I wrote about the Nationals and Cubs pitching match-up yesterday. I was somewhat surprised to see Tanner Roark getting the call for game four, but Stephen Strasburg is ill.

Surely, this was a gift from the heavens. After all, Strasburg has been the best pitcher in the National League since the All-Star break. He continued that dominance into the playoffs, when he started Game 1 against the Cubs and tallied 10 strikeouts over seven innings without giving up an earned run. And now, with Washington on the verge of elimination, Baker was going to have the good fortune to be able to use Strasburg again in Game 4. Until he wasn’t.

As it turns out, sometime between his Game 1 gem and Tuesday’s deluge, Strasburg got sick. It’s unclear just how ill he is or what the exact nature of his malady is, but it’s bad enough that Baker and the Nationals decided to stick with Roark, whose ERA this season was more than two runs higher than Strasburg’s. Just like that, the gift was erased by the curse.

There is no curse, but writers need something to explain bad luck. Game four is scheduled to start around 4 PM EDT.

At 8 PM EDT, the Yankees and Indians meet to decide which team faces Houston in the ALCS. It’s the game two redux as CC Sabathia faces Corey Kluber. Sabathia out-pitched Kluber in that game, lasting 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs, two earned. Kluber walked one and struck out four in 2 2/3 innings, but allowed seven hits. Two of those were home runs. It was only the fourth time this season Kluber allowed multiple home runs in a game.

The starting pitching didn’t matter, as the game was decided in 13 innings in favor of Cleveland. The big play was a non-challenge that led to a grand slam home run by Cleveland. A few years ago, of course, that play would go down to bad umpiring instead of bad managing.

The Yankees nicked both Kluber and Andrew Miller in this series, and need to knick Kluber again to advance. I suspect they’ll need a better game from Sabathia than they received last time. Kluber has not pitched two bad games in a row all season.

Enjoy!