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The American League side of the Division Series round got its start on Thursday, with the Rangers taking on the Blue Jays and the Astros facing the Royals. It was a good day for road teams from the state of Texas, too, as the Rangers and Yovani Gallardo surprised the Jays and David Price at home, while the Astros held off the Royals late to secure Game 1. On Friday, it’s the National League’s turn to get started, with the Cubs taking on the Cardinals in St. Louis and our first West Coast game of the postseason, courtesy of the Mets visiting the Dodgers.
It’s not just those two games, though, as Game 2 of both ALDS’ will also be played, giving us a four-game marathon of a Friday -- if it didn’t feel quite like the playoffs yet, it certainly will by the time this 12-hour stretch is complete. You’ve got the Rangers vs. Jays at 12:45 p.m. ET, the Astros and the Royals at 3:45 p.m., the first-ever postseason meeting between longtime rivals the Cubs and Cards at 6:45 p.m. and finally, the Mets vs. Dodgers at 9:45 p.m. That’s a full day, and there are already some serious stakes at play.
The Astros will send Scott Kazmir to face Johnny Cueto, and with Dallas Keuchel set to pitch Game 3 on Sunday, the Royals might not mathematically need this win, but their lives will be much easier if they get it. The Rangers are sending a lefty against the Jays and their southpaw-mauling lineup, but that lefty is Cole Hamels, so even with Marcus Stroman opposing him, there is the chance to go up 2-0 here and earn some cushion for future lefty beatings at Toronto’s hands.
In St. Louis, 2013 World Series champions Jon Lester and John Lackey face off against each other in a pivotal Game 1 -- Jake Arrieta won’t be back until Game 3, so the Cubs could use some early wins. Out in LA, it’s Jacob deGrom against Clayton Kershaw. And since Kershaw isn’t facing the Cards, he should be his usual self.
[ducks]
- How do the Cardinals and Cubs stack up against each other? It's incredible that, even with all of their injuries, St. Louis is still a worthy foe for the Cubs' youth movement.
- This is their first postseason meeting ever, but it's certainly not their first 2015 series: here's a look back at every Cards vs. Cubs game of the season.
- If you've ever wondered why Jake Arrieta has such a strange pitch sequence, it's because of his nipple.
- The Blue Jays played their first playoff game since mid-October of 1993, on Thursday. In between, the entire career of Alex Rodriguez happened and Derek Jeter made the playoffs 16 times. Also, there's some other stuff, but come on, you can't get all of this #content out of me for nothing.
- Corey Seager went from September call-up to maybe Jimmy Rollins replacement to making his playoff debut in a hurry, huh?
- The Wild Card Game is evil and soul-consuming, but it's also just the best.
- The Royals were apparently expecting to face the Yankees, because that's whose logo was on their lineup card Thursday.
- Pete Rose thinks Josh Donaldson is a baby for coming out of a playoff game with a possible concussion. I actually appreciate Rose's stance, because it makes me feel like less of a monster for hoping he's never reinstated by MLB.
- The White Sox aren't in the playoffs this year, but their fans can still needle their Cubs cousins by giving out free beers for every Cardinals' homer in the NLDS.
- There was a rain delay in Thursday's Royals/Astros tilt, and while the Royals lost Yordano Ventura to the elements, they also nearly lost a grounds crew member to the tarp.
- Canada's embassy broke the rules of flag etiquette to hang a Blue Jays' flag on the same mast as the Canadian flag.
- This is from last year, sure, but it's about the breathless, ridiculous sportswriting that the Cardinals inspire, so it's always relevant and worth revisiting on this Game 1 Friday.
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