2013 Playoffs, Week Two: Championship Series
Sept 17, 2013 10:36:19 GMT -5
Post by Ben (Rays GM) on Sept 17, 2013 10:36:19 GMT -5
A note on playoff tiebreakers:
1) If teams finish tied, head-to-head match-ups between the two teams during the regular season will be looked at, and the winner will be the team that had the higher winning percentage against their opponent. The score of the match-ups is irrelevant; all that matters is who won.
2) If the teams have an equal winning percentage against each other, the tie will be broken based on playoff seed, with the higher seed advancing.
National League:
1. Arizona Diamondbacks (21-1-0)
vs
2. San Francisco Giants (16-5-1)
No surprises in the National League Division Series as the higher seeded favorites progressed. However, the number 1 seed Diamondbacks didn't win as easily as they would have liked, as it came down to the final day. At one point during that day, the Cubs led the series 7-4. However, a crucial stolen based by Jay Bruce, a strong pitching performance by Max Scherzer, and a solid offensive day all around, combined with a weak hitting day for the Cubs, who also were hurt by too many walks from Francisco Liriano and Mark Buehrle, led to the Diamondbacks claiming SBs and BB/9, and tying AVG, to claim a late 6-5 victory. The Giants, meanwhile, led their match-up pretty much wire to wire, and ended up claiming an 8-3 victory over the Nationals. The Giants are in familiar territory in the NLCS, having made it last year as the number 1 seed before being upset by the Reds. This year they look to avoid another upset, as they are arguably the favorites again - even though they have the weaker record than the Diamondbacks, they come out ahead in 8 of the 12 stats for the season, with a commanding advantage in the hitting stats while the pitching stats come out even. Their position as favorites is further cemented by the would-be head-to-head record of the two teams if they had played each other every week of the regular season, in which case the Giants would have won 12 to the Diamondbacks 9, with 1 tie. However, had they faced each other in the NLDS, the Diamondbacks would have won 6-4. The Diamondbacks also won both of the actual match-ups between the two teams, so they would claim the win should this series go to a tiebreaker. Jacoby Ellsbury (foot) went on the Giants' DL this week, and joins Ryan Braun (suspension) among the Giants' missing outfielders. Not to be outdone, the Diamondbacks lost an outfielder of their own, Carlos Gonzalez (finger), and are still missing Josh Johnson (forearm) and Brandon Morrow (forearm).
Key Players
Diamondbacks: Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, Prince Fielder, Max Scherzer
Giants: Mike Trout, Adam Jones, Robinson Cano, Madison Bumgarner
American League:
1. Toronto Blue Jays (19-1-2)
vs
2. Tampa Bay Rays (18-2-2)
In the American League, the top seeded teams progressed as well, with the number one seed also struggling. The Blue Jays found themselves playing catch-up against the Mariners for most of the week before heading into the final day up 7-5. That's when their hitting came alive and, powered by home runs from Paul Goldschmidt, who went 4-4, Wil Myers, who went 2-2, and Josh Donaldson, and aided by Matt Holliday's 3-5 day, they were able to take OPS and AVG while holding the Mariners off in XBH, winning the series 9-3. The Rays, meanwhile, fended off the Tigers 11-0, leaving us with a repeat of last year's ALCS. Last year, the top seeded Rays, who had dominated the AL with their pitching staff, triumphed 7-5 over the Blue Jays, who had the league's top offense. This year the roles are reversed, and the Blue Jays are the number one seed having dominated the league's pitching categories, while the Wild Card Rays are the undisputed heavy hitters of the AL. The head-to-head stats tell a similar story, as the Rays lead all of the hitting categories except SBs, while the Jays lead all of the pitching categories except Ks. Looking only at the ALDS, however, a different story emerges, as the Rays would have won 7-4 by way of winning five out of six pitching categories. In any case, it's fair to say that this may be the most even match-up of the playoffs to date: had the teams faced each other every week in the regular season, the Blue Jays would have come out on top 10 times, the Rays would have won 9, and the teams would have tied thrice. For the season, the Blue Jays won both match-ups, so they will progress to the World Series should the teams tie. The Blue Jays welcome back Johnny Cueto (back) but are still without Colby Lewis (elbow), while the Rays are dealing with yet another ankle injury to Derek Jeter.
Key Players
Blue Jays: Paul Goldschmidt, Matt Holliday, Josh Donaldson, Stephen Strasburg, Mike Minor
Rays: Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Chris Sale, Jordan Zimmermann, Zack Greinke
1) If teams finish tied, head-to-head match-ups between the two teams during the regular season will be looked at, and the winner will be the team that had the higher winning percentage against their opponent. The score of the match-ups is irrelevant; all that matters is who won.
2) If the teams have an equal winning percentage against each other, the tie will be broken based on playoff seed, with the higher seed advancing.
National League:
1. Arizona Diamondbacks (21-1-0)
vs
2. San Francisco Giants (16-5-1)
No surprises in the National League Division Series as the higher seeded favorites progressed. However, the number 1 seed Diamondbacks didn't win as easily as they would have liked, as it came down to the final day. At one point during that day, the Cubs led the series 7-4. However, a crucial stolen based by Jay Bruce, a strong pitching performance by Max Scherzer, and a solid offensive day all around, combined with a weak hitting day for the Cubs, who also were hurt by too many walks from Francisco Liriano and Mark Buehrle, led to the Diamondbacks claiming SBs and BB/9, and tying AVG, to claim a late 6-5 victory. The Giants, meanwhile, led their match-up pretty much wire to wire, and ended up claiming an 8-3 victory over the Nationals. The Giants are in familiar territory in the NLCS, having made it last year as the number 1 seed before being upset by the Reds. This year they look to avoid another upset, as they are arguably the favorites again - even though they have the weaker record than the Diamondbacks, they come out ahead in 8 of the 12 stats for the season, with a commanding advantage in the hitting stats while the pitching stats come out even. Their position as favorites is further cemented by the would-be head-to-head record of the two teams if they had played each other every week of the regular season, in which case the Giants would have won 12 to the Diamondbacks 9, with 1 tie. However, had they faced each other in the NLDS, the Diamondbacks would have won 6-4. The Diamondbacks also won both of the actual match-ups between the two teams, so they would claim the win should this series go to a tiebreaker. Jacoby Ellsbury (foot) went on the Giants' DL this week, and joins Ryan Braun (suspension) among the Giants' missing outfielders. Not to be outdone, the Diamondbacks lost an outfielder of their own, Carlos Gonzalez (finger), and are still missing Josh Johnson (forearm) and Brandon Morrow (forearm).
| HR | SB | BB | AVG | OPS | XBH | IP | SV | K | ERA | BB/9 | QS | |
| ARI | 145 | 112 | 428 | .280 | .790 | 398 | 1070.1 | 77 | 1053 | 3.83 | 2.84 | 75 |
| SF | 152 | 158 | 364 | .302 | .846 | 421 | 1222.0 | 41 | 1162 | 3.89 | 3.14 | 90 |
Key Players
Diamondbacks: Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, Prince Fielder, Max Scherzer
Giants: Mike Trout, Adam Jones, Robinson Cano, Madison Bumgarner
American League:
1. Toronto Blue Jays (19-1-2)
vs
2. Tampa Bay Rays (18-2-2)
In the American League, the top seeded teams progressed as well, with the number one seed also struggling. The Blue Jays found themselves playing catch-up against the Mariners for most of the week before heading into the final day up 7-5. That's when their hitting came alive and, powered by home runs from Paul Goldschmidt, who went 4-4, Wil Myers, who went 2-2, and Josh Donaldson, and aided by Matt Holliday's 3-5 day, they were able to take OPS and AVG while holding the Mariners off in XBH, winning the series 9-3. The Rays, meanwhile, fended off the Tigers 11-0, leaving us with a repeat of last year's ALCS. Last year, the top seeded Rays, who had dominated the AL with their pitching staff, triumphed 7-5 over the Blue Jays, who had the league's top offense. This year the roles are reversed, and the Blue Jays are the number one seed having dominated the league's pitching categories, while the Wild Card Rays are the undisputed heavy hitters of the AL. The head-to-head stats tell a similar story, as the Rays lead all of the hitting categories except SBs, while the Jays lead all of the pitching categories except Ks. Looking only at the ALDS, however, a different story emerges, as the Rays would have won 7-4 by way of winning five out of six pitching categories. In any case, it's fair to say that this may be the most even match-up of the playoffs to date: had the teams faced each other every week in the regular season, the Blue Jays would have come out on top 10 times, the Rays would have won 9, and the teams would have tied thrice. For the season, the Blue Jays won both match-ups, so they will progress to the World Series should the teams tie. The Blue Jays welcome back Johnny Cueto (back) but are still without Colby Lewis (elbow), while the Rays are dealing with yet another ankle injury to Derek Jeter.
| HR | SB | BB | AVG | OPS | XBH | IP | SV | K | ERA | BB/9 | QS | |
| TOR | 160 | 64 | 465 | .259 | .760 | 367 | 1460.0 | 36 | 1229 | 3.27 | 2.44 | 121 |
| TB | 184 | 61 | 573 | .264 | .822 | 435 | 1428.1 | 34 | 1270 | 3.42 | 2.93 | 116 |
Key Players
Blue Jays: Paul Goldschmidt, Matt Holliday, Josh Donaldson, Stephen Strasburg, Mike Minor
Rays: Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Chris Sale, Jordan Zimmermann, Zack Greinke