Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: On The Brink
Death, taxes and Daniel Murphy homering.
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Those are the only certainties this October, and they’ve helped the Mets close in on their first World Series appearance since 2000 after Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Cubs. The Mets now hold a commanding 3-0 series lead heading into Wednesday’s Game 4.
Murphy remains the story of this NLCS, now having homered in all three NLCS games following Tuesday’s solo shot, but he wasn’t the only one doing damage in the victory. The Mets got three-hit games from David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes as the 2-3-4 hitters accounted for all five of the team’s runs.
That was more than enough to back up Jacob deGrom, who bounced back from a challenging start in Game 5 of the NLDS to hold the Cubs to two runs over seven innings. deGrom struck out seven while allowing just four hits and a walk. Relievers Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia each threw a scoreless inning to preserve the win.
While Murphy’s homer didn’t have any dramatic ramifications Tuesday, it continued a postseason for the ages for the 30-year-old. Murphy has now homered in five straight playoff games dating back to Game 4 of the NLDS against the Dodgers, and he’s got six dingers in eight games this postseason. For context, Murphy has never hit more than 14 home runs in a full season.
For the Cubs, the issue has been an offense that has gone cold — or been held in check by strong pitching — after a good NLDS. The team is hitting .160 (15-for-94) through the first three games, and they’ve scored just five runs to date. The Cubs averaged 4.25 runs per game during the regular season and five per game during the four-game series win over the Cardinals.
Now, they’ll need to do something only the 2004 Red Sox have done — win a series after trailing 3-0. That attempt will start Wednesday, when Jason Hammel will take the mound opposite Steven Matz for the Mets. Hammel had a short leash in Game 4 of the NLDS, lasting just three innings, while Matz took the loss in Game 4 of the Mets’ series.
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Royals Roll In Game 4
If there was a #ManInWhite at the Rogers Centre on Tuesday, it was the Royals, not the Blue Jays, who benefited from his presence.
After being shelled in Monday’s Game 3, the Royals bounced back to smash the Jays by a 14-2 margin in Game 4. The win moved the Royals within a game of their second consecutive World Series appearance.
A number of players contributed to Tuesday’s drubbing, first in knocking out Jays starter R.A. Dickey and later piling on against multiple ineffective Jays relievers. By the end of the game, shortstop Cliff Pennington was asked to pitch to save the bullpen for a do-or-die Game 5.
The Royals got to Dickey in each of the first two innings before he was removed, picking up four runs in the first — two on a Ben Zobrist home run — before Alex Rios added a solo shot in the second. The dud came after Dickey pitched reasonably well against the Rangers in the ALDS, allowing just one run over 4 2/3 innings of work.
Liam Hendricks was able to provide quality long relief that allowed the Jays to climb back into the game, but the trio of relievers that followed — LaTroy Hawkins, Ryan Tepera and Mark Lowe — couldn’t do the same. The group allowed nine runs over 2 2/3 innings to cement the lopsided loss.
Royals pitching was much better following Johnny Cueto‘s miserable performance the night before. Starter Chris Young lasted 4 2/3 innings, failing to qualify for the win, before four relievers combined to throw 4 1/3 scoreless innings to end the game.
“We like the way we’re playing right now,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Our offense has been really, really good. We have [Edinson] Volquez coming back tomorrow, our defense is always spectacular and our bullpen is primed to go tomorrow, too.”
With their backs against the ropes, the Jays will look to Marco Estrada to keep their season alive Wednesday. The Royals will counter with Volquez. The two matched up in the first game of the series, with Volquez spinning six shutout innings in a Royals win.
Tanaka Has Bone Spur Removed
Masahiro Tanaka had elbow surgery Tuesday, but not the one everyone has been expecting.
Tanaka had arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to remove a bone spur from his right elbow, an issue that dates back to his time pitching in Japan, the Yankees said. Dr. David Altchek performed the surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery, per the team.
The right-hander will require six weeks of exercise and strengthening followed by a throwing program. Barring setbacks, Tanaka is expected to be ready in time for spring training.
The injury is the latest — or at least the latest made public — for Tanaka, who has dealt with a handful since coming to the Yankees before the 2014 season. Tanaka missed more than five weeks this past season with tendinitis in his right wrist and a strained forearm muscle.
But the greater concern has been a small tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament that took 2 1/2 months from his rookie campaign in 2014. Tanaka has continued to pitch through the tear, but the issue has led many to assume he’ll require Tommy John surgery on the elbow at some point.
Even with the continued injury issues, Tanaka has pitched well through his first two seasons. He went 13-5 with a 2.77 ERA through 20 starts in his rookie year before finishing 12-7 with a 3.51 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 139/27 K/BB ratio over 24 starts in 2015.
With CC Sabathia‘s baseball future in question and a number of other question marks in the rotation, the Yankees will look to Tanaka to continue pitching — and pitching effectively — next season.
Quick Hits: Justin Turner was bothered by a knee injury in the NLDS, and the infielder will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his left knee on Thursday. The procedure is considered minor and he should be at full strength in time for spring training … With his strong showing this postseason, the Mets are expected to offer Murphy a one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer this winter, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. None of the 34 players extended qualifying offers under the current system have accepted the offer from his former team … Mets manager Terry Collins said Matt Harvey, expected to be the Mets’ Game 5 starter in the event the series goes that long, feels “much, much better” after taking a comebacker off his triceps in Game 1. Harvey played catch without issue Monday and threw a bullpen session Tuesday ahead of the possible start Thursday … Brett Cecil (calf) threw off a mound again Tuesday. Cecil is considered a long shot to be on the roster should the Blue Jays advance to the World Series, though, as he still hasn’t begun running or fielding his position in the wake of tearing his left calf muscle in Game 2 of the ALDS … The Orioles claimed Vance Worley off waivers from the Pirates. After a stellar 2014 season, Worley posted a 4.02 ERA and 49/21 K/BB ratio over 71 2/3 innings this year … The Mariners have interviewed Jason Varitek for their managerial vacancy, per Heyman. Varitek has been a special assistant with the Red Sox since retiring after the 2011 season, but he has no managerial experience … Athletics assistant general manager Dan Kantrovitz will get a second interview for the Phillies’ general manager job, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports. MLB VP of baseball operations Kim Ng and Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo were among those who interviewed for the position during the first round of interviews … The Nationals were expected to interview Ron Gardenhire for their managerial opening on Tuesday. The team is believed to be looking for an experienced manager after dismissing Matt Williams, having interviewed Bud Black and Dusty Baker for the position as well.
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