Ian Desmond tries to tag up from first on a fly ball to leftfield, where Kris Bryant is playing. Bryant makes a good throw, and Desmond is out on a close play. That’s a gift out to the Cubs.
The Rockies are up 1-0 on the Cubs at the stretch.
Jon Lester and Kyle Freeland continue a tremendous pitching duel, the game at 1-0 Rockies since the top of the first. Freeland just gave up a walk and a bloop hit, but got the double play when he needed it. Each pitcher walked one batter, Lester striking out nine, Freeland six. Both have very reasonable pitch counts so far.
The Indians play the defending AL and World Series Champion Astros in the settled ALDS. The following table shows their ranks in various areas of offense:
| Statistic | Cleveland Indians | Houston Astros |
|---|---|---|
| Runs/Game | 5.05 (3rd) | 4.92 (5th) |
| Batting Avg. | .259 (2nd) | .255 (4th) |
| OBP | .332 (3rd) | .329 (4th-T) |
| Slugging Pct. | .435 (4th) | .425 (6th) |
| Home Runs | 216 (4th) | 205 (7th) |
| Stolen Base % | 79% (3rd-T) | 73% (7th) |
The Indians hold the advantage in every category, although the advantages tend to be slight. They should be fairly evenly matched.
The series features two of the best hitting third basemen in the game, Alex Bregman and Jose Ramirez. Bregman has a bit of an advantage in BA and OBP, but Ramirez offers more power. In fact, four of the top five on the OBP leaders linked are in the post season.
This table compares the pitchers:
| Statistic | Cleveland Indians | Houston Astros |
|---|---|---|
| Earned Run Avg. | 3.77 (4th) | 3.11 (1st) |
| Runs Allowed/Game | 4.00 (4th) | 3.30 (1st) |
| Strikeouts per 9 IP | 9.5 (4th) | 10.4 (1st) |
| Walks per 9 IP | 2.5 (1st-T) | 2.7 (3rd) |
| Home Runs per 200 IP | 27.4 (8th-T) | 20.9 (1st) |
| BABIP | .299 (9th) | .284 (3rd) |
If you look at the preview of last year’s Astros ALDS series, you’ll note that the offense and pitching flipped this season. They fielded the league’s best offense with good pitching. This season, the Astros pitching sits atop the AL while their offense is good, but not great. The Astros went out an improved their pitching staff in the post-season, and that covered some regression by the offense.
This is a strength on strength match-up. Both pitching staffs strike out lots of batters. Both offenses put the ball in play. Both offenses take their walks, both pitching staff throw strikes. The Astros look like they have the better defense, given their BABIP. If the teams manage to put the ball in play, the Astros should be better at turning them into outs.
This is shaping up to be a great series, and I’ll favor the Astros slightly.
A walk, an ivy double, and a sacrifice fly by the first three Rockies batters put the Rockies on the board in the top of the first inning. Jon Lester is having problems finding the plate.
Update: Lester comes back to strike out the last two batters as the Rockies take a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the first inning.
Park Village is a new condo development by Grand Long Holdings and Park Village Investments located in Richmond. Designed by W.T. Leung Architects, two of the towers will contain 318 market condominiums and 21 affordable rental apartments. The third tower will provide 58,600 sq ft of office space and, in the podium, 43,800 sq ft of restaurant and retail space.
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The Twins took the field manager job away from Paul Molitor, but hope to bump him upstairs:
The Twins fired manager Paul Molitor, who will be offered a position in the team’s baseball operations department.
“It was a complex decision,” said Derek Falvey, the Twins’ chief baseball officer. “It’s in the best interest of the club right now.”
Falvey said he and General Manager Thad Levine would begin the search for a new manager both externally and internally, and process that could take “multiple weeks.” Levine said they don’t have a specific person in mind, but do have “specific qualities” in mind.
The Twins should have been developing into a good long-term team, but took a big step back this year. Another article examines why he was fired:
Falvey and Levine insisted the decision wasn’t about wins and losses this season, though it’s hard to imagine Tuesday playing out the way it did had the season played out with 10 more wins.
To that end, Molitor might be culpable of not squeezing the maximum out of his teams. He finished 22 games under .500 in one-run games as Twins manager, including 15-21 this year; Ron Gardenhire’s Twins teams, by contrast, were a combined 30 games over .500 in one-run games in his 13 seasons.
We’ll see if Molitor sticks around.
1684 Alberni by Westbank is a new 39-storey residential tower development located in downtown Vancouver. This project will offer 94 one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom market condominiums. The weave design is the sculptural expression of an exoskeleton that creates generous, 2-storey balconies which also act as a sunshade, reducing cooling loads in the summer. 1684 Alberni is ideally situated just blocks away from local shops, services, the Georgia Street Corridor, and the Central Business District.
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