After a crazy day of playoff baseball, here's a quick look at each game and who contributed the most.
Blue Jays 5 Rangers 3
Game Balls
1. Troy Tulowitzki
The shortstop continued his hot hitting from the Wild Card game on Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with a homer.
2. Roberto Osuna
Osuna entered the game in as tough of a situation as you'll see a reliever in, with the tying run at the plate in Ian Desmond and Francisco Liriano having left the game after being struck in the neck by a line drive. He got Desmond to ground out en route to a five out save.
3. Ian Desmond
The most notable person since George Bush to relocate from Washington to Texas quietly had a solid game, picking up three hits and driving in two runs.
Game Goat
Jonathan Lucroy
Nobody had an outstandingly terrible game, but somebody has to be the goat, so I'm giving it to Lucroy, the high priced catcher from Milwaukee who went 0-for-five today.
Indians 6 Red Sox 0
Game Balls
1. Corey Kluber
Kluber went up against a tough Boston lineup and didn't allow any runs while striking out seven over seven innings.
2. Brandon Guyer
The Cleveland left fielder had three hits, driving in one and scoring two runs.
3. Lonnie Chisenhall
The third baseman turned right fielder hit a big two run homer to right in the second inning to put the Indians up 4-0.
Game Goat
David Price
Price's postseason woes continued, allowing five runs in three and a third innings. That moved his career postseason ERA to 5.54. On an unrelated note, he's being paid 30 million dollars a year for the until 2022. He needs to turn things around fast for the Red Sox to have any chance because you can't make it far with your number two starter pitching like Mike Pelfrey.
Dodgers 4 Nationals 3
Game Balls
1. Justin Turner
Turner went 2-for-3 with a homer off of Scherzer in the third.
2. Kenley Jansen
Similar to Osuna, Jansen came in in the eighth to record a five out save.
3. Anthony Rendon
Rendon has been a little disappointing since failing to build on his 2014 season, but he's still been a solid player and had a good game last night, going 2-for-4 with a key RBI single in the third the get the Nats back in the game.
Game Goat
Max Scherzer
He didn't have a complete meltdown, but four runs in six innings isn't good for anyone, much less a number one starter and Cy Young candidate.
Cubs 1 Giants 0
Game Balls
1. Jon Lester
He played with fire early, allowing two Giants into scoring position in the fourth, but got out of it with nobody crossing the plate and eventually settled in to retire the last 16 guys he faced.
2. Johnny Cueto
Despite the loss, Cueto was nothing short of masterful, going eight innings, striking out ten, allowing three hits with only one run scoring on a mistake to Baez.
3. Javier Baez
His clutch 3-2 homer off of Cueto in the eighth provided the only run for either team.
Game Goat
None
I know what I said earlier about each game having to have a goat, but this was so well played it would be unfair to name somebody. Let's hope we get at least one more like this today.
