The four Division Series are almost over and one thing is most certain about the playoffs; the dominant pitching from the regular season has certainly stuck around so far. The pitching might even be called, unexpectedly good. After all, the postseason is reserved for only the strongest teams, and strong teams usually have outstanding offenses. But so far the playoffs have been pitching heavy.
To see where I'm coming from you need look no further than Game 1 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. When the Reds finished the regular season they were the top National League offensive team. When pitted against Roy Halladay, however, they might as well have been swinging toothpicks. The Good Doctor was dealing some fierce medicine during Game 1, throwing 9 no-hit innings and one mere walk away from dealing his second perfect game of the season and only the second perfect game in playoff history. As it stands, Halladay will have to be satisfied with only joining Don Larsen as having the second ever no-hitter in the postseason. While Larsen pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, few times has a pitcher ever been more dominant than Rapid Roy was during Game 1. The ball danced down, in, and away from hitters all night, reducing All-Stars to shadows of themselves. This feat is almost unheard of. To accomplish it during the regular season, potentially against a weak team is one thing. To do it during the playoffs, after a tiring year of pitching, against an extremely volatile lineup, is just... amazing.
And the Phillies weren't done there. The other Roy was not nearly as sharp, but Oswalt still kept the Phils in the game long enough for their offense to come around. Then Cole Hamels took over in Game 3 and decided enough was enough from the Reds for the year. Hamels threw a shutout of his own, completing a sweep of the Reds, allowing only five hits all nights, striking out 9, (one more than Halladay) and continuing an awesome streak of pitching that he started over a month ago. Since August 24, Cole has allowed 2 runs or more only twice, has struck out 58 batters, and given up only 12. This man is on some kind of pace. With the potent Phillies offense behind them, it appears as though these three gentlemen can hurl the Philthies past just about anybody. But that remains to be seen just yet.
The City of Brotherly Love wasn't the only place where great pitching resides. In Game 1 of the series between the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays, Cliff Lee pitched 7 stellar innings, allowing only one run, while sending 10 men back to the bench with a K. In Game 2, C.J. Wilson replicated Cliff Lee's tactics, and pitched six great innings of his own, striking out seven and giving up just two hits, before relinquishing control to the fantastic Ranger bullpen. The tides quickly turned however. In Games 3 and 4 the Rays enjoyed some quality pitching from both starters and relievers, and provided just enough offense to even the series at two games a piece. Tomorrow marks the conclusion of this series and again two great pitchers match up, in Cliff Lee and David Price. It should be a titillating game for the eyes to behold.
Meanwhile, the New York Spankees did just what their humorous nickname says, and took it to the Minnesota Twins yet again, sweeping two cities at once. None of the Yankee starters were sublime, apart from maybe Phil Hughes, but the pitching was good enough to get to the strong bullpen, which gave up only one run to Minnesota over the course of the series. Probably the most anticipated series of the playoffs turned out to be a dud, marked with little drama, and the same ending as previous years. It looks like the only way the Twins will ever make it past the Divisional Series is to face someone besides the Yankees. Sad, but true.
However, whatever drama the Yankees/Twins series lacked, it was more than made up for by the Braves and Giants. Game 1 saw Tim Lincecum going all Rick James on everyone and becoming a 'Super-Freak' as MLB.com puts it. In addition to Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, Lincecum gave one of the finest playoff pitching performances in recent years. Lincecum not only fanned 14 batters, a San Francisco Giants playoff record, but pitching a shutout as well, showing outstanding control by giving up only one walk, and surrendering just two hits to the Atlanta Braves. After a year of ups and down, The Freak showed that he is still a young phenomenon worthy of tremendous notice. The Atlanta starter, Derek Lowe, was no slouch. He just couldn't compete with Tim's numbers. In Game 2, Matt Cain did his workman-like best and kept the Braves down for nearly seven innings. But some shoddy bullpen pitching by the Giants, and some late-inning heroics from former pitcher Rick Ankiel brought home another playoff win for Bobby Cox and the Bravos. Jonathan Sanchez did his best Lincecum impersonation and struck out 11 batters in Game 3, the second-highest playoff total ever by a Giants pitcher. He was aided by some unfortunately misplays by Brooks Conrad, the suddenly second-baseman for Atlanta, and San Fran now leads the series 2-1. After the game, Conrad took full responsibility for his three errors, and expressed his disappointment and resolve by being contrite and straightforward. After a tough game like that, many men would shirk the limelight, but it takes a brave man (no pun intended) to face up to your critics. You earned a lot of respect last night Mr. Conrad.
So the playoffs have indeed been pretty stupendous so far. There has already been lots of record-breaking pitching, and there promises to be more drama in the coming League Championship Series, so stay tuned folks. If you miss these upcoming games, you might miss history in the making. And before I leave you, there is a question I want to ask. Rick Ankiel's late-game homerun in Game 2 marked just the second time a person has pitching in a playoff game, and in a later game hit a homerun as a position player. Can you name that other player?
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