The first round of the playoffs is officially over, as every Wild Card series was a clean sweep. In these matchups, we learned a lot about the odds of the winning teams, as some of their clear areas of success shined through. As we move in to the start of the Divisional Series on Saturday, it’s time to review these teams, and where they succeeded in the first round.

The Minnesota Twins Pitching Staff Will Be Scary To Face

Although both games between the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays were close, the main thing that stood out to me was just how scary their pitching staff would be to see in a series. Starting out in game one, the Twins started Pablo López. López this season was one of the better starters in the American League, as he pitched to a 3.66 ERA, while striking out just over 29% of batters, with a 4.5 fWAR, and he was also in the top 4% of baseball in pitching run value. Obviously, the Blue Jays knew hitting López would be a tremendous challenge, but it was worse once they got to the bullpen. López would go 5.2 IP, while striking out 3 batters, and allowing just 1 run on 7 base runners. López had a little trouble with walks towards the end of his day, but overall his start put the Twins in prime position to take home game 1. After López gave it his all, the Louie Varland would get the last out of the 6th, and they would move on. After that, Caleb Theilbar would come in and throw an easy inning, as he allowed no base runners over a clean inning. The next pitcher out would be Griffen Jax. Jax, a relatively unknown but solid reliever would throw 1 inning, striking out 2 batters along the way, and allowing just one hit. Jax, who had a 3.86 ERA this season, would look incredibly sharp out of the bullpen for Minnesota. After Griffin Jax, the Twins would bring out their main weapon in Jhoan Durán, as he would pitch an incredible inning for the Twins to close it out. Durán would dominate the Blue Jays offense, striking out 2 batters with his triple-digit pitches. Although he walked 1 batter, he would earn the save, and the Twins would take game 1. So as you can see, the Twins pitching staff pitched like people expected.

Moving on to game 2, the Twins would be sending Sonny Gray to the hill, as they looked to shut things down, and punch their ticket to the ALDS. Sonny Gray has been incredible during the 2023 season, as he finished the season with a 2.79 ERA, 24.3% K%, and a 154 ERA+. Obviously, the Jays had their work cut out for them, but nothing would prepare them for how good Gray would be. Sonny would pitch 5 innings, while only allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 6 batters. Gray would allow no runs, and put Minnesota in a prime position to take home game 2. The Blue Jays would find themselves using their pitchers similarly to the day before, as Louie Varland would come in for 0.1 innings, and striking out 1, and allowing 2 hits. Nonetheless, the bullpen would have his back. Caleb Theilbar would pick up the rest of this inning, as he would allow just 1 hit and getting them out of the inning. Brock Stewart would be next, and he would strike out 2 batters across his 1 inning of work. Stewart would touch the high 90s, and dominate the Blue Jays hitters. After Stewart, it was Griffin Jax to take care of the Blue Jays across his 1 inning of work, as he allowed no base runners himself. Lastly, it was Jhoan Durán. Durán made quick work of the Blue Jays lineup, as he would strike out the side to clinch the game after allowing 1 hit.

Obviously, you can see how good the Twins pitching staff looked in this series, especially their bullpen’s ability to consistently hold the Blue Jays from scoring. When you think about how many reliable options the Twins have out of the bullpen, they become a threatening team to score on, especially with many of their relievers touching the high 90s. The Blue Jays also only had to see Pablo López and Sonny Gray from the rotation, which doesn’t even mention the skills the rest of their rotation brings. The Twins offense still may not be up the the capabilities of some of the other teams in the Postseason, but they will surely be hard to score runs off of.

Jordan Montgomery is a Threat to Any Opposing Offense

This summer, the Rangers were one of the more active teams during the MLB trade deadline, as they made a lot of blockbuster moves. For example, the Rangers were the winners of the Max Scherzer sweepstakes, which many people viewed as the winning acquisition for the Texas Rangers. However, another player threw his name in these discussions after being dealt to the Rangers at the deadline as well. This player was none other than LHP Jordan Montgomery.

Since being dealt to the Rangers, Montgomery has been one of the more reliable pitchers they’ve had. The Rangers went through a lot of tough patches during this time, as their bullpen blew a lot of games in the later innings of the matchups. Since joining the Rangers, Montgomery has pitched to a 2.79 ERA, 58 strikeouts in 67.2 innings pitched, while allowing just 21 earned runs in this same period. Hitters have struggled to get something going against Jordan as you can tell, especially when you see that his average exit velocity against is about 88 MPH. Montgomery has a LOB% of 80.8%, an extremely impressive mark. Essentially, opposing hitters struggle to get something going against Jordan, and when they do, they are stranded on base over 80% of the time.

Now that we’ve established just how good Montgomery has been since becoming a Ranger, it’s time to review his game against the Tampa Bay Rays in this year’s Wild Card round. Going up against the ever consistent Tampa Bay Rays lineup, Jordan Montgomery knew he’d have to be consistent himself on the mound. Montgomery was more than consistent, as he’d toss 7 innings of shutout baseball, while only allowing 6 base runners, and striking out 5 batters. Montgomery would toss a total of 93 pitches during his Tuesday start. He’d record a total of 45 swings on his pitches, as well as 16 called strikes. So, over half of his his pitches thrown would go for strikes in his Tuesday start. You can see when looking at Montgomery’s numbers that he is certainly not a strikeout pitcher, and instead a contact pitcher. Montgomery would induce mainly soft contact, as he would gave an average exit velocity against of just 78.2 MPH. 3 of his 4 different pitches thrown would have over 10 swings.

As you can see, Jordan Montgomery dominated the Tampa Bay Rays during his first playoff start, which is a great sign given how good the Rays lineup looked at times this year. The Rangers will now be advancing to face the Baltimore Orioles, another elite offense. Given his success against the Tampa Bay Rays, this is a fantastic sign of things to come as the Rangers go on their Postseason run. Jordan Montgomery may not be the biggest name, but he may end up being one of the most effective pieces of the Rangers playoff run.

The Diamondbacks are Playing Far Above Their Ages

Coming into their Wild Card matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Arizona Diamondbacks were generally seen as the underdogs. This is mainly due to the age and little experience of the Diamondbacks players, as well as the 3 pitchers Arizona had to face.

When you looked ahead at the matchup, you originally saw Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, and Freddy Peralta all listed as the pitchers Arizona would have to face. Many people asked the same questions, wondering how young impact players like Corbin Carroll would fair against established big leaguers, and a former Cy Young Award winner in Corbin Burnes. Luckily for the Diamondbacks, the Brewers would announce that Brandon Woodruff would be out for at least the Wild Card round with a shoulder injury. Although this knocked out one of the tougher opponents for the Arizona Diamondbacks, they would still have to face Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta at the very least.

Moving into game 1, the Arizona Diamondbacks would first have to face Corbin Burnes. The first inning would be fairly easy for Burnes, as the Diamondback would go down in order to kick off the game. The Diamondbacks would be sending young rookie pitcher Brandon Pfaadt. Pfaadt put together a rookie season with plenty of ups and downs, which caused many to worry. Pfaadt pitched to a 5.72 ERA during his first season, which obviously had fans worrying. Pfaadt got into some trouble in the first inning, but would escape after allowing just 1 run. Arizona would head back to the plate, and once again come up with nothing. To pile onto the tough start, Milwaukee would go down 3-0 after a Tyrone Taylor home run drove in 2 more runs. However, Corbin Carroll would come back to the plate in the top of the third inning, and he would look like a seasoned veteran, getting the best of Corbin Burnes with a 2-run homer. This is the first example of Carroll playing far above his rookie status, as he would end up going 4-7 during the series. Moving on, Ketel Marte would follow up the homer with one of his own to even the game up. The Diamondbacks would again get on the board again, after another rookie in Gabriel Moreno would send one out to put Arizona on top. Surprisingly, this would be the end of the scoring on either side till the top of the 9th, where the Diamondbacks would be all over Devin Williams. Williams, a former Rookie of the Year Award winner, multiple time all-star, and seasoned veteran would allow 3 walks to load the bases. After loading the bases, Christian Walker would smoke a double to score 2 runs. The Diamondbacks would hang on to win this game by the score of 6-4, but the most important takeaway from this game was how well they hit Burnes and Williams. Seeing the Diamondbacks rookies play like they had done this before was a huge encouragement to their fans, and a good sign heading into game 2.

Heading into game 2, the Diamondbacks were set to face Freddy Peralta. This was no easy challenge, as Peralta put up fantastic numbers this year with his 3.86 ERA and 30.9% K%. But, again the Diamondbacks proved themselves to be a threat. Zac Gallen would take the hill in game 2 for the Diamondbacks, as they looked to secure the win against the Brewers to advance to the NLDS. Unfortunately for the Diamondbacks, the Brewers looked to be ready for action as they began the scoring with a sac fly from Sal Frelick. Right after that, Milwaukee would score again on an RBI single from Willy Adames. After the first inning scoring, Gallen would settle right in, as those would be the only 2 runs scored by the Brewers in game 2. Gallen would finish the night going 6 innings, striking out 4, and allowing just 8 baserunners. With a solid start from Gallen still underway, and the game still winnable, the Diamondbacks got busy offensively. Alek Thomas would go yard to open the scoring on Arizona’s side, which would then be followed up by a lot more scoring from the Diamondbacks offense. Ketel Marte would drive in one on an RBI single, Tommy Pham would go on to score on a wild pitch, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. would also hit an RBI single. Paul Sewald would close out the game for the win, and the Diamondbacks advanced to the NLDS.

Although they don’t have the biggest names at every position, the Arizona Diamondbacks young hitters came through when it mattered most, which many people were worried they wouldn’t. As I previously mentioned, Corbin Carroll would go 4-7 in the series, Alek Thomas would hit a clutch homer in game 2, and Zac Gallen would also make a key start for Arizona as well. Now that we saw them hit Freddy Peralta, and former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes well, their odds look much better down the stretch.

The Phillies 2022 Run is Transferring Right Into 2023

When fans looked at the Postseason bracket, it was going to be no surprise that the Phillies would be seeking vengeance for their 2022 World Series loss. And unfortunately, the Miami Marlins would be their first victim.

Similarly to Milwaukee, the Phillies have arguably the best top 3 starters in the playoffs, as Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Ranger Suárez are a lethal trio for any team to face in the Postseason. In game 1, the Miami Marlins would be tasked with beating Zack Wheeler. Wheeler would dominate on the mound for Philly, going 6.2 IP, while striking out 8 hitters, and allowing just 1 run on 5 hits. The Phillies are also known for having one of the tougher home environments in all of baseball, as their ruthless fans and loud cheering make it really tough for opposing teams. This definitely helped the Phillies during this series. The Phillies began their scoring early with an RBI double from Alec Bohm in the third. Then, Bryson Stott would drive in a run on a hard hit single up the middle to make it 2-0 Phillies. Later that inning, Christian Pache would also drive in a run on a single. Heading into the 7th inning, the Marlins would score their first and only run on a Bryan De La Cruz RBI single. The last scoring would come in the 8th inning, as Philly would score again on a Nick Castellanos RBI double. The Phillies would take home game 1, and began dancing on their own.

Heading into game 2, the Marlins would be tasked with trying to improve their offense versus Aaron Nola. Heading into free agency after this year, this game is a really big game for Nola and his chances to return as a member of the Phillies. Nola, similarly to Wheeler, would pitch like a certified ace of the rotation, going 7 innings, while allowing no runs on 4 baserunners, and 3 strikeouts. The offense and environment would also have the Phillies back. The Phillies would score their first runs in an electric 3rd inning, coming on an RBI double from Kyle Schwarber, and and a Trea Turner RBI single. With Citizens Bank Park rocking, Philly would waste no time scoring, as they’d get right back to it in the 4th inning on a J.T. Realmuto homer. The most important moment of the game however was up next, as Bryson Stott would get the crowd going with a grand slam to put the Phillies up 7-0. as Red October was showing it’s colors, they would hang on to win the game 7-1, after Josh Bell drove in a run in the 9th.

The Phillies stadium during the playoffs is really tough to play in, but their playoff experience will take them far. Look out, because they’re coming for revenge.

Conclusion

All of the teams we mentioned in today’s article surprised some people, and they’ve all made themselves a legitimate threat for the World Series title. With the Division Series starting today, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.