roster. Read More Here
Lance McCullers Starts Warming Up For Game 7 Immediately After Game 6
In about 20 hours, Lance McCullers will be starting Game 7 of the World Series for the Astros. But he went ahead and started warming up now—like, directly after the conclusion of Game 6—because if you’re already in uniform, why not get a few tosses in, right? Read More Here
College Football Playoff Rankings: Georgia opens at No. 1, Notre Dame at No. 3
Did your favorite team make it into 2017's first official college football rankings top 25?
The first College Football Playoff Rankings for the 2017 season are out and there were a lot of close decisions to sort out. There were also some inconsistencies, which is common with only nine weeks down and five weeks to go until the four playoff finalists are determined.
We will get to that in shortly, but first, let's start with the usual disclaimer. Nothing in these rankings is meaningful in terms of where teams may be ranked at the end of the season. It is possible that the current top four teams could win out -- with the exception of an Alabama-Georgia SEC Championship Game -- and still not be the top four teams at the end. Even if they are, the order may change. This isn't like the top 25 polls where you hold your position unless you lose. In any given week, a team could lose and move up or win and move down. We have seen examples of each over the first three years of this system.
College Football Playoff Rankings, Oct. 31
- Georgia (8-0)
- Alabama (8-0)
- Notre Dame (7-1)
- Clemson (7-1)
- Oklahoma (7-1)
- Ohio State (7-1)
- Penn State (7-1)
- TCU (7-1)
- Wisconsin (8-0)
- Miami (7-0)
- Oklahoma State (7-1)
- Washington (7-1)
- Virginia Tech (7-1)
- Auburn (6-2)
- Iowa State (6-2)
- Mississippi State (6-2)
- USC (7-2)
- UCF (7-0)
- LSU (6-2)
- NC State (6-2)
- Stanford (6-2)
- Arizona (6-2)
- Memphis (7-1)
- Michigan State (6-2)
- Washington State (7-2)
Are you ready for the most Browns story ever -- well, ever since the last most Browns story ever? Admittedly, there's been more than a few, but this one might just be the best.
On Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Browns and Bengals agreed on a trade centered around Bengals backup quarterback AJ McCarron, who has long been a hot commodity in the backup quarterback market, just before the NFL trade deadline. The move made sense. Sure, McCarron has barely played in the NFL, but Browns coach Hue Jackson used to be the Bengals' offensive coordinator, so he knew what he was getting in McCarron.
Unfortunately, the Browns never actually completed their trade for McCarron because according to Schefter, the Browns failed to notify the NFL before the 4 p.m. ET deadline. The Bengals reported the trade. The Browns did not.
Oops.
Everybody gets involved as Lonzo Ball, Lakers blow out Pistons
Even though he didn't play the fourth and his final stat line might not jump off the sheet, Ball made his impact felt in the game.
"Take away the Phoenix game, this is the best game he's played, I thought," Walton said of Ball, who had his top game since having 29 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists against Phoenix in the second game of the season. "The way that his pace was, the way he pushed the ball all the time, he was in the other team's paint. He just set the tone.
"And I thought the whole team fed off the way he was playing. I didn't even he look at his final stat line because I don't care what it was. I thought he was really, really impressive tonight."
After taking the blame for the Lakers' loss on Saturday in Utah and even the team's lack of offense and pace of late, a more aggressive Ball pushed the ball whenever he could and looked to score more than he had in the previous four games. The Lakers (3-4) played with the same urgency, stopping a two-game slide and halting Detroit's three-game winning streak.
Ball, who had no turnovers in a game for the first time in his pro career, finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Ball's assists total wasn't nearly an indication of how much the rookie moved the ball. Often times, his pass led to a hockey assist as Ball would initiate movement with a pass to a teammate, who immediately hit a cutting teammate for a basket.
Read More Here
Thunder's winning look against Bucks is quite becoming
There was a short pause, enough for Westbrook's media session to come to a close.
"That's it for me," Westbrook said, walking over to Anthony and George to carry on with the jokes.
It was a punctuating win for the Thunder, building on a 32-point smackdown of the young Bulls three nights ago in Chicago, and the kind that fosters a happy locker room. But it was clear in the 48 minutes on the floor, and in the time after: This Thunder team has preached patience, but it appears they are starting to figure a few things out.
"We all came -- myself, Melo, other guys, Ray [Felton], Pat [Patterson] -- we came from different situations, from different programs, so defensively it was going to be different to start out," George said. "But over time we were going to figure it [out], start gaining momentum, starting to figure out what we're going to be defensively."
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