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Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer lasted just 0.2 innings in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series before his right pinkie laceration forced him to exit, according to MLB.com’s Richard Justice.

Dan Otero replaced Bauer in the first inning.

It’s not as if Bauer’s failure to get out of the first inning was a major surprise. He suffered the cut Friday, which didn’t leave a lot of time for the pinkie to heal before he took the mound Monday night.

Indians manager Terry Francona was prepared for the 25-year-old to make a hasty departure. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Corey Kluber will likely start Game 4 instead of Game 5, which would’ve been the strategy if Bauer had pitched well into Game 3.

The bigger question is whether Bauer’s injury will jeopardize his ability to pitch for the rest of the series. If he’s unavailable, Cleveland would have to rely on Kluber, Josh Tomlin, Ryan Merritt and potentially Mike Clevinger. Bauer’s injury also placed more pressure on the bullpen, which has already put in its fair share of work in the ALCS.

Francona and Co. have done an excellent job compensating for injuries to starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, but the manager may need to get even more creative while working around Bauer’s pinkie troubles.

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Major League Baseball has reportedly reached an agreement with Under Armour for the apparel company to be the league’s exclusive uniform provider beginning in 2020, according to Terry Lefton of SportsBusiness Daily. ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell confirmed the report.

As part of the deal, Fanatics will be the official retailer of MLB jerseys. Fanatics will also provide on-field apparel for players.

This is the first time Under Armour has held exclusive uniform rights for a major American sports league. The company is the apparel provider for various colleges, including the Maryland Terrapins, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Auburn Tigers. Rovell noted Under Armour produces workout apparel for the NFL Scouting Combine as well.

A number of top athletes have deals with Under Armour, including Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper and Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Under Armour’s contract with MLB is a sign of its growth and desire to continue building its profile in the United States. The company made a push last summer to be the NBA’s uniform provider starting in 2017-18 but lost out to Nike.

With Under Armour taking over for Majestic Athletic, which has produced MLB uniforms since 2005, many will wonder if players’ duds will get a new look.

When Nike replaced Reebok as the NFL’s apparel provider in 2012, it declined to make significant alterations to most uniforms, with the exception of the Seattle Seahawks’.

Over the years, though, Under Armour has gained attention for its unique designs and could opt for a similar strategy with MLB.

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Two games are in the books in both the American and National League Division Series.

The Cleveland Indians own a 2-0 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL, while the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied 1-1 in the NL following Los Angeles’ 1-0 win Sunday night in Chicago.

So far, the two series have largely played out as expected, and it’s doubtful either the ALCS or NLCS will wrap up in short order.

Below are brief overviews for both matchups and predictions for how they’ll play out after two games.

Playoff Schedule

ALCS Prediction

Having registered three hits in 21 postseason at-bats, Jose Bautista could’ve used his day off for some personal reflection—maybe figure out why he’s struggling so much.

Instead, the six-time All-Star has become an ALCS truther, according to Vice Sports’ Mike Vorkunov:

Finally, somebody is willing to speak out about MLB favoring the league’s biggest markets—like Cleveland.

It’s easy to see why Bautista and his teammates might be frustrated. The Blue Jays have scored one run and struck out 25 times through the first two games of the ALCS. Toronto couldn’t even touch Josh Tomlin, who finished with a 4.88 FIP during the regular season, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

The biggest concern for the Blue Jays is how they navigate around the Indians bullpen.

In 2014 and 2015, the Kansas City Royals were a prime example of how far dominant late-inning relievers can take a team in the playoffs. In 35 innings, the trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Luke Hochevar gave up one earned run in last year’s postseason.

Winning a critical playoff game is much tougher when you have only six or seven innings to actually take the lead. It’s simply not fair to go from Corey Kluber to Andrew Miller, as the Indians did in Game 1. Josh Tomlin then did enough in Game 2 to hand things over to the bullpen with a 2-1 lead.

Like the Royals did so effectively, Cleveland is forcing Toronto to inflict all of its damage early in the game, when the starting pitchers are going through the lineup for their first and second times.

The Blue Jays have too much offensive firepower to envision this series ending in four or five games. And for as good as Cleveland’s pitching has been so far, rolling with Tomlin and Mike Clevinger in a playoff rotation isn’t ideal. Trevor Bauer is a wild card as well.

The ALCS will be close, but Miller, Cody Allen and Dan Otero swing it in favor of Cleveland.

Prediction: Indians in six

NLCS Prediction

Can the Dodgers start Clayton Kershaw in every game?

The three-time Cy Young Award winner was excellent in Game 2 on Sunday night, going seven scoreless innings and allowing two hits. As The Ringer’s Rany Jazayerli argued, the Dodgers are capable of winning on any given night when they can rely on their two best pitchers:

The trouble for Los Angeles is that Kershaw is a finite resource. He probably only has one more start for the rest of the series.

Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda and Julio Urias fill out the starting rotation. Hill can be great at times, but his Game 2 start in the National League Division Series is evidence of how quickly he can unravel. Maeda and Urias are rookies—the latter of whom is 20 years old.

The Cubs offense isn’t going to be as quiet as it was Monday night over the rest of the series. In addition, the narrative of Game 2 would have been vastly different if the wind hadn’t knocked down Javier Baez’s deep fly to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning.

On a different night, that ball would have cleared the fence, and Chicago would have taken a 2-0 lead. Statcast showed that the odds were in favor of Baez homering in a similar situation:

Having the stronger team isn’t always a guarantee of advancement in the playoffs—see the 2016 Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series. The Dodgers have an opportunity to close out the series at home over the next three games.

And Anthony Rizzo is leaving a major hole in the middle of Chicago’s lineup. After Sunday night, he’s batting .043 in six postseason games.

Still, Chicago has a dangerous offense from top to bottom and a deeper rotation, the latter of which is vital in a seven-game series.

Prediction: Cubs in seven

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The 2016 American League Championship Series couldn’t be going much better for the Cleveland Indians, who own a 2-0 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays with the series shifting to Toronto.

The Blue Jays aren’t necessarily in a must-win situation in Game 3, but their chances of reaching the World Series will decline significantly if they find themselves in an 0-3 hole. In that respect, their return to Rogers Centre on Monday night couldn’t be coming at a better time.

While Cleveland took the first two games, little has separated the Blue Jays and Indians. Cleveland’s wins came by a total of three runs, and the two teams have registered 10 hits apiece.

The close margins of the series so far should give Toronto hope that it can turn things around and potentially head back to Cleveland up 3-2.

Game 3 is a great opportunity for the Blue Jays to take back some momentum.

The pitching matchup favors Toronto. Marcus Stroman will take the mound for the Blue Jays against Trevor Bauer. Overall, Stroman has performed better this year than Bauer, with their respective numbers below, courtesy of FanGraphs:

There are also question marks regarding Bauer’s throwing hand after he cut his right pinkie finger while repairing a drone. Granted, his biggest misstep of the past week was his pick for the best Star Wars movie, per NBC Sports’ Joe Posnanski:

The fact that Bauer will pitch Monday night leads one to believe the laceration is only a minor issue. Still, the 25-year-old can be wildly inconsistent from one inning to the next when he’s 100 percent. The thumb injury adds another variable to an already unpredictable pitcher.

While the Blue Jays should get back in the series with a Game 3 win, they have a long way to go before they punch their ticket to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1993.

For one, the trio of Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion hasn’t driven in a run during the first two games of the ALCS. Bautista is also batting 0-for-6 for the series and 3-for-21 with 10 strikeouts for the postseason.

According to Vice Sports’ Mike Vorkunov, Bautista is in full conspiracy mode as well:

Toronto can still win the series with a slumping Bautista—such is the depth of sluggers in the team’s offense. But Joey Bats was one of the biggest heroes for Toronto during last year’s ALCS run, and his bat is sorely missing in the Blue Jays lineup.

Far more concerning for the Jays is navigating through Cleveland’s dominant bullpen. The quartet of Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen and Dan Otero has allowed two runs in 16.1 combined postseason innings.

Miller has been particularly filthy. Giving up Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield appeared to be a costly price for Cleveland to acquire the left-hander at the trade deadline, and so far, it’s one of the shrewdest trades of the season.

Miller and Indians manager Terry Francona are forcing fans to rethink the value of a dominant middle reliever. While Allen is coming out to finish games in the ninth inning, it’s clear he’s not the most important member of Cleveland’s bullpen.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy questioned why Blue Jays batters are even stepping up to the plate when Miller is on the mound:

Taking an early lead can help Toronto negate Miller’s impact, and jumping on a rotation that features Bauer, Josh Tomlin and Mike Clevinger is achievable. But the middle of the order will have to set the tone.

Going up two games, however, provides Cleveland with some margin for error should Bauer or Clevinger have a dreadful start Monday or Tuesday before it’s Corey Kluber’s turn in the rotation again.

Between the timely hits they’re getting from their offense and their untouchable late-inning relievers, the Indians should be able to close out the ALCS when it heads back to Cleveland.

Prediction: Indians in six

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The Los Angeles Dodgers evened the National League Championship Series at 1-1 with a 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night at Wrigley Field.

Pitching dominated the game, with the two teams combining for five hits and 16 strikeouts.

Kyle Hendricks gave the Cubs 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits. He struck out five batters and walked four.

On another night, those numbers might’ve been good enough to propel Chicago to victory, but Clayton Kershaw was magnificent for the Dodgers. He pitched seven shutout innings, allowed two hits, struck out six and walked one.

Despite being the best pitcher in baseball and a three-time Cy Young Award winner, Kershaw has yet to enjoy much success in the postseason. He entered Sunday night with a 3-6 record and 4.79 earned run average in 16 playoff appearances.

Kershaw pitched 12.1 innings in the National League Division Series, including the final two outs of Los Angeles’ Game 5 series-clinching win over the Washington Nationals. As a result, some questioned whether fatigue would be a factor for the dominant lefty.

CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes provided his workload over the past week:

Not only did Kershaw silence the high-powered Cubs offense, but he was also efficient in doing so. ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark noted how quickly the six-time All-Star breezed through the first half of Game 2:

Statcast showed how Kershaw kept Cubs hitters on their toes by locating his pitches all over the plate:

Kershaw didn’t need much offensive support, and Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez delivered enough in the top of the second with a solo home run to left-center field. The Dodgers provided a replay of the drive:

According to Baseball-Reference.com, it was the fifth home run Hendricks allowed at home this year, compared to 11 on the road.

After Kershaw threw four perfect innings, the Cubs got their first baserunner with two outs in the fifth. Second baseman Javier Baez and catcher Willson Contreras hit back-to-back singles, but right fielder Jason Heyward fouled out to end the inning.

Los Angeles got runners on first and second with one out in the top half of the sixth. Baez made a heads-up play, though, to complete a double play and prevent any damage.

Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson hit a soft liner to second. Rather than catching the ball, Baez played it off a hop, which allowed him to get the force out at second. Shortstop Addison Russell then tagged out Gonzalez between second and third for the second out.

CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish and Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan praised Baez for thinking so quickly on his feet:

Baez was feet away from being the hero on offense in the bottom of the seventh.

With two outs in the inning and a runner on first, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts visited the mound, seemingly to replace Kershaw with closer Kenley Jansen. Instead, Roberts left his starter out for one more batter.

Baez drove a 1-0 fastball deep to center field, and the Wrigley Field crowd rose to its feet in anticipation of a go-ahead two-run homer. But the windy conditions inside the stadium knocked the ball down, and Pederson made the catch in front of the center-field wall.

Kershaw thought Chicago had taken the lead, per Stark:

According to Statcast, Baez’s flyout is a home run more often than not:

Jansen came on for Kershaw to start the eighth and set the Cubs down in order over the final two innings to seal the win.  

Rich Hill and Jake Arrieta will take the mound in Game 3 on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Hill looked strong early in his two postseason starts, but Roberts showed he isn’t afraid to remove the veteran left-hander at the first sign of trouble. Hill made it through 4.1 innings in his first outing and 2.2 innings in his second.

Should the Cubs jump on Hill in the first few innings, Roberts may once again be forced to dip into his bullpen earlier than he otherwise would’ve wanted.

Arrieta picked up a no-decision in his lone postseason start. He pitched six innings and allowed two earned runs before handing Game 3 of the National League Division Series over to his relievers.

The 2015 Cy Young winner went seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers on May 31. If he can repeat that Tuesday, Chicago will likely take a 2-1 lead in the NLCS.

Postgame Reaction

Kershaw shared his thoughts after the game with Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (via Fox Sports: MLB):

Pederson praised Gonzalez, Kershaw and Jansen:

“Now it’s a race to three,” Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.

“The big thing with Kershaw is that if he’s on top of his game, man,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, according to USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale. “It is what it is. You never anticipate scoring a lot of runs.”

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Having had a few days to rest and recharge, the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians will get back on the diamond Friday in Game 1 of the 2016 American League Championship Series.

The Blue Jays and Indians both swept their American League Division Series opponents. Toronto knocked out the Texas Rangers, while Cleveland sent the heavily favored Boston Red Sox packing.

The Indians owned a slim 4-3 edge over the Blue Jays during the regular season. Should Cleveland repeat that, the team will be headed to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1997.

When: Friday, Oct. 14, at 8 p.m. ET

TV Info: TBS

Live Stream: MLB.tv

Odds (relayed by Odds Shark): Toronto 27-20; Cleveland 20-29

Game 1 Preview

It’s a good thing the Indians only needed three games to eliminate the Red Sox because it means Corey Kluber will have had plenty of rest before he takes the mound Friday night.

The pitching staff has gone from Cleveland’s greatest asset to a major question mark over the past month. Carlos Carrasco is out for the rest of the year, while Danny Salazar will be unavailable for the ALCS.

Starting Kluber makes all of those problems go away—at least temporarily. He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he was excellent in the ALDS, pitching seven scoreless innings in the Game 2 win over Boston.

Marco Estrada will be opposing Kluber. The 33-year-old also pitched well in the ALDS, nearly going the distance in Game 2 before exiting after 8.1 innings. While Estrada was generally pretty solid this year—reaching his first All-Star Game—he’s not quite the dominant pitcher Kluber is.

Here’s a look at their numbers, courtesy of FanGraphs:

The Blue Jays have the firepower to potentially knock Kluber out of the game early. Toronto was ninth in runs scored (759) after finishing first (891) in 2015, but the team showed its strength against the Rangers, averaging a little over seven runs per game in the ALDS.

Edwin Encarnacion has been a one-man wrecking crew, hitting three homers and driving in seven runs between the ALDS and wild-card game.

Toronto manager John Gibbons discussed what a luxury the middle of his team’s order provides:

Facing Kluber is only one challenge for the Blue Jays in Game 1. Toronto will also have to navigate through Cleveland’s bullpen, anchored by Andrew Miller.

The Indians paid a steep price to acquire the left-hander, giving up highly regarded minor leaguers Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield. So far, Miller has more than justified the deal.

He allowed five earned runs in 29 innings for the Indians during the regular season, and he has thrown four scoreless innings in the postseason.

Most importantly, Indians manager Terry Francona has shown a willingness to use Miller whenever necessary rather than saving him for the eighth or ninth innings. Cleveland pitching coach Mickey Callaway is all for throwing Miller out in the fifth or sixth innings if that’s what the circumstances demand, according to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian:

Francona won’t want to wear Miller down this early into the series, but considering he’s had a few days off, he’ll probably be good to go two innings if need be Friday night, which isn’t good news for the Blue Jays.

Over the course of a seven-game series, the Indians’ rotation is a big problem. Josh Tomlin and Mike Clevinger are scheduled to pitch Games 3 and 4, which isn’t a reassuring sight with as potent as the Blue Jays lineup can be.

Playing at home and with their ace getting the nod, the Indians should be able to open up the ALCS in winning fashion.

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Despite being swept out of the 2016 American League Division Series by the Cleveland Indians, the Boston Red Sox reaffirmed their commitment to manager John Farrell on Tuesday. 

Dave Dombrowski, the team’s president of baseball operations, announced Farrell will stay with the team in 2017, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe.

In February 2015, the Red Sox extended Farrell’s deal to keep him on board through the 2017 season, with an option for 2018. Dombrowski declined to say whether Boston will exercise that option.

“Something of that magnitude I need to sit down with ownership and discuss that,” he said, according to Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald.

While the Red Sox finished the regular season with a 93-69 record, their postseason exit led to some criticism of Farrell’s handling of his team.

In particular, many questioned his decision to pinch-hit Chris Young for Andrew Benintendi in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 3 of the ALDS. While Young walked during the at-bat, Boston was without Benintendi to lead off the bottom of the ninth as it looked to come back from a 4-3 deficit.

Boston.com’s Chad Finn was among those who thought Farrell made a big mistake:

Eric Wilbur of Boston.com thought the ALDS as a whole helped to illustrate the gulf between Farrell and a tactically astute manger such as the Indians’ Terry Francona:

Yet, this series perhaps exposed Farrell’s shortcomings as a big league manager all the same. You could give him and [Francona] two seats to deal with, and Farrell would probably still lose playing musical chairs to his old friend.

Farrell doesn’t have to stay because of the success that the Red Sox found this year, winning the American league East after back-to-back last-place finishes. He needs to go because of the continued promise of watching his in-game decisions backfire, and particularly after watching Francona manage circles around him, almost as if he were in his pickup willingly doing donuts on Farrell’s own manicured lawn.

In August, Abraham also took issue with how Farrell handled Red Sox pitchers:

Farrell also has had less of an effect on the pitching staff than you would have expected from an accomplished former pitching coach. Certainly, he needs to respect boundaries and let coaches do their jobs. But Farrell should be having more direct impact on somebody like David Price.

As a pitching coach, Farrell was an authority figure with the pitchers to a point that some feared him. He was their boss. As the manager, he seems too much like their protector.

Expectations will be high for the Red Sox in 2017, yet it’s doubtful a slow start to next year would result in Farrell’s firing in the first few months. The team hasn’t fired a manager in the middle of a season since Jimy Williams in 2001. Even Bobby Valentine finished out a disastrous 2012 campaign before losing his job.

With only one more guaranteed year left on his deal, Farrell will be under heavy pressure to deliver. Anything short of a trip to the American League Championship Series could put his job in serious jeopardy.

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The Washington Nationals own a 2-1 lead in their National League Division Series after an 8-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth delivered in a big way, going 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and two runs scored.

Werth and the Washington offense delivered as starter Gio Gonzalez lasted only 4.1 innings. The veteran left-hander exited after surrendering three earned runs on four hits and one walk. He struck out four.

Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda struggled in the first postseason start of his MLB career. Over three innings, he allowed four earned runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batter while striking out four.

Command was an issue for Maeda, who threw 63 pitches. The Los Angeles Times‘ Andy McCullough opined that home plate umpire Ron Kulpa squeezed the strike zone:

The game began brightly for the Dodgers.

For the third contest in a row, rookie shortstop Corey Seager drove in the first run of the game. After homering in Games 1 and 2, he doubled to right-center field to plate third baseman Justin Turner.

MLB Network shared a replay of the extra-base hit:

The McCovey Chronicles’ Grant Brisbee isn’t looking forward to seeing Seager in the National League West for the foreseeable future:

Maeda averted damage in the first inning, striking out Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman with the bases loaded and two outs. In the third, the rookie right-hander wasn’t so lucky, as Washington scored four runs to take a 4-1 lead.

Center fielder Trea Turner led off with a single to center, and Werth doubled into the right field corner to get the Nationals on the board. The New York Times‘ James Wagner thought Turner showed tremendous speed by scoring from first base:

After second baseman Daniel Murphy flied out, right fielder Bryce Harper scored Werth with a single to right. Third baseman Anthony Rendon then stepped to the plate and hammered a fastball over the left-center field wall.

MLB Network provided a second look at the homer:

MLB.com’s Daren Willman showed Maeda couldn’t have done a worse job placing the two-seamer:

In the bottom of the fifth, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to use Carlos Ruiz to pinch hit for reliever Pedro Baez, who had replaced Maeda to start the fourth. In 14 regular-season games with Los Angeles after being traded by the Philadelphia Phillies, Ruiz didn’t hit a single home run and slugged .333.

After the August deal, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported the Dodgers thought Ruiz could strengthen their lineup against left-handed pitching. The 37-year-old justified the trade when he hit a two-run home run to bring Los Angeles within a run.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, it was the Dodgers’ first pinch-hit homer in a postseason home game since Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

The drive jolted the crowd, and the Los Angeles Times‘ Lindsey Thiry shared a clip of the fans’ reaction:

Sammy Solis replaced Gonzalez and quieted the crowd a bit when he got left fielder Howie Kendrick to ground out to second. After Justin Turner walked, Seager brought the fans to their feet with a long fly ball to center field, but it was well short of the wall and landed in the glove of Trea Turner.

The trio of Solis, Oliver Perez and Shawn Kelley did well to shut down the Dodgers offense, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out five over 3.2 innings.

In the top of the ninth, Werth put another run on the board for Washington with a solo homer to left field.

NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano noted Werth joined elite company with the homer:

It was a surprising misstep by Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen, who surrendered only four home runs in 68.2 innings during the regular season.

The trouble continued for Jansen, as he walked Murphy and hit Harper. Rendon then popped out, but Zimmerman followed with a two-run double to right field and moved to third when second baseman Chase Utley tried to throw Harper out at home.

ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield pointed out Jansen faltered in high-pressure moments this year:

Ross Stripling took over for Jansen and surrendered a sacrifice fly to pinch hitter Chris Heisey to make it an 8-3 game. It was the fourth run charged to Jansen. Rarely has the 29-year-old unraveled to such an extent, per Fox Sports’ C.J. Nitkowski:

The five-run lead was more than enough for Nationals closer Mark Melancon, who retired the Dodgers in order to end the game.

Julio Urias is scheduled to pitch for Los Angeles in Game 4, though McCullough reported Sunday that ace Clayton Kershaw, who won Game 1, could start. MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick added more information Monday:

Ideally, the Dodgers would hold Kershaw back so he can pitch Game 5 on Thursday with five days’ rest.

But Los Angeles has to win Game 4 on Tuesday in order to get there, so Roberts may not want to leave his best pitcher on the bench in a must-win situation. In addition, relying on a 20-year-old rookie in a critical playoff game could be risky—though Urias was 5-2 with a 3.17 FIP in the regular season, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

Roberts has a difficult decision on his hands as he looks to keep the Dodgers alive.

Postgame Reaction

Werth said the continuity of Washington’s roster is paying dividends in the postseason, per Gurnick and Jamal Collier of MLB.com:

We’re a resilient club. We’ve got a good group of guys. The nucleus of this club has been together a long time. We’ve got a lot of chemistry and all that stuff, but we’ve been doing it for years over here. We’ve come from behind to win a lot of games. We’ve been one of the game’s best teams the past four or five years as far as wins go. So we know how to play, how to win. I like our chances.

Roberts declined to name a starter for Game 4.

“The use of the pen today, no off day tomorrow, those are things we’re going to keep in mind,” he said, according to Jon Weisman of Dodger Insider.

Gurnick reported Roberts is unsure about starting Kershaw in Game 4 because he’d then have to use Urias on the road in Game 5.

Nationals manager Dusty Baker said his starter for Game 4 will be either Joe Ross or Reynaldo Lopez, per Collier.

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The Washington Nationals leveled their National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 5-2 victory in Game 2 at Nationals Park on Sunday.

Neither starting pitcher made it through the fifth inning, which Fox Sports’ C.J. Nitkowski pointed out has been a trend during the postseason:

Los Angeles’ Rich Hill started strong but faded, going 4.1 innings and allowing four earned runs on six hits, two walks and two hit batsmen with seven strikeouts. Washington’s Tanner Roark, on the other hand, sputtered out of the gate but settled down, surrendering two earned runs on seven hits, three walks and a hit batsman in 4.1 innings.

The second batter of the game, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, deposited a 3-0 fastball over the wall in right-center field to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead.

The 22-year-old also homered in the first inning of Game 1 of the NLDS, becoming the first Dodgers player since Juan Uribe and Carl Crawford in 2013 to hit home runs in back-to-back postseason games, according to Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.

The Southern California News Group’s J.P. Hoornstra noted Nationals fans didn’t hold back their feelings after Seager’s solo homer:

Los Angeles loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Roark got Hill to strike out swinging and Chase Utley to ground out to end the threat.

In the bottom of the frame, Washington loaded the bases with one out, but Nationals catcher Jose Lobaton grounded back to Hill for a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning. The veteran left-hander knew he had averted disaster, according to ESPN.com’s J.A. Adande:

Lobaton gained a measure of revenge, however, in the bottom half of the fourth.

After the Dodgers had doubled their lead on a single by Josh Reddick in the third, Hill walked Daniel Murphy and hit Danny Espinosa to put runners on first and second with two outs. Lobaton then emptied the bases with a three-run home run to left field.

The Washington Post‘s Chelsea Janes noted the homer was only Lobaton’s second hit against a left-hander all year.

Baseball writer Joe Sheehan pointed out how ridiculous the sport can be sometimes:

Another industry pundit, Jonah Keri, had to reverse course on a piece in which he was praising Hill’s work:

Los Angeles failed to capitalize on another golden opportunity a half-inning later. With two on and one out, Marc Rzepczynski relieved Roark and walked Yasiel Puig to load the bases. The left-hander escaped damage by striking out Yasmani Grandal and getting Howie Kendrick to line out to Jayson Werth in left field.

Leaving men on base was a major problem for the Dodgers, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier noted:

Washington added to its lead in its next turn at the plate. After Trea Turner and Bryce Harper led off the bottom of the fifth with singles, Murphy plated Turner with one out to make it 4-2.

Kendrick kept the score there, however, throwing out Harper at the plate as he attempted to tag up on Anthony Rendon’s fly ball to left. ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla praised the left fielder:

After a two-out double by Werth in the seventh, Murphy provided insurance with an RBI single to left, which brought an MVP chant from the home fans, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:

After relievers Sammy Solis, Blake Treinen and Oliver Perez combined for 2.1 perfect innings, Nationals closer Mark Melancon shut the door in the ninth to secure the win.

Since rain pushed Game 2 from Saturday to Sunday, Washington and Los Angeles won’t have a day off as the series shifts west. The first pitch of Game 3 is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET Monday at Dodger Stadium.

Gio Gonzalez will take the mound for the Nationals, while Kenta Maeda will get the nod for Los Angeles. The matchup doesn’t favor either team, as Gonzalez was 11-11 with a 3.76 FIP in the regular season and Maeda finished 16-11 with a 3.58 FIP, according to Baseball-Reference.com—though the Dodgers have struggled against lefties this year, slashing .213/.290/.332 compared to .264/.331/.441 against righties.

Postgame Reaction

“This falls solely on me,” Hill said, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. “I believe we’re tied in the series because I didn’t execute.”

Seager added he and his fellow Dodgers hitters “missed the big hit,” per Gurnick.

Werth thought Lobaton’s three-run homer was a turning point for Washington, saying it “kind of felt like a monkey came off our back,” according to MASN’s Dan Kolko.

“I’m just so happy for Loby, man. He really deserves it,” Ryan Zimmerman said, per CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Chase Hughes. “He stays ready, works hard every day. Now he’s got an opportunity.”

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The Toronto Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead in the 2016 American League Division Series with a 10-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday in Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. 

Marco Estrada pitched a gem for the Blue Jays. He stymied the Rangers offense over 8.1 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and striking out six batters.

Former MLB reliever LaTroy Hawkins thought Estrada’s changeup was particularly effective:

Rangers ace Cole Hamels had one of his worst starts of the 2016 season, going 3.1 innings and allowing seven runs—six earned—on six hits. Hamels’ command was an issue throughout his outing. He walked three batters and threw 82 pitches.

MLB.com’s Richard Justice noted how poor the start was:

Hamels was one out away from getting out of the third inning before the game unraveled for the Rangers.

Josh Donaldson got the Blue Jays on the board with a double to left field. The line drive narrowly evaded Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, who got a glove on the ball but couldn’t react in time to make the catch. Jose Bautista then doubled Toronto’s lead with a single to center.

A walk to Edwin Encarnacion loaded the bases, and Troy Tulowitzki emptied them with a triple to right-center field to put the Blue Jays ahead 5-0.

Rangers center fielder Ian Desmond has largely exceeded expectations following his transition to the outfield. Tulowitzki’s three-run triple, however, highlighted Desmond’s relative inexperience at the position. As he was tracking the ball, Desmond—bracing for an impact with the outfield wall—pulled up well before he needed to, allowing Tulowitzki’s hit to fall in.

Sports Illustrated‘s Jonah Keri didn’t hold back with his criticism of Desmond:

Vice Sports’ Dave Lozo thought the play would have at least made Roger Dorn of Major League proud:

ESPN.com’s Keith Law was seemingly surprised how quickly the Blue Jays took control of the game:

Melvin Upton Jr. began the top of the fourth with a solo home run to left field to give the Blue Jays a 6-0 lead.

Donaldson then knocked Hamels out of the game after singling home Devon Travis.

Bautista piled further misery on the Rangers with a three-run homer in the top of the ninth, putting Toronto ahead 10-0. According to the Toronto Star‘s Bruce Arthur, the right-handed slugger made sure not to anger any Rangers players with another bat flip:

Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball thought the 35-year-old helped himself with free agency on the horizon:

FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan tweeted that Bautista’s home run meant Texas has now allowed more runs than it has scored in 2016.

Dropping the first game is far from a decisive blow to the Rangers in the ALDS. Texas took a 2-0 lead over the Blue Jays in last year’s ALDS before ultimately losing the series.

Still, getting a win in Game 2 will be critical for the Rangers. They won’t want to be in a 2-0 hole when the series shifts to the raucous Rogers Centre. Texas finished only three games over .500 on the road this year.

The good news for the Rangers is that they’ll have their best pitcher on the mound to even the series. Yu Darvish went 7-5 and posted a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts. His 3.09 FIP was lowest among the team’s starters, though, per Baseball-Reference.com.

J.A. Happ will get the nod for Toronto. He went 20-4 with a 3.18 ERA during the regular season. On May 5, the veteran lefty went seven innings and allowed one run in a 12-2 win over the Rangers.

If Happ delivers a similar outing, then Toronto will have one foot in the American League Championship Series for the second year in a row.

Postgame Reaction

Rangers manager Jeff Banister doesn’t think Thursday’s defeat will have a residual impact on his team over the rest of the series, according the Canadian Press’ Neil Davidson (via the Vancouver Sun):

Given how our club has played all year long, and we’ve been in these type of situations before, look, we’ve come back and played well after these type of games. And with the veteran group that we have in there, I don’t worry about the collateral damage in a game like this. Obviously we would have liked to have played a lot more competitively. But the other thing that you’ve got to look at, too, is Estrada threw a heck of a game.

After the game, Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin had high praise for Estrada, saying he has “little hints of [Greg] Maddux” in his game, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.

Estrada wasn’t disappointed that he couldn’t go the full nine innings, per Nicholson-Smith: “Who cares? We won. That’s all that matters.”

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