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βΎ Good morning to everyone but especially …
THE MINNESOTA TWINS, TEXAS RANGERS, ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS AND PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
The streak is over. The Twins hope they never have to talk about it again. Minnesota snapped an 18-game postseason losing streak — the longest in any major North American sports league — with a 3-1 Game 1 win over the Blue Jays, led by a player who was 5 years old the last time the Twins won a playoff game.
- Royce Lewis drove in all three runs with a two-run home run in the first inning and a solo shot in the third. He’s just the third player in MLB history to homer in each of his first two career postseason at-bats.
- Pablo LΓ³pez showed up in a Johan Santana jersey — the starter of Minnesota’s most recent playoff win in 2004 — and did a pretty good impression, allowing just one run over 5 2/3 innings.
- The bullpen allowed just one hit and one walk over the final 3 1/3 innings.
The win serves as a huge weight off the team’s shoulders, writes Mike Axisa.
- Axisa: “I’m not a believer in jinxes or curses or anything like that. Nothing that happened in 2004 or 2010 or last week has any bearing on what happens next. That said, the Twins got asked about the losing streak every October. It was tiresome and it’s the kind of thing that can creep into the back of your mind once you fall behind, even by one run. They don’t have to worry about that any longer. Now that the monkey is off their back, don’t be surprised if the Twins go on a run.”
Minnesota looks to make it a winning streak and win their first playoff series since 2002 today.
In the other AL wild card opener, the Rangers got seven wonderful shutout innings from Jordan Montgomery and two more from a shaky bullpen to take down the Rays, 4-0. The Rangers’ offense took advantage of very spotty Tampa Bay defense — more on that in a bit — to give Texas its first postseason win since 2015.
In the NL, theΒ DiamondbacksΒ overcame an early 3-0 deficit, scoring the final six runs of the game in a 6-3 winΒ against the Brewers‘ best. Corbin Carroll and Ketel MarteΒ and Gabriel Moreno each hit home runs to chase Corbin Burnes after just four innings, and Christian Walker delivered a crucial two-out, two-run double against Devin Williams to give Arizona extra breathing room in the ninth.
Finally, the Phillies topped the Marlins, 4-1, behind 6 2/3 sterling innings from Zack Wheeler.
Here are our takeaways from Tuesday’s action, and here are six things we learned.
π Honorable mentions
π And not such a good morning for …
THE TAMPA BAY RAYS
The Rays spent the first few months of the season with the best record in baseball. They spent the last few months battling but ultimately losing the AL East crown. They’ll spend today trying to keep their season alive, and they have no one to blame but themselves. The Rays committed a playoff franchise-record four errors and struggled in pretty much every facet. Here were three instances that were particularly pivotal … and uncharacteristic.
- With runners on first and third and one out in the bottom of the second, Jose Siri popped up a bunt attempt, and Montgomery made a terrific diving play. ReneΜ Pinto then struck out swinging.
- In the top of the fifth,Β Tyler Glasnow‘s wild pitch allowed Corey Seager to score, extending Texas’ lead to 2-0.
- In the top of the sixth, Siri, playing because of his defensive prowess, misplayed a Seager single to center, allowing the ball to deflect away and Evan Carter to score. Siri then doubled down on the mistake with an ill-advised throw to third that ended up in the dugout and allowed Marcus Semien to score.
The good news is the Rays turn to Zach Eflin today, and he’s been terrific this season. The bad news? If Tampa Bay can’t turn around its defense and hitting, it might not matter.
π Not so honorable mentions
π New NFL Power Rankings and college football CBS Sports 133
Last week, the Dolphins were flying as high as any team in the modern NFL has seen and the Cowboys had just lost to the Cardinals. Today, the Dolphins are licking their wounds after a blowout loss to the Bills, and the Cowboys just handed Bill Belichick his worst loss as a head coach. Things change quickly in the NFL, and Pete Prisco’s latest Power Rankings reflect just that. Here’s the top five:
- 49ers (previous: 1) — “There is no doubt who the best team in the league is right now.”
- Eagles (2) — “It still doesn’t look great, but they are finding ways to win games.”
- Chiefs (3) — “The offense still isn’t clicking yet the way we’ve come to expect.”
- Bills (5) — “The defense has really impressed so far this season, especially in terms of the pass rush. Josh Allen is playing like an MVP again.”
- Cowboys (6) — “That showing against the Patriots was the team we expect to see this season.”
The Dolphins, meanwhile, fell from fourth to seventh. That’s nothing compared to the Steelers, who went from 11th to 18th as the week’s biggest fallers. They are instituting a new practice schedule in hopes of turning things around.
You can see Pete’s full rankings here.
Moving to the college side of things, we also hadΒ changes in the top five of the CBS Sports 133.
- Georgia (previous: 1)
- Michigan (4)
- Texas (6)
- Ohio State (3)
- Florida State (5)
Washington fell from second to sixth after a narrow escape at Arizona, and as Tom Fornelli details in his weekly B1G Time column, the new No. 2 is dominating.
- Fornelli: “The Wolverines dominate games in a fashion we haven’t seen many teams do in recent years. … Remember when the College Football Playoff system began and the selection committee started throwing out ‘game control’ as a metric to show how well a team has played? … The Wolverines have had a lead of at least 14 points for 62.17% of their snaps this season. [Of the last seven champions], only the 2021 Georgia team that finished 14-1 with an all-time defense — and smoked Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl — finished with a higher rate.”
You can see the full 133 here, the biggest movers here and a refreshed Bottom 25 here.
Oh yeah, and be sure to check out Dennis Dodd’s deep dive into Deion Sanders’ strong start at Colorado and how long it can last.
β½ Champions League: Manchester United falls apart
A surprise loss to Galatasaray was just about the last thing flounderingΒ Manchester UnitedΒ needed. But soccer doesn’t care about needs and wants, and neither did Galatasaray. The Turkish sideΒ beat the Red Devils, 3-2, as United’s offense finally came to life but defensive issues were out in full force — something that will continue to hold them back, writes Chuck Booth.
It wasn’t exactly a banner day for the other Premier League club in action: ArsenalΒ shockingly fell to RC Lens, 2-1,Β and saw star Bukayo Saka limp off with an injury. With a date againstΒ Manchester City looming, James Benge says Mikel Arteta’s gamble backfired big time.Β
Other headlines around Europe …
We have eight more matches today:
- AtlΓ©tico Madrid vs. Feyenoord
- Antwerp vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
- Newcastle vs. PSG (preview)
- Borussia Dortmund vs. AC Milan (preview)
- RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City (preview)
- Porto vs. Barcelona (preview)
- Crvena zvezda vs. Young Boys
- Celtic vs. Lazio
πΊ What we’re watching Wednesday
β½Β UEFA Champions LeagueΒ onΒ Paramount+
βΎΒ Rangers at Rays, 3 p.m. on ABC
βΎΒ Blue Jays at Twins, 4:30 p.m. on ESPN
βΎΒ Diamondbacks at Brewers, 7 p.m. on ESPN2
βΎΒ Marlins at Phillies, 8 p.m. on ESPN
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Author: Zachary Pereles
October 4, 2023 | 9:00 am
