Ryan Merritt takes on Marco Estrada as the Indians play their second match point in the ALCS against the Blue Jays. A Toronto win sends the series back to Cleveland. Merritt pitched 11 innings in the majors, and pitched well. He did not walk a batter nor allow a home run, striking out six. In that small sample, he was very dependent on the Cleveland defense. Luckily for him, that defense is very good. That was pretty much his M.O. in the minors at well, let the batters hit the ball. In two seasons at AAA he allowed 194 hits in 173 1/3 innings. With the Indians defense behind him, he allowed just six hits in 11 innings.

Estrada pitched liked this in his two post-season starts. So far, his high K rate during the regular season has not carried over, but Toronto’s defense helped hold the opposition to 10 hits in 16 1/3 innings.

The Dodgers lead the NLCS two games to one as age difference will be on display in Los Angeles. John Lackey gets the ball for the Cubs against young rookie Julio Urias. Lackey is getting close to pitching a regular season worth of innings in the post-season. He allowed just five home runs in his 131 1/3 innings, and just one in his last four post-seasons. Urias pitched two innings in relief against Washington in the NLDS, walking two and allowing a hit, but not giving up a run. He did have a tendency to walk batters in the regular season, which plays into a Cubs strength.

Enjoy!