Late Thursday night (early Friday morning on the East Coast), Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper to end the Nationals-Cubs epic Game 5 and, at the same time, the Division Series round.
All four of the opening-round series gave us some sort of thrill and taught us something about the teams involved or the postseason as a whole. Here’s what we learned.
What was your biggest takeaway from the Division Series round?
Brandon Liebhaber: I know it’s talked about a lot, but the way that pitching staffs are used now is staggering to me. Starting pitching isn’t irrelevant (See: Strasburg, Stephen), but it’s no longer the key to playoff success. Managers have no issue pulling the plug on their starter early and turning things over to their bullpen. Or maybe another starting pitcher! Pedro Martinez being used in relief was a huge deal in 1999. Now, we barely blink as Chris Sale and Jon Lester are used in relief.
Corey Kluber, the likely American League Cy Young Award winner, didn’t make it through four innings in either of his two starts. On Wednesday, CC Sabathia turned in a praiseworthy start despite not making it through five innings. It’s a paradigm shift in the way we look at starting pitching come October. I know it has been a long time coming, but this postseason has shown me that no starter is immune to a quick trigger.
Joe Lucia: My biggest takeaway was the fact that the Yankees don’t need to bludgeon their opponents to win games. Facing elimination in Game 3, New York beat Cleveland 1-0. Yes, they scored seven runs in Game 4 and five in Game 5, but two of those runs in the clincher came in the ninth inning to give the team some breathing room. When I thought of the Yankees coming into this postseason, I thought of a dominant offense. Going into the ALCS, I’m thinking of a team that can beat you in multiple ways, which is great news for them against the Astros.
Ian Casselberry: The MLB postseason is the time for unexpected heroes. Sure, stars like Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg still make a huge impact. But it’s so much more fun when surprises emerge in big moments.
Look at Game 5 of the Yankees-Indians series. Didi Gregorius hits two home runs off Corey Kluber. David Robertson throws 2.2 innings of scoreless relief in that same game. Or how about CC Sabathia, once an ace starter, coming through with four excellent innings when the Yankees needed them most?
In the Red Sox-Astros ALDS, Houston’s Alex Bregman hit home runs off Chris Sale in Games 1 and 4. Yuli Gurriel batted 9-for-17 in the series.
On the NL side, Nationals center fielder Michael A. Taylor hit a big grand slam in Game 4 and followed up with a two-run shot in Game 5 against the Cubs. Addison Russell drove in four runs in a do-or-die game for the reigning World Series champs. In the DBacks-Dodgers series, Kenta Maeda pitched scoreless innings in Games 2 and 3, racking up four strikeouts.
These aren’t the names we often pay attention to during the regular season, unless you follow a team (or teams) closely. But they seize the spotlight when it matters most.
Deesha Thosar: It’s not a myth that young stars have trouble adjusting to the postseason atmosphere. Yankees’ 23-year-old Luis Severino needed a start to shake off his postseason nerves before hurling a dominant outing in his next stint. Indians’ 25-year-old Jose Ramirez went a quiet 2-for-20 in the ALDS, striking out seven times in five games. Even though it’s his third straight postseason appearance, 24-year-old Javier Baez went hitless in the NLDS — striking out five times and walking once.
Of course, there are outliers to the rule. Astros’ prodigy Alex Bregman, 23, mashed two homers over the course of four ALDS games as he experiences the postseason for the first time. Even then, Bregman’s still batting well below .250 in 18 at-bats. Yankees’ young backstop Gary Sanchez squabbled four hits (two homers) over 23 ALDS at-bats while striking out 10 times. Young players will have to make like Severino and adjust to the postseason atmosphere if they want to help their teams move on to the final round.
Alex Putterman: For a while there, this year’s playoffs seemed to be progressing exactly as predicted. The Yankees and Diamondbacks won their wild-card game matchups against inferior teams, the Dodgers and Astros advanced, the Indians jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and the Cubs-Nationals matchup was expectedly close. The universe was in order.
Then, the Yankees stormed back to beat the Tribe three games in a row, eventually clipping likely Cy Young winner Corey Kluber in the decisive Game 5. When the dust had settled on the series, Kluber had a 12.79 ERA, while offensive stars Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez were 2-for-18 and 2-for-20, respectively, just as exactly no one projected. The Yankees’ ultimate triumph over the Indians ranks as perhaps the most shocking playoff series outcome since the 90-win Cardinals upset the 102-win Phillies in the 2011 NLDS.
It was a comforting reminder that none of us has any clue what is going to happen next.
