MLB Postseason Recap

The Rays might have lost, but B.J. Upton's bomb was sweet.

Congratulations to the Phillies, who will square off against the Dodgers in the NLCS after taking care of the Brewers 3 games to 1. Here's a recap of all the action in the postseason from yesterday:

Philadelphia Phillies 6 Milwaukee Brewers 2: The Phillies made short work of the Brewers, which is what I expected. I put Pat Burrell and Chase Utley on notice for this game and Pat Burrell came through for the Phillies with 2 home runs. Utley continues to struggle in the playoffs though and is hitting just .133. For his career, he is now just 4 for 26 in the postseason and he definitely needs to pick things up if the Phillies plan on advancing to the World Series. Just for the record, Ryan Howard isn't much better at 5 for 23 in his postseason career. Joe Blanton pitched a great game for the Phillies and that has proved to be a solid pickup for them when they acquired him from the A's.

Put On Notice: Chase Utley, Ryan Howard

Chicago White Sox 5 Tampa Bay Rays 3: John Danks came up big for the White Sox again by pitching 6 solid innings against the Rays. I thought the White Sox might have been in trouble after B.J. Upton's monster 2-run homer, but the White Sox bullpen shut down the Rays the rest of the way. Offensively, the White Sox did just enough to score 5 runs with a 2-run double by Dewayne Wise probably being the biggest hit. I really like the White Sox chances to send this series to Game 5, since they have Gavin Floyd on the mound against Andy Sonnanstine in Game 4. The White Sox are going to have to score some runs off of Sonnanstine, who is a very hittable pitcher, so they have no excuse if he shuts them down.

Put On Notice: Chicago White Sox offense

Los Angeles Angels 5 Boston Red Sox 4: It really is disgusting how the Angels have been playing in this series. They had 16 hits last night and still only managed to score 5 runs, which continues the trend of them not being able to hit with runners in scoring position. For the series, the Angels are outhitting the Red Sox with a .293 averages compared to .246 for the Red Sox, yet the Red Sox still lead the series. They also let a popup drop in from Jacoby Ellsbury in the 2nd inning that let the Red Sox score three runs and their defense overall has been suspect. I guess the good news for the Angels is that if they keep outhitting the Red Sox then they might have a chance to come back and win the series, but the definitely have made it a lot tougher for themselves. Mike Napoli was the star of this game with 2 big home runs for the Angels. The Angels won in 12th inning on an Erick Aybar single that scored Napoli. Teixeira, Gurrero, and Hunter all continue to hit the ball well. Both teams will be skipping over their # 4 starters in favor of the # 1 guys: Jon Lester and John Lackey will both go in Game 4. If it gets to a Game 5 then the advantage goes to the Angels.

Put On Notice: John Lackey

More: MLB Postseason