The second round of the 2020 MLB post season (the Division Series) is behinds us. And, circumstances seem to indicate it take a lot of “pop” to advance in this year. During the Divisional Round, nearly half of all the runs tallied (49.7 percent) were brought across the plate via the home run. Looking at the BBRT Trot Index (plate appearances that result in a trot to first base or back to the dugout, rather than action on the field) further illustrates the importance power played in this round of the post season. While the percentage of overall plate appearances resulting in a “trot” were fairly level with the Wild Card Round, home runs were up from 2.8 percent to 4.7 percent.
I did a little better predicting this round, only missing on the Rays/Yankees outcome. I gave the Yankees a slight edge, based on Gerrit Cole being available for two starts if needed. That did happen and Cole did deliver a sterling performance. The Rays’ pitching staff (and strategy) just proved more effective than I expected. At least in this round I didn’t underestimate the talent or motivation of the surging Astros. The Braves over the Marlins and Dodgers over the Padres were pretty much everyone’s choices. I’ll present my picks for the League Championship Series later in this post, but first a few comments on observations on the Divisional Championships.
When the Braves are Pitching, the Plate is a Lonely Place
Christy Mathewson Photo by trialsanderrors 
The Braves swept the Marlins in the Division Series by scores of 9-5, 2-0 and 7-0 – right after sweeping the Reds 1-0 and 5-0. This made the Braves only the second team in MLB history to to toss shutouts in four of the first five games in a single post-season. The only other squad to do it? The 1905 New York Giants, who threw four shutouts in topping the Philadelphia Athletics four games-to-one in the World Series. The Giants got three complete-game shutouts from Christy Mathewson (3-0 in Game One; 9-0 in Game Three; and 2-0 in Game Five.). They also got a complete-Game shutout (1-0) from Joe McGinnity in Game Four. Ironically, the only game the Giants lost was Game Two – and it was also a complete-game shutout, as Philadelphia won 3-0 behind Chief Bender.
How The Game Has Changed
In the entire five-game 1905 World Series the New York Giants made only one call to the bullpen – for one inning (Red Ames) in Game Two. To illustrate how much the game has changed the Braves used eight pitchers in their first shutout of the 2020 post season; four in their second white-washing; five in their third shutout; and four in the fifth blanking.
The Braves squad gave up just five runs in 49 innings – a 0.92 ERA over their first five games in this post-season – after posting a 4.14 ERA (seventh-best in the NL) in the regular season. In the first five games of the postseason, they’ve held opponents to a .169 average, while fanning 59 and walking nine.
The New York Giants gave up just three runs to the Philadelphia Athletics) in the five-game 1905 World Series. All three came in Game Two and all three were unearned – giving the Giants a 0.00 earned run average for the Series. Giants pitchers (they only used three in the entire Series) gave up just 24 hits in 45 innings (a .155 average for the Athletics), while walking five and fanning 25.
A Couple of Youngsters to Watch in the Post Season
American League – Randy Arozarena, Rays. Picked up in a January trade with the Cardinals, the 25-year-old Cuban outfielder hit .281-7-11 in 23 games for the Rays in the regular season – missing the first five weeks of the campaign with COVID. He’s been on the ball this post season, hitting .444-3-4. It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, as Arozarena hit .344 in two minor-league stops last season and .300 in 20 at bats with the Cardinals.
National League – Ian Anderson, Braves. The 22-year-old rookie righty (third overall pick in the June 2016 draft) had just 32 1/3 major-league innings under his belt coming into the post-season – but they were good ones. His 2020 record was 3-2, 1.95 with 41 strikeouts, He’s proven that was no fluke this post season. Anderson has won two games for the Braves in the post-season, pitching to a 0.00 earned run average and fanning 17 in 11 2/3 innings. In four minor-league seasons, he was 17-21, with a 2.91 ERA.
Never Saw That One (two or three) Coming
On October 2, as the Rays evened their Series with the Yankees at a game apiece, the Rays set a new MLB post-season record for strikeouts in a nine-inning contest, as the Yankees went down on strikes 18 times. The Rays used four pitchers to set the record: starter Tyler Glasnow (10 K/5 IP); Diego Castillo (2 K/1 IP); Nick Anderson (4 K/2 IP); and Pete Fairbanks (2 K/1 IP).
Let Us Not Forget
When the Rays’ pitchers fanned 18 Yankees batters in a nine-inning post-season game (October 2), they bested a record shared by five teams. Let’s not forget that, in one of those 17K contests, all 17 whiffs were recorded by a single pitcher. In Game One of the 1968 World Series (versus the Tigers), Cardinals’ starter Bob Gibson threw a nine-inning, five-hit, complete-game shutout, walking one, while recording 17 strikeouts. He fanned every member of the Tigers’ starting lineup at least once.
Also, let’s not forget that the Rays managed to erase themselves as “victims” in the record. books. In Game Two of the 2019 ALDS three Astros’ pitchers combined to fan 17 Rays hitters in a 3-1 win (15 of those whiffs by Gerrit Cole in 7 2/3 inning). That 17 whiffs is no longer a post-season record.
Dodger Stadium – The New Muscle Beach
The Astros topped the A’s three games-to-one in their Division Series – played at Dodger Stadium. The Series was like a heavyweight matchup, with the two team trading powerful punches. Each team hit a Division Series record 12 home runs in the four games – which, of course, also gave them the combined Division Series’ record of 24 long balls. A total of 15 players homered in the four-game set – and Carlos Correa’s three round trippers gave him 15 career post-season dingers (in 56 games), second among shortstops to Derek Jeter (who notched 29 home runs in 158 post-season contests).
.500 – A Nice Round Number
Carlos Correa hit .500 (seven-for-fourteen), with three home runs and 11 RBI in the four-game ALDS He also drew for walks for an on-bae percentage of .611. Overall, the Astros his .322 in the Series.
No, Not that Will Smith
On October 8, as the Dodgers topped the Padres 12-3 and moved on the next round of the post-season, Dodger catcher Will Smith went five-for-six, with two doubles, one run scored and three RBI – becoming the ninth MLB player (and youngest ever at 25-years and 195-days old) to log a five-hit post-season game. Notably, each of Smith ‘s hits came off a different pitcher. Smith doubled in the second off Adrian Morejon; struck out in the third against Craig Stammen; hit an RBI single off Tim Hill in the fourth; singled in the sixth off Matt Strahm; singled in the eighth off Drew Pomeranz; and hit a two-run double off Trevor Rosenthal in the ninth. Smith, by the way, came into the game zero-for-eleven in the 2020 post-season.
Off to A Good Start
Giancarlo Stanton homered in the Yankees’ first five 2020 post-season games – becoming the first player to go deep in his team’s first five post-season contests in any season. Over those five games, Stanton hit .368 (seven for 19), with six home runs and 13 RBI.
Can’t Eve Count ‘Em on One Hand
The Rockies’ Daniel Murphy homered in a record six straight post-season games – from October 13, 2015 through October 21, 2015 (NLDS and NLCS). During that stretch, Murphy went 13-25 (.520), with six home runs and nine RBI. Murphy played in 14 post-season games that season, hitting .328, with seven homers and 11 RBI. During the regular season, he had hit ..281-14-73 in 130 games.
Eight Is Not Enough, But It Would Have Been Better
When the Braves knocked the Marlins out of the post-season, it was the Marlins first-ever post-season series loss – ending a streak of seven successful series. The Marlins had been victorious in the 1997 NL Division Series (Giants); NL Championship Series (Braves); and World Series (Indians). They also ran the table in 2003 – NL Division Series (Giants); NL Championship Series (Cubs); and World Series (Yankees). Then they topped the Cubs in the 2020 Wild Card Round before losing to Atlanta. The seven straight post-season wins tied the Marlins for the third-longest such streak all-time (tied with the Yankees, who won the World Series in 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952 and 1953). Below are the three longest post-season series wining streaks ever. Of note it that the Yankees’ eight series streak all represent World Series wins – and in those eight WS victories, they won 32 games and lost only four.
Now, for my Championship Series predictions.
Dodgers over Braves. This should be a slugfest, but I give an edge to the Dodgers both offensively and on the mound. Still, there is a lot of offense on both sides and the key may very well be which team’s relief pitching holds up the best. Really, this should be a great matchup and could go either way.
Rays over Astros. I may be underestimating the Astros, but the Rays’ “stable” of hard throwers may finally slow down the Astros’ determined offense. Plus, the Rays just seem to keep finding ways to win. My only concern is how much strain the five-game set against the Yankees put on the Rays’ pitching staff (the Astros should be well-rested). I also look for the Rays’ speed to play a role in the final outcome of this series.
Snippets from the Leader Board
A few notes from the 2020 Post-Season Stat Board:
- Of the remaining teams, the Astro lead in batting average (.281) and runs scored (40); while the Rays lead in home runs (14). Among remaining NL teams, the Dodgers lead in average (.258) and runs scored (30); while the Braves lead in home runs (7).
- Of the remaining teams, the Braves lead in earned run average (0.92) and strikeouts (59). In the AL, the leader among the remaining teams is the Rays (3.63 and 72 strikeouts). The Braves’ ERA, by the way, is best among all post-season team.
- Despite their elimination, the Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton was the most potent hitter of the first two rounds, leading in home runs (6) and RBI (13), while hitting .308. The Astros’ Carlos Correa was close behind with four home runs and 12 RBI (plus a .500 average) – all three of Correa’s numbers are tops among players still in the post season.
- The Braves’ Ian Anderson has pitched the most innings this post-season without giving up an earned run (11 2/3).
- The Yankees’ Gerrit Cole has fanned an MLB-highest 30 batters this post season (18 1/3 innings pitched). The Rays’ Terry Glasnow is second with 20 strikeouts (in 13 1/3 innings).
- Of the teams still in the hunt, Rays’ batters have fanned most often (69 times) this post season, followed by the Braves (63). The Dodgers, who have drawn the most walks among remaining teams (27), have fanned just 39 times. By comparison, the Braves have drawn 16 walks and the Rays 23.
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