There Is Only One October!

Postseason baseball is here! After seeing the top seeds falter in the innaugural Wild Card play-in, we find ourselves at the heart of the League Divisional Series.  Eight teams are still alive, including first-time participants in the Washinton Nationals, as well as the perennial powerhouse from the Bronx.  We have big-time sluggers facing off against dominant pitching, and as always, plenty of drama and controversy.  Today, we will experience a quadruple header, and they are all elimination games... let's check out today's matchups

Five Alive!

San Francisco Giants (2) @ Cincinnati Reds (2)

Lincecum's clutch bullpen performance in Game 4 kept his Giants squad alive to fight another day

After taking the first two games of the series on the road, Cincinnati had their sights set on the NLCS.  However, San Francisco has refused to go down quietly, winning game 3 in extra innings, then rolling past the Reds in Game 4.  Opening pitch for Game 5 is at 1:07 PM.

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Oakland Athletics (2) @ Detroit Tigers (2)

A Coco Crisp walkoff hit in Game 4 pushed this series to Game 5, and made Tiger fans extremely nervous.

Detroit paid bucks to bring in Prince Fielder.  In fact, they spent more than four times more than Oakland's entire payroll for the slugger.  Despite that, the A's have split the first four games with Detroit (the road team is 4-0), and tonight's winner is headed to the ALCS.  Detroit has its ace, Justin Verlander on the mound for Game 5, which starts tonight at 9:37 PM.

Four Score!

St. Louis Cardinals (2) @ Washington Nationals (1)

They were the talk of the regular season, but the Nats are clearly struggling without ace Stephen Strasburg.

The Nationals rolled through the regular season, posting the best record in the NL... But the Cardinals have been showing that postseason experience pays off, taking games 2 and 3.  A win today, and St. Louis is headed to the NLCS.  Game 4 starts this evening at 4:07 PM.

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Baltimore Orioles (1) @ New York Yankees (2)

A walkoff home run by Raul Ibanez lifted the Yanks in Game 3, putting Baltimore up against the ropes.

The last time the Orioles appeared in the postseason, their skipper was managing the Yankees.  Now, Buck Showalter's squad is faced with a difficult task of coming back from a 2-1 defecit against the Bronx Bombers.  Each game has been closely contested thus far... Game 4 should be no exception.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:37 PM

-Kevin Aherne