2017-mlb-playoffs Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Vin Scully Returns To Dodger Stadium For First-Pitch Ceremony
If there’s been anything wrong with the Dodgers’ otherwise near-flawless season so far, it’s only that Vin Scully hasn’t been in the booth to call it. While the legendary announcer is hopefully enjoying his long-deserved retirement, the crowd at Dodger Stadium was understandably thrilled to see him ...

Clayton Kershaw Delivered Game 1 For The Dodgers
The narrative of Clayton Kershaw’s inability to handle the postseason has always been bigger than it has been real. There have always been far too many other factors at play—namely, poor managerial decisions and a shaky bullpen behind him—for that idea to be true. (Not to mention a number of perfect...

This Is Clayton Kershaw's Time To Shine
The Dodgers are going to the World Series for the first time in nearly 30 years and we already know who will be on the mound for Game 1 in Los Angeles. It will be the face of the franchise, Clayton Kershaw. It couldn’t be anyone else....

This Was Kiké Hernandez's Night
The list of players with three home runs in a postseason game is fairly short. There’s Babe Ruth, twice. There’s Mr. October, Albert Pujols, George Brett. José Altuve, who did it two weeks ago, and Pablo Sandoval, who did it five years ago, and Adrián Beltré and Bob Robertson. Weirdly, there is Adam...

Dodgers Blow Out Cubs To Advance To World Series
For the first time in this series, the Cubs failed to score first. The Dodgers took full advantage, with an 11-1 victory to win their first pennant in nearly 30 years....

This Is The Arc Of Joe Maddon's Anger
In the eighth inning of tonight’s 3-2 Cubs victory over the Dodgers, there was, for a few moments, a third-strike call on Curtis Granderson. Just until the umpires conferred for a bit and determined that Granderson had in fact fouled the ball off rather than swinging and missing. This made Cubs mana...

The Cubs Live Another Day
After failing to protect an early lead in each of their three NLCS games against the Dodgers so far, the Cubs managed to pull it off tonight with a 3-2 victory to stave off a sweep. ...

The Cubs Just Can't Hit
The Chicago Cubs are down 3-0 in the NLCS, and there’s really no use in thinking too hard about why that is. Joe Maddon has made mistakes, and the bullpen has been pretty bad, but there is a simpler explanation for why the Cubs are one loss away from playoff elimination: They can’t hit the dang ball...

Yu Darvish Mindfucks Carl Edwards Jr., Draws Bases-Loaded Walk
That gloriously frustrating scenario that can only occur in the National League smiled on the Cubs in the sixth inning of their losing battle against the Dodgers, when the pitcher came up with the bases loaded and two outs. Los Angeles was already leading 3-1, trying to bury Chicago, but manager Dav...

Aaron Judge Is A Hero Again
Aaron Judge, the Yankees’ young superstar slugger and potential MVP, had been having a pretty worthless postseason at the plate. Despite his team’s success, Judge only notched one hit in the entire ALDS, and he’s been mostly anonymous against Houston, only coming out of his shell for a home run in G...

Yasiel Puig Is The New Normal
There is no wrong choice, really, and also there’s no accounting for taste where extravagant full-body thrusting maneuvers and lusty bat flips are concerned. But my personal favorite Yasiel Puig moment of the MLB playoffs thus far isn’t one of the big ones. This should take nothing away from the tim...

Aaron Judge Jumps And—
Large Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge made quite the catch in the top of the fourth inning tonight, crashing into the right field wall to snare a deep fly ball before tumbling over backwards:...

John Lackey Should Be In Jail<em></em>
Before John Lackey gave up a walk-off three-run homer to Justin Turner in Game 2 of the NLCS, he treated viewers of the game to a special version of baseball hell....

This Is What The Dodgers' Money Can Buy
During the offseason, the Dodgers gave big contracts to three of their own free agents: Rich Hill, Justin Turner, and Kenley Jansen. At the time, it seemed like the team would have to lose at least one of those high-priced players—what team in recent history has not had to pick and choose who to re...

Joe Maddon Works Soda Tax Criticism Into His Thoughts On Blocking The Plate
In the bottom of the seventh inning of last night’s NLCS Game 1, with the Dodgers leading 4-2, Justin Turner singled through the left side and Chris Woodward, the Dodgers’ third-base coach, waved Charlie Culberson around, setting up a play at the plate....

Astros Take 2-0 ALCS Lead On Carlos Correa Walkoff Double
Carlos Correa accounted for both of Houston’s runs, hitting a fourth-inning solo homer and the walkoff double that drove in José Altuve as the Astros took a 2-0 series lead on the Yankees in a game that saw Justin Verlander pitch a complete game with 13 strikeouts....

Bad Child Spared Demonization By Replay Call
Reasonable people may disagree about whether spectators should be bringing baseball gloves to professional baseball games. Is it lame? Probably not, so long as you are a child. But even if you are a child, there is one thing you for sure should not be doing at a professional baseball game: you shoul...

Max Scherzer Did His Job And It Didn't Matter
If you want to get a feel for just how cruel the game of baseball was to Max Scherzer last night, watch a little bit of his postgame interview, in which he stood shell-shocked in front of his locker and tried to explain how a fifth inning that started with two quick outs ended with four runs crossin...

Didi Gregorius Keeps Getting Better
Corey Kluber was great against eight out of nine Yankees last night. To those eight hitters, over 3.2 innings, Kluber gave up one hit, and he struck out six. In the biggest game of the year, he was almost fine. The problem was, one guy was a big problem for Kluber: A 27-year-old shortstop from Amste...

Aaron Judge Looks Lost
The Yankees managed to erase a 2-0 series deficit and advance to the ALCS, which is great news for Yankees fans and even better news for Aaron Judge, who has a lot less attention on him today than he would if the Yankees had fallen last night....