Monday October 8th, 2012

Jake Dal Porto: Now that the division series are into full swing, it’s time to take a look at the status of each of the four series from both leagues.

Surprisingly, the road teams went 6-2, despite the weird playoff format which has the top seed playing two road games before heading home for three.

Here are the results:

American League

Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics

It wasn’t a good weekend for Bay Area teams. The A’s lost a heartbreaker early Sunday morning, and the Giants ended the evening with a loss (more on that later).

After tying the game in the eighth with two runners on Sunday, one of which came on a passed ball, the A’s allowed the Tigers to score on a passed ball as well in the ninth, and Don Kelly walked off with a sacrifice fly an inning later.

Jarrod Parker was out-dueled in game one by the mighty Justin Verlander which wasn’t a huge surprise. But game two was a winnable game for the A’s, which makes it such a hard pill to swallow. Either way, they head back to Oakland down 0-2 and all odds against them. Assuming that Justin Verlander could pitch again, the A’s will need a miracle to advance. But hasn’t their entire 2012 season been a miracle?

New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles

With a two-hour plus rain delay permitting the Yankees and Orioles from starting on time, Camden Yards was still fired up for a rare taste of postseason baseball. Ichrio Suzuki put New York on the board first with an RBI double. Baltimore would respond with a run in the third, until the Yankees exploded for four runs in the ninth to secure the win in game one.

C.C. Sabathia fell one out short of tossing a complete game. But he was solid, allowing just two runs and striking out seven.

The experienced Yankees now have the upper-hand. Not only do they have home field advantage looming, but they dampened the Orioles’ confidence with that ninth inning explosion. The O’s haven’t experienced a feeling like that for weeks. Simply put, it’s their series to lose now.

National League

Washington Nationals vs. St.Louis Cardinals

Despite struggling at the plate for the majority of the day, the Nationals scrapped out a win with Tyler Moore’s two-run single in the top of the eighth. Despite walking seven batters, Gio Gonzalez only allowed two runs, somehow. It should be noted that the Nats’ 1-4 hitters went 1-19. Again, somehow they escaped with a win.

Much like the Yankees, the Nationals are in the drivers’ seat with a game one win. They have one more game in St.Louis on Monday, and head home for three games. So, they’re expected to win.

However, an experienced Cardinals’ lineup won’t quit. The series is far from over, and isn’t quite predictable, yet

Cincinnati Reds vs. San Francisco Giants

This series looks like the most predictable of the four division series. The Reds have the momentum clearly on their side after winning the first two games of the series in San Francisco. Sunday’s 9-0 victory was the first two games in a nutshell. The Reds pounded the Giants best two pitchers, while San Francisco had no answer offensively. Bronson Arroyo was incredible in game 2, giving up one hit (while the Reds staff as a whole only giving up 2 hits to the Giants frozen bats).

Much like the A’s, the Giants need a miracle. But when Melky Cabrera went down and they rode that anger straight into the playoffs, wasn’t that a miracle?

The series resumes on Tuesday for the answers.

(*The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com*)

Jake Dal Porto is a Baseball Writer with MLB reports and a student from the Bay Area. Jake’s favorite sports moment was when the Giants won the World Series back in 2010. He loves to use sabermetrics in his work. He thinks they are the best way to show a player’s real success compared to the basic stats such as ERA, RBIs, and Wins. Jake also enjoys interacting and debating with his readers. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @TheJakeMan24

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