Yankees rally from 0-2 series deficit, upset Indians

Didi Gregorius

The Cleveland Indians once had a 22-game winning streak. They finished the season winning 35 of their final 42 games.

None of that means much now, does it?

The New York Yankees are in the ALCS after winning Game 5 of the ALDS, 5-2, at Cleveland on Wednesday night.

I felt as though the Yankees would be a dangerous opponent for Cleveland, just because New York is the one team that can match the Indians' bullpen arm for arm. However, I never expected the Yankees to pull this thing off, especially after Cleveland won the first two games of the five-game series.

New York rallied to win the final three games of the series, and sure enough, strong bullpen work was essential in the Game 5 victory.

That said, we would be remiss if we did not point out that Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia outpitched Corey Kluber, the Cleveland ace and likely Cy Young Award winner in the American League this year.

Didi Gregorius touched Kluber up for two home runs, a solo shot in the first inning and a two-run blast in the third. Kluber lasted only 3.2 innings and left the mound in the top of the fourth inning with his team trailing, 3-0.

Sabathia, meanwhile, allowed no runs on only one hit through the first four innings. He ran into trouble in the fifth, when he gave up two runs on four hits.

The Indians cut the New York lead to 3-2, and had runners on first and second with only one out. But former White Sox reliever David Robertson came in and slammed the door, inducing Francisco Lindor to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Sabathia struck out nine over his 4.2 innings pitched, and that's all the Yankees needed from him with Robertson and Aroldis Chapman coming out of the bullpen.

Robertson played the role of super reliever perfectly, navigating a scoreless 2.2 innings. He did not allow a single hit and protected that one-run lead through the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

That got the ball to Chapman, who struck out four and did not allow a hit while recording a six-out save.

The Yankees got a little breathing room in the top of the ninth inning, when Brett Gardner's single on the 12th pitch of an at-bat against Cleveland closer Cody Allen produced two runs to make it 5-2. Gardner fouled off five consecutive 3-2 pitches before getting the base hit. Credit him for a terrific job against one of the better relievers in the AL.

In Game 5, the Yankees' starter outpitched the Indians' starter, and the New York bullpen was better than the Cleveland bullpen. Add in a big-time performance from Gregorius, and there's your upset.

The Yankees are headed to Houston to open the ALCS on Friday night.

Nationals force Game 5

So, I guess sending Stephen Strasburg to the mound worked out OK for the Washington Nationals, huh?

Strasburg struck out 12 over seven shutout innings Wednesday, and the Nationals beat the Cubs, 5-0, to tie the NLDS at 2-all. I don't think Tanner Roark gives you that performance, Washington fans.

We probably wouldn't be talking about a Game 5 back in Washington on Thursday night if Roark had started that game.

The Nationals are at home for this decisive game, which can only help them. But I still think the Cubs have the advantage pitching-wise. Kyle Hendricks was brilliant in Game 1, and he'll start Game 5 on regular rest. Can the Washington offense solve him?

Washington will have to go with either Gio Gonzalez or Roark, but Max Scherzer should be able to give them a couple innings of relief, if necessary.

Still, I'd give the edge to the Cubs. But don't listen to me. I thought the Cubs would close out the Nationals in four. I also thought the Indians would beat the Yankees.

The only thing I know is that I know nothing about baseball.

What is going on with Dusty Baker and the Washington Nationals?

Dusty Baker

Does Dusty Baker know that playoff baseball is different than regular-season baseball? Does he have any urgency to win whatsoever?

Baker and the Washington Nationals received a huge break Tuesday when Game 4 of their NLDS against the Cubs was postponed because of rain here in the Chicago area.

The Cubs lead the series, 2-1, and the Nationals are facing elimination in Game 4. The unexpected day off was a gift for Washington, because now it can start ace right-hander Stephen Strasburg on regular rest in this critical game.

Or so we thought.

After the postponement Tuesday, Baker instead announced he would be sticking with Tanner Roark for Game 4. That's the same Tanner Roark who has a 4.67 ERA pitching in the weak National League East this season.

Seriously, Dusty? That's the guy you want to pitch with your season on the line? Should this even be a debate?

Baker also claimed that Strasburg was battling illness, because there is a lot of mold in the air in Chicago at this time of year, and apparently the air conditioning wasn't working right at the Nationals' hotel or some such thing.

Talk about lame excuses.

I can attest that the mold count is a problem in Chicago right now. I suffer from a mold allergy, and I've struggled with it off and on for the past month or so. But you know what I do? I take some allergy medicine and go to work. It's kind of an annoying thing, but it's hardly debilitating. It doesn't prevent a person from doing his job.

Early Wednesday, Baker reversed course and announced that Strasburg will start Game 4. Duh. I assume someone from the Washington front office stepped in and knocked some sense into him. Even if Strasburg fails, this is an obvious move, and it should have been announced Tuesday to give Strasburg additional time to prepare himself mentally for the start.

But Baker isn't very good at strategy, and often fails to make the obvious move. Take Game 3, for example. With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cubs had the go-ahead run on second base with two outs and Anthony Rizzo at the plate.

Baker had a number of options there. He had a solid reliever on the mound in Brandon Kintzler. He could have walked Rizzo and taken his chances with Willson Contreras, the Cubs' on-deck hitter. He could have brought in his best left-handed reliever, Sean Doolittle, to deal with Rizzo. Or, he could have walked Rizzo and brought in his best right-handed reliever, Ryan Madson, to deal with Contreras.

Instead, Baker opts to bring in 36-year-old journeyman lefty Oliver Perez, he of the 4.64 ERA. Rizzo singles on the first pitch from Perez, and the Cubs win Game 3, 2-1.

Nice move, Dusty, nice move. I guess he was saving Doolittle for the ninth inning, huh? Maybe you do that in the regular season, but certainly not in the playoffs.

Honestly, is there a manager out there who is a worse tactician than Dusty Baker? My goodness ...

Astros, Dodgers move on to the next round

Alex Bregman

The Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers are the first two teams to advance to the League Championship Series.

Houston defeated the Boston Red Sox, 5-4, on Monday afternoon to win the ALDS, 3-1. Later Monday, the Dodgers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-1, to complete a three-game sweep in the NLDS.

The Houston-Boston game probably was the most interesting of the four playoff games played Monday, because both teams had their respective aces, Justin Verlander and Chris Sale, on the mound by the fifth inning.

Houston starter Charlie Morton lasted 4.1 innings. Boston starter Rick Porcello worked only three innings. I found it interesting that neither manager was desperate enough to start his ace in a Game 4, but both managers were desperate enough to use their ace in a relief role.

I was especially surprised to see Verlander on the hill.  The Astros, after all, led the series 2-1. Had they lost, they had a Game 5 in Houston to fall back on, and I would have liked their chances to win with Verlander starting that game.

But Houston manager A.J. Hinch had other thoughts. He pushed his chips to the center of the table to win Game 4, and win it he did.

I wasn't as surprised to see Sale work in relief because, well, it was do-or-die for the Red Sox. If you're gonna die, die with your best on the mound.

Verlander entered in the fifth inning with his team leading, 2-1, but he lost the lead quickly by giving up a two-run homer to Boston left fielder Andrew Benintendi. That ended up being the only hit Verlander allowed over his 2.2 innings of relief, but for a time, it looked as though he was going to take a 3-2 loss.

Sale was brutal in a Game 1 defeat, but he was dealing in the middle innings Monday. The Astros did not get a single hit off him in the fourth, fifth or sixth innings. Sale fanned six and did not walk a batter over his 4.2 innings of relief.

However, the Astros broke through with a two-run eighth inning. Alex Bregman tied it with a home run off Sale to start the inning. Evan Gattis singled sandwiched in between two outs, and Sale was removed from the game with two outs in the top of the eighth and the score tied at 3.

Boston closer Craig Kimbrel was ineffective. He walked the first hitter he faced, George Springer, then gave up an RBI single to Josh Reddick that put the Astros ahead, 4-3. Houston added another run off Kimbrel in the ninth, which proved to be key. Rafael Devers had an inside-the-park home run for the Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth to make it 5-4, but it was not enough.

Give the Astros credit. I always say you're not going to win championships beating up on chump pitchers. You have to go through people, and Houston went through two All-Stars -- Sale and Kimbrel -- to score three late runs Monday.

As a result, they await the winner of the series between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians, which is tied at 2-all. Game 5 is Thursday night.

Chris Sale gets rocked in first career postseason start

Chris Sale

Chris Sale spent more than six years in a White Sox uniform and made five All-Star appearances. There are few complaints one could make about his performance on the South Side, but if there is one, it would be this: Sale fades at the end of seasons.

Sale, who was traded to the Boston Red Sox last offseason, always has been strong out of the gate, and that's one reason he's always on the mound for the American League in the All-Star Game. But it's no secret September is the month when he's most prone to having some struggles.

Here are Sale's career ERAs by month:

April: 2.91
May: 2.57
June: 2.66
July: 2.66
August: 3.22
September: 3.78

Granted, a 3.78 ERA is hardly an embarrassment, but it is indicative of Sale going from a nearly untouchable ace to a league-average mortal late in the season. That's always created some questions about how well Sale would perform if given the opportunity to pitch in the playoffs.

As it turns out, Sale looked was quite mortal Thursday in his postseason debut with the Red Sox, giving up seven runs on nine hits -- including three home runs -- in five innings of Boston's 8-2 loss to the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the ALDS.

It was the continuation of a bizarre late-season pattern for Sale this year. Including Thursday, he's made 12 starts since Aug. 1, and he was lights out in five of them. Four times he allowed no runs. There was another start where he allowed only one run.

However, he's also had four starts where he has allowed five runs or more, and Thursday marked the third occasion when he has allowed seven runs or more.

Bad Sale appeared at the worst possible time, and that is not going to sit well in Boston. The Red Sox were favorites to win in the 2016 American League playoffs, but they were dismissed in three straight games by the Cleveland Indians, largely because of pitching failures by David Price and Rick Porcello.

Boston acquired Sale in December as a response to that. Keep in mind, the Red Sox were a playoff team without Sale. He wasn't brought in to help them win the division. He was brought in specifically to help them win in the postseason. One game and one start does not a series make, but there is going to be a ton of pressure on Sale to deliver should he be fortunate enough to receive another start in this series against the Astros.

White Sox pare 40-man roster down to 33

As we follow two ALDS Game 1s -- Boston at Houston and New York at Cleveland -- on this Thursday afternoon and early evening, there are some White Sox roster moves to report.

The Sox outrighted catcher Rob Brantly, outfielder Rymer Liriano and pitchers David Holmberg, Brad Goldberg and Chris Volstad to Triple-A Charlotte.

Goldberg remains in the organization as a non-roster player, because this is the first time he has been outrighted. Brantly, Liriano, Holmberg and Volstad elected free agency.

The moves reduce the Sox's 40-man roster to 33. There are three guys on the 60-day DL -- Charlie Tilson, Zach Putnam and Geovany Soto. After those three men are activated, the roster moves to 36, then reduces to 34, because Soto and Mike Pelfrey are free agents-to-be.

That leaves six spots open for the Sox to protect players from the Rule 5 draft, although it's possible we'll see more roster dreck purged in the coming weeks.

Former White Sox relievers among Yankees heroes in AL wild card game

David Robertson

Tuesday's American League wild card game was not decided by starting pitchers.

Both Luis Severino of the New York Yankees and Ervin Santana of the Minnesota Twins were terrible.

Severino lasted 29 pitches. He recorded only one out in the top of the first inning and left the mound with his team trailing 3-0 and runners on second and third. Santana wasn't much better for Minnesota, allowing four earned runs over only two innings.

Nope, this one was decided by the bullpens, and New York's relief corps came through with 8.2 innings of one-run ball in an 8-4 Yankees victory.

Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge homered for New York, but two of the players who had the biggest say in the outcome of this game were two relievers the Yankees acquired from the White Sox in July -- David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle.

The two right-handers combined for 5.2 innings of scoreless ball and six strikeouts. Robertson entered in an unfamiliar role -- he came on in the third inning with the Yankees leading 4-3. The Twins had the bases loaded with one out. Robertson allowed only one of the inherited runners to score -- when Byron Buxton narrowly beat out a potential inning-ending double play ball.

The former Sox closer then held the Twins at bay until there were two outs in the sixth inning, during which time the Yankees built a 7-4 lead against the Minnesota bullpen.

Kahnle then came in and retired all seven of the Twins hitters he faced to get New York through eight innings with a lead. Aroldis Chapman struck out the side in the ninth, and the Yankees are in the ALDS to face the Cleveland Indians.

Robertson picked up the win, and the 3.1 innings pitched is a new career high for him. He has been a terrific midseason acquisition for the Yankees. In 30 regular-season games, he pitched 35 innings, struck out 51 batters and went 5-0 with a 1.03 ERA and 0.743 WHIP. He did not allow a run in 15 September innings, and carried over his lights-out pitching into the wild card game.

The July trade with the Sox has paid immediate dividends for the Yankees. If not for Robertson and Kahnle, perhaps their season would be over today.

We can only hope that the prospects the Sox got from New York in that trade -- outfielders Blake Rutherford and Tito Polo and pitcher Ian Clarkin -- can one day come through in the clutch in a future big game on the South Side of Chicago.

AL wild card game: Everyone is picking the Yankees to beat the Twins

Ervin Santana

Postseason baseball begins Tuesday night with the AL wild card game pitting the New York Yankees (91-71) against the Minnesota Twins (85-77).

As far as I can tell, there isn't a person alive who thinks the Twins are going to win this game. Consider the following facts:

• The Yankees come in red-hot, winners of 20 of their past 28 games, while the Twins were 14-14 in their past 28 games.
• The Yankees' season run differential is +198, while Minnesota's was only +27.
• New York won four out of six in the season series, including a three-game sweep in the Bronx in September.
• Minnesota starting pitcher Ervin Santana had a fine season (16-8, 3.28 ERA), but he's 6-10 lifetime against the Yankees -- and 0-5 in six starts in the current Yankee Stadium. 
• New York starting pitcher Luis Severino (14-6, 2.98) has had a breakout season, having struck out 230 in 193.1 innings this year. He's probably the third-best pitcher in the AL, behind only Cleveland's Corey Kluber and Boston's Chris Sale.
• The Twins will be without their most dangerous hitter in third baseman Miguel Sano (28 homers, 77 RBIs), who has appeared in only three games since Aug. 19 because of a left shin injury.
• The Yankees have a deep bullpen featuring no fewer than three relievers who can close in Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and David Robertson.
• The Twins traded their closer, Brandon Kintzler, to the Washington Nationals at the end of July, mistakenly believing they were out of the pennant race. Minnesota has 37-year-old journeyman Matt Belisle closing games, and its best reliever is .....  ummmmm, Taylor Rogers, I guess.

Everything points to New York winning this game and advancing to the ALDS to face the Cleveland Indians. So why even watch?

Well, it's baseball, and this is a one-game playoff, not a seven-game series. Could the Twins somehow sneak a win out of the Bronx tonight? I wouldn't bet on it, but it's possible.