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I adore the unsung heroes during a baseball season. These are the guys who are not going to get MVP votes or Cy Young votes. They may not be flashy, but they have had great seasons flying under the radar.
For the Rockies, this guy was German Marquez. The 23-year-old took the mound on Wednesday at Coors Field with the Rockies a half-game behind the Dodgers in West NL. Here's what the first eight Phillies hit against him:
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The Brewers and the Cubs have won places in series but still have work to do. Here is what you need to know when the battle to reach the month of October is played.
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The Red Sox record has high expectations in pre-season, but the other six have stories to tell.
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Dial "D" for last week's drama, as the NL Central, West and Wild-Card races could go to one of five teams in pursuit of four playoff spots.
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It's eight consecutive withdrawals. The pitcher, Nick Pivetta, broke the rope, reaching Marquez 's error, but after a walk, Marquez withdrew his ninth batter in three innings. He joins an underrated thrower, Don Wilson, as the only pitcher since 1961, to start a match with three zero innings and nine strikeouts.
It was all the Rockies after that, when they won 14-0 for their sixth consecutive victory. They scored seven points in the fifth inning when they hit three homers, including David Dahl who scored his third goal in as many nights, each with two hits.
But the star of the game was Marquez, who finished with 11 K in seven innings. He did this all the second half. In 13 starts, he has a record of 2.55 ERA, 115 strikeouts and 18 steps in 88 ings with only five home runs.
A year ago, Marquez was above all a fastball / curveball guy, mixing some mediocre changes and sliders. His big boost came with the refinement of the slider, which he launched about 15% of the time (and a little more often in the second half). Batters hit .147 against his cursor and .157 against his curve, which gives him two lands destroyed for the dams.
When the Dodgers lost 7-2 against the Diamondbacks, the Rockies started a half-game in front of the Dodgers in the west of the NL, and they are a minute and a half ahead of the Cardinals. The Rockies may not lose again this season, as they have one more game against the Phillies, then three against the Nationals (and Max Scherzer has already been eliminated on Sunday). If all this sounds familiar to you, you may remember the 2007 Rocktober race, when the Rockies won 13 of their last 14 games, won the tiebreaker game against the Padres and won the Division Series and the NLCS. games – before finally being swept by the Red Sox in the World Series.
With Marquez, Kyle Freeland (who is expected to finish fourth in Cy Young's vote) and Jon Gray (who may be as good as anyone else), the Rockies have a 1-2-3 record that matches any team's NL. They have not yet won a playoff spot, but I can not predict a collapse in the last four games. The Rockies are heading to the playoffs. Will it be the NL West's surprise fields?
The brewers unhook, sweep the cardinals: The Brewers defeated the Cardinals 2-1 while Jhoulys Chacin launched five strong mounts and four others launched the last four scoreless innings. The game will be remembered – at least by the bitter Cardinals fans – for an epic gaffe:
Incredible: Adolis Garcia, the Cardinals' candidate, seemed to be able to score in a throw that was escaping. He lost his balance when he came in third and fell. eighth. Crazy. 2-1, the brewers.
– Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) September 27, 2018
One of the Cardinals fans summarized this as follows:
2011 Game 6 was the game version of the 2011 Cardinals season
The baserunning of Adolis Garcia was the baserunning version of this entire season
– Nick (@FWBluesFan) September 27, 2018
Of course, it's not Garcia's fault that the Cardinals played the first two games in the series so badly and only managed two hits in this game. Kolten Wong was eliminated Wednesday. The Cardinals pitchers, seemingly afraid to challenge Christian Yelich, accompanied him five times. Guess who scored the two Brewers? Still, rookie Garcia was so distraught after the loss that he refused to talk to the media.
While MVP Yelich's favorite scored eight points and scored four points in the series, Craig Counsell kept Matt Carpenter, the best Cardinals hitter, in check with some creativity. Carpenter has defeated 13 times in the series, and eight of those appearances have been against left-handers (including one against Dan Jennings, who started on Monday and only faced Carpenter before being pulled out). Carpenter reached the base five times, but he had only one shot, one run and one run. His teammates did not catch him when he arrived.
The Cubs survive a Bartman match and win in 10: The Cubs stayed at half-time of the Brewers with a 7-6 win over the Pirates, but that was only after leading 6-4 to the top of the ninth. With a runner, Francisco Cervelli caught a sorry pop that Anthony Rizzo went around the net behind his plate to get caught. Cervelli then doubled and, with two outs, Starling Marte hit Rizzo's glove for a two-point double.
Imagine if this game had eliminated the Cubs from first place? Instead, Albert Almora has walked so far:
.@ albertalmora book the winner of the game! #Walking off pic.twitter.com/63mMnX8L4s
– Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 27, 2018
Cy deGrom: It's not surprising that Mets's current Twitter banner features three pictures of Jacob deGrom. He won them all. He finished a remarkable campaign with eight scoreless innings against the Braves – all his regulars played in passing – with 10 strikeouts and two hits. He even finished above 500, his record improving to 10-9. Even more impressive, he dropped his ERA to 1.70. As great as Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola were, DeGrom is the favorite of the Cy Young Award:
In 2018: 7 launchers with an ERA of 1.70 or less since Cy Young were awarded in 1956 (min 150 IP).
Only 2 of them did not win the Cy Young:
– 2015 Zack Greinke, 1.66 ERA; won by Arrieta (1,77 ERA)
– 1968 Luis Tiant, 1.60 ERA; won by McLain (1.96 ERA)– Sarah Langs (@ SlangsOnSports) September 27, 2018
Here's deGrom after the match:
.@ JdeGrom19 talk about this Amazin season with @SteveGelbs. # 48forCy pic.twitter.com/9pgqv4qjUi
– New York Mets (@Mets) September 27, 2018
You can find all kinds of impressive numbers. He held his opponents three times or less in 28 consecutive starts – something no one has ever done. As Mark Simon pointed out, Dwight Gooden in 1985, Bob Gibson and Luis Tiant in 1968 and Walter Johnson in 1912 were the last four pitchers with 1.70 ERAs and at least 269 outs. DeGrom is expected to join Gooden, R. A. Dickey and three-time winner Tom Seaver as the winners of Mets Cy Young.
Your rating Willians Astudillo of the night: You must love this guy:
Willians Astudillo now scores .350 with more home runs (3) than strikeouts (2) in 25 games, and tonight is his 15th straight game without a strike. https://t.co/J621Y9NA4g
– Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) September 27, 2018
So long, Bryce? The nationals played their last home game – which means Bryce Harper could have played his last home game in a Nationals uniform. He received a standing ovation in his first fight against a small crowd in the late afternoon, in a 9-3 win over the Marlins. Harper went from 0 to 4 and, in a glimpse of the future, Victor Robles won 4 in 5 with five RBIs. It is certainly possible that the National Championships will be content with a battlefield with Juan Soto, Robles and Adam Eaton next year, with Michael Taylor as a substitute, and will use Harper's money to boost pitching staff.
Eddie Matz has the D.C. report on what the game meant for Harper.
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