Tampa Bay Rays beat Oakland A's in AL wild card game

Yandy Diaz

The Oakland A's have lost nine consecutive winner-take-all games, dating back to the 2000 season. In fact, the A's have lost the past 10 times they've played in an elimination playoff game.

Longtime Oakland executive Billy Beane famously said after a 2002 playoff loss to the Minnesota Twins that his "shit doesn't work in the playoffs," but you would think after all this time, his "shit" would work on accident for once.

Alas, the A's added to their tortured postseason history Wednesday with a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL wild card game.

With the victory, the Rays advance to the American League Division Series, where they will face the best team in baseball and the World Series favorite -- the 107-win Houston Astros.

Tampa Bay had the fewest home runs (217) of all the playoff qualifiers this season, but you never would have known that by watching this game. Leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz clubbed the first of his two solo home runs to start the game, and former White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia added a two-run blast in the top of the second inning.

Diaz's second home run off Oakland starter Sean Manaea staked the Rays to a 4-0 lead in the third inning, and they maintained control for the rest of the night.

Manaea was removed after giving up his third home run of the start. The two home runs by Diaz were almost carbon copies. The right-handed hitter got two fastballs up and out over the plate, and both times he drove them over the fence to the opposite field. Garcia's homer was to center field, but it also was a fastball up and over the outer half.

I think we know what pitch and what location the Rays were looking for against Manaea, don't we?

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay starter Charlie Morton worked five innings of one-run ball. I get the sense the Rays signed Morton as a free agent last offseason specifically to pitch this game. They knew they probably weren't going to win the AL East this season, and that their path to the division series would need to include a wild card win.

A veteran pitcher such as Morton, who has World Series experience from his time in Houston, is just the sort of guy you need to prevail in a winner-take-all game on the road. Morton didn't even have his best stuff -- his curveball wasn't working -- but he protected the lead he was handed and put the game in the hands of the deep Tampa Bay bullpen.

Tommy Pham hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to give the Rays a little more breathing room, and relievers Diego Castillo, Nick Anderson and Emilio Pagan combined for eight strikeouts over four scoreless innings.

Tampa Bay has a tall order in the next round against the Astros, but in the playoffs, everyone has a puncher's chance. You never know.

Washington Nationals rally to beat Milwaukee Brewers in NL wild card game

Juan Soto

During the 2018 playoffs, teams that took a lead of two or more runs into the eighth inning went 24-0.

One night into the 2019 playoffs, teams that look a lead of two or more runs into the eighth inning already are 0-1.

That's because the Washington Nationals scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning against Milwaukee Brewers relief ace Josh Hader to rally for a 4-3 victory in the NL wild card game Tuesday night.

Juan Soto delivered the big hit, and now the Nationals advance to the NL Division Series, where they will meet the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers.

For Hader, who had 37 saves and a 0.806 WHIP this season, the meltdown was stunning. But, he had some bad luck in the inning, and he was his own worst enemy with shoddy command.

Summoned to protect a 3-1 lead, Hader could not throw his slider for a strike to save his life, which allowed Washington batters to completely disregard that pitch and key in on his fastball. And Hader did not command his fastball well either, routinely missing up and out of the zone.

Washington's Victor Robles actually did Hader a favor by striking out on a 3-2 fastball up and out of the zone to lead off the eighth inning. The Milwaukee left-hander was not so fortunate as the inning progressed.

The next batter, pinch-hitter Michael Taylor, also worked a full count. Hader's 3-2 fastball rode up and in and hit either Taylor's hand or the knob of Taylor's bat, depending on your perspective. It was a tough call -- it could have been ruled a foul ball -- but umpires determined it was a hit batsman, and the call held up under replay review.

Trea Turner also did Hader a favor by striking out swinging on a fastball up and out of the zone. That was the second out, and despite his shaky control, it appeared Hader might escape trouble.

However, Ryan Zimmerman muscled a broken-bat single to center field that advanced Taylor to third base. Hader made a good pitch there, but he was unlucky, as the weakly struck ball landed where nobody could catch it.

That brought up the leading RBI man in the NL, Anthony Rendon, who worked a walk on five pitches. Once again, Hader routinely missed high with his fastball, and he could not throw his slider for a strike.

That loaded the bases for Soto, who obviously noticed that Hader didn't throw a single low fastball the whole inning. Everything with velocity was top of the zone and up, and Soto lined a fastball at the top of the zone into right field for a single.

The ball appeared to take a funny kick on right fielder Trent Grisham. It got past him, and all three runners scored, turning a 3-1 Washington deficit into a 4-3 Nationals lead.

Milwaukee managed to tag Soto out in a rundown between second and third base on the play for the third out, but the damage had been done. The Brewers, who won 18 of their last 23 games in the regular season to earn the second wild card spot, went from being in command with their best reliever on the mound to being in big trouble.

Former White Sox prospect Daniel Hudson, now a veteran reliever, got three outs for the Nationals to earn a save, pitching around a Lorenzo Cain single in the top of the ninth.

For Washington and its fans, this had to be a bit of a catharsis. In each of the Nationals' last three playoff appearances, they had lost a winner-take-all game at home -- one loss each to the St. Louis Cardinals, Dodgers and Cubs.

The last time a Washington team won a winner-take-all game at home? Well, Walter Johnson was on the mound for the Senators in Game 7 of the 1924 World Series.

Quite a start to the playoffs, no?

2 White Sox players finish atop American League leaderboard

Tim Anderson

I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu for making White Sox history this season.

Anderson, who hit .240 during the 2018 season, pretty much shocked the baseball world by winning the 2019 American League batting title. He finished the year at .335, comfortably ahead of the New York Yankees' DJ LeMahieu, who batted .327.

There are only two other players in Sox history who have won a batting title, Luke Appling (1936, 1943) and Frank Thomas (1997), so Anderson is joining select company.

Abreu, meanwhile, totaled a career-high 123 RBIs to lead the American League. Kansas City's Jorge Soler and Boston's Xander Bogaerts finished second with 117 RBIs each.

This marks the first time a Sox player has led the AL in RBIs since Dick Allen did it in 1972. In other words, it has happened in my lifetime (which spans 43 years).

I've heard some fans grump that they don't care about "these individual accomplishments," and while I agree that team success is more important, and while I agree that the losing on the South Side of Chicago has grown tiresome, I also have an appreciation for baseball history and White Sox history when I see it.

We don't see Sox hitters lead the league in significant categories too often, so I see no harm in extending congratulations to Anderson and Abreu for the seasons they had at the plate.

The last day at Guaranteed Rate Field

My White Sox family (from left): Brian , Doug , Jen , Tom and me.

Kudos to the White Sox for having a respectable last homestand of 2019. It was rain abbreviated -- the Sox only played 161 games this season because of bad weather Friday -- but they closed it out with a 4-2 week at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The Sox took two of the three from the Cleveland Indians, basically knocking their AL Central rivals out of the playoffs with an 8-3 win Wednesday night and a 8-0 win Thursday night.

The Sox then won two of three games from the hapless Detroit Tigers over the weekend, which allowed them to finish 72-89 -- a 10-game improvement over 2018.

Despite that improvement, it was still a non-contending year for the Sox, and a difficult season for me to watch at times. As we sat at the ballpark Sunday, watching the South Siders beat Detroit, 5-3, I had mixed emotions.

The Sox are concluding the season with only two healthy starting pitchers, Reynaldo Lopez and Ivan Nova. Yes, I know the injuries to Lucas Giolito (strained lat) and Dylan Cease (strained hamstring) are not considered serious, but the bottom line is they aren't pitching.

The team has had no choice but to make seemingly every other game a "bullpen day." If there was a game Monday, who would be the starting pitcher for the Sox? I have no idea, because Lopez and Nova both pitched in Saturday's doubleheader against the Tigers.

From that perspective, for everyone's health and sanity, it is good the season is ending now. The Sox are almost out of starting pitching, and they don't need anyone else getting hurt while being pushed beyond their limits.

That said, while I know the season needed to end, that doesn't make me happy that it has. I always miss baseball during the winter, and this year will be no different.

You see, the beauty of the game is that it is played every day. Win or lose, there's always another game tomorrow. Until you get to the last day, and then you have to wait 179 days before the next meaningful ballgame is played. That stinks.

But at least we got to enjoy one last day with our friends at the ballpark. Believe it or not, they still had food at ChiSox Bar & Grill. (This is an improvement over previous season finales, if you can believe it.) The weather wasn't great, but the company was, and the Sox won.

My final attendance record for 2019: 10-10. That's not too bad when cheering for a 72-89 team. Let's hope that by next September, the Sox will be playing games that mean something in the standings for the first time since 2012.

An important September series at Guaranteed Rate Field ... for Cleveland

Mike Clevinger

With one week remaining in the regular season, the closest playoff race is in the American League.

Three teams are fighting for the two wild card spots, with Oakland (94-62) holding a two-game lead for the first spot over Tampa Bay (92-64) and Cleveland (92-64), which are in a dead heat for the final playoff berth entering Monday's games.

I think the A's are going to secure home-field advantage in that wild card game this week. Their six remaining games are all on the road, but they are against the bottom two teams in the AL West. Oakland plays two against the Los Angeles Angels and four at Seattle. A 3-3 record this week should be good enough for the A's. They'll manage.

The battle between Tampa Bay and Cleveland is much more interesting. I think the Rays are the better team, but based on strength of schedule, the Indians have a slight edge in this race.

Mainly, that edge involves Cleveland getting a chance to play three games against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field from Tuesday through Thursday.

To be fair to the Sox, they have more than held their own against the Tribe this season. Chicago owns a 9-7 edge in the season series. However, the pitching matchups this week strongly favor Cleveland:

Tuesday: Mike Clevinger (12-3, 2.54 ERA) vs. Hector Santiago (0-1, 5.23 ERA)
Wednesday: Shane Bieber (15-7, 3.23 ERA) vs. Ross Detwiler (2-5, 6.98 ERA)
Thursday: Aaron Civale (3-3, 1.82 ERA) vs. Dylan Cease (4-7, 5.79 ERA)

The first two games of the series, the Indians are throwing starting pitchers who will get Cy Young votes. The Sox are throwing starting pitchers who are lucky they are still in baseball. It will be Thursday before the Sox use a pitcher who could make the game interesting, and even then, the rookie Cease is no sure bet.

Meanwhile, the Rays are playing the Boston Red Sox on Monday night. They then will host the AL East champion New York Yankees on Tuesday and Wednesday before an off day Thursday.

So, between now and Thursday, the Indians have a golden opportunity to seize the lead in this race.

Once we get to the weekend, the schedule tilts back in Tampa Bay's favor, as it will go on the road to face also-ran Toronto, while Cleveland travels to Washington. The Nationals still are fighting to secure home-field advantage in the NL wild card race, so they likely will have something to play for.

From the Sox perspective, it sure would be nice to play spoiler against the rival Indians, but if we're making an honest assessment of the situation, the Sox would be fortunate to take one out of three in this series.

Reynaldo Lopez's struggles prevent White Sox from sweeping Detroit Tigers

Reynaldo Lopez

When people speak about the projected 2020 White Sox pitching staff, it is assumed that the starting rotation will include Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez and a veteran free agent to be signed later.

Perhaps those people are correct, but that's not the way it should work.

Giolito is the only Sox pitcher who has performed well enough in 2019 to where it can be assumed that he's a member of the rotation to open next season. In fact, barring an unforeseen big-name free agent acquisition, I would expect to see Giolito on the mound when next season opens March 26 against the Kansas City Royals.

All others should have to compete for a spot, and that includes Lopez, who pitched poorly Sunday in a 6-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The loss prevented the Sox (68-87) from sweeping the hapless Tigers (46-109).

The Sox offense totaled 36 hits through the first two games of the series. They won 10-1 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday, and neither Cease (4-7) nor Ivan Nova (11-12) found it all that difficult on their way to wins against the weak Detroit offense.

But on Sunday, Lopez got torched for three home runs and five earned runs over four innings, and he also received two lectures from manager Rick Renteria -- one a stern discussion on the mound during the second inning, and then another lengthy dialogue during the top of the fourth inning in the dugout.

The loss drops Lopez to 9-15 on the season, with an ugly 5.57 ERA. The right-hander had one of the best starts of his career Sept. 5, a complete-game one-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. However, in three starts since then -- against the Royals, Minnesota Twins and Tigers -- Lopez has given up five or more earned runs in every outing.

He's 0-3 with a 10.29 ERA in that span, having allowed 16 earned runs on 27 hits -- including six home runs -- over 14 innings.

Does that sound like somebody we should be "penciling in" to the 2020 rotation? Not in my world.

I realize two full seasons have been invested in Lopez's development now, so it's hard to give up on him. And the Sox shouldn't give up on him. He has some of the best fastball velocity in the league -- he's consistently throwing 95-plus. However, that's not good enough. The fastball has to be located, and the secondary pitches have to be better. Lopez surrendered three homers on sliders Sunday.

So where do the Sox go from here? To me, this is simple. The Sox need to sign two veteran free agent pitchers this offseason, not just one. And, if they must bring back Nova, tell him he's going to be serving as a long reliever and spot starter -- and he should only be retained *in addition* to two other acquisitions from outside the organization.

Create a situation where you have Lopez, Cease, Kopech and three veterans vying for the four spots in the rotation behind Giolito. The four best of the six are starters, and the other two can go sit in the bullpen.

If Lopez cannot command his fastball, if he cannot maintain his focus from start to start, if he cannot execute his breaking pitches -- even against a Triple-A lineup such as Detroit's -- then he needs to be removed from the rotation.

You see, this season the Sox are so short on pitching that Lopez, Cease and Nova are guaranteed to retain their spots in the rotation, no matter how bad they pitch. Hell, even Dylan Covey has been allowed to make starts when he's healthy, because there is no depth to speak of whatsoever.

This should not be. Everybody should have a little bit of fear that they could lose their job if they don't perform. As it stands right now, no matter how many lectures Renteria delivers, Lopez is in the rotation regardless of results.

This is a situation that must change this offseason. Invest in the pitching staff, White Sox. Create internal competition. Don't accept mediocrity or worse. No more scholarships for anybody.

Here's me with the San Diego Chicken ...

All of these White Sox losses are wearing on me, so I'm going to take a break from complaining about them (for now).

So, all you're getting from me today is this photo of me with the San Diego Chicken.

Maybe I'll have something nice to say by Monday. Cheers!