Griff’s 2023 Division Series Previews

The Elite 8 in MLB’s Best-of-Five Matchups

5-Texas Rangers (90-72; 2-0) vs. 1-Baltimore Orioles (101-61)

Games 1-2 at Camden Yards

Saturday (1:03 p.m.) –RH Dane Dunning (12-7, 3.70) vs. RH Kyle Bradish (12-7, 2.83)

Sunday (4:07 p.m.) - LH Jordan Montgomery (10-11, 3.20) vs. RH Grayson Rodriguez (7-4, 4.35)

Games 3-4 at Globe Life Field

Tuesday (8:03 p.m.) – RH Nate Eovaldi (12-5, 3.63) vs. LH John Means (1-2, 2.66)

*Wednesday (TBD) – TBA vs. TBA

Game 5 at Camden Yards

*Friday (TBD) – TBA vs. TBA

OVERVIEW: The O’s cruised to the division title in the powerful AL East, a group that finished a combined 88 games above .500. Now the O’s are the only East team remaining after the Rays and Jays were bumped. The Rangers have been a team of head-scratching streaks, but are on a 2-0 post-season run with SS Corey Seager and ironman 2B Marcus Semien as consistent and potent a 1-2 punch as you will see. The Rangers had control of the AL West for most of the season, then lost two of three on the final weekend to be reeled in by the Astros. MGR Bruce Bochy has the advantage in experience over Brandon Hyde.

Rangers: The Rangers show what you need to have happen if you are going to go deep into October. Young position players from the second tier need to step up and provide impetus for the sprint. For Texas it has been 3B Josh Jung and LF Evan Carter. MGR Bruce Bochy’s rotation suffered setbacks with RH’s Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer injuries, while veterans RH Nate Eovaldi and LH Jordan Montgomery led the sweep of the Rays. RH Jose Leclerc leads a group of relievers that during the season allowed 33 blown saves while earning just 30 successful saves. If LH Aroldis Chapman is throwing strikes, then he can be an important setup or closing factor. It should be understood that many of those Rangers blown saves came before the ninth.   

Orioles: The O’s have a dynamic roster that with a $66-million payroll is by far the least expensive group of 26 in the final eight. The young lineup leaders are C Adley Rutschman and IF Gunnar Henderson. Of the nine regular position players, 2B Adam Frazier is the only one older than 29. The playoff rotation surprisingly has added LH John Means despite missing most of the season, leaving off RH’s Kyle Gibson and Jack Flaherty, at least for the moment. Rookie RH Grayson Rodriguez and the emerging RH Kyle Bradish hand it off to the deepest bullpen remaining.    

Winner: Rangers in 4

3-Minnesota Twins (87-75; 2-0) vs. 2-Houston Astros (90-72)

Games 1-2 at Minute Maid Park

Saturday (4:45 p.m.) – RH Bailey Ober (12-9, 3.16) vs. RH Justin Verlander (7-3, 3.31))

Sunday (8:03 p.m.) – RH Pablo Lopez (11-8, 3.66) vs. LH Framber Valdez (12-11, 3.45)

Games 3-4 at Target Field

Tuesday (4:07 p.m.) – RH Sonny Gray (8-8, 2.79) vs. RH Cristian Javier (10-5, 4.56)

*Wednesday (TBD) – TBA vs. TBA

Game 5 at Minute Maid Park

*Friday (TBD) – TBA vs. TBA

OVERVIEW: This series pits the Twins, the first-place winner from a division that was 94 games below .500 vs. the defending World Series champions under battle-hardened MGR Dusty Baker. The Astros are playing their eighth straight post-season and in the previous seven have reached the World Series four times and lost in the ALCS the other three. The stain of the 2017 cheating scandal will never be washed away, but, without beating the drums too much for them, this is simply a solid team and a deep organization. Are the Twins, on the other hand, just happy to be here. An interesting storyline is SS Carlos Correa returning to face the team that drafted him and with which he became a star. and failed to re-sign him as a free agent.  

Twins: The Twins broke an 18-game post-season losing streak, going 2-0 in a sweep of the Blue Jays. Tempering the euphoria is the fact that the Twins offence managed just five runs in 16 innings in the Wildcard. DH Royce Lewis came back from injury and hit twin bombs in Game 1 vs. Kevin Gausman, while SS Carlos Correa as a free agent may have failed a couple of physicals, but vs. the Jays showed that his mental grasp of the game is special. The bullpen is deep in big arms led by CL Jhoan Duran and RH Griffin Jax.

Astros: Nothing about this Astros team has been as good as it was a year ago, especially the starting pitching. RH Cristian Javier failed to take the next step in his career, while a couple of early injuries left healthy LH Framber Valdez and trade-deadline returning ace RH Justin Verlander to front the starting group. The bullpen will once again be key for the Astros, with the top six relievers making between 55-72 appearances led by CL Ryan Pressley. The lineup is deep with a return to health from DH Yordan Alvarez, combined with a career year from RF Kyle Tucker and a huge in-season comeback from RBI-machine 1B Jose Abreu.    

Winner: Astros in 3

4-Philadelphia Phillies (90-72; 2-0) vs. 1-Atlanta Braves (104-58)

Games 1-2 at Truist Park

Saturday (6:07 p.m.) – LH Ranger Suarez (4-6, 4.18) vs. RH Spencer Strider (20-5, 3.86)

Monday (6:07 p.m.) – RH Zach Wheeler (13-6, 3.61) vs. LH Max Fried (8-1, 2.55)

Games 3-4 at Citizens Bank Park

Wednesday (5:07 p.m.) – RH Aaron Nola (12-9, 4.46) vs. RH Bryce Elder (12-4, 3.81)

*Thursday TBD – TBA vs. TBA

Game 5 at Truist Park

*Saturday (TBD) – TBA vs. TBA

OVERVIEW: The wildcard Phillies eliminated the division champion Braves from the playoffs a season ago, but this is a different year with a Braves team that slugged .501 for the season and multiple MVP candidates. Opposing presidents of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski and Alex Anthopoulos both effectively launched their successful careers in Montreal with the Expos. Phils MGR Rob Thomson last year became the first Canadian to lead a team into the World Series.  The Braves won the World Series in 2021 and have been to the post-season six years in a row under MGR Brian Snitker, each time as NL East champions.   

Phillies: This is a role model organization for teams looking to build for the sprint that is the post-season, rather than the marathon of the regular season — three solid starters and a bunch of guys in the lineup that can create runs with one hellacious swing. This is an experienced and hungry City of Brotherly Love group that surprisingly advanced to the Fall Classic as a wildcard in 2022. Not as much of a surprise if it happens again. The heart and soul of the group is DH/1B Bryce Harper. The Phils’ provider of lightning and thunder on a sunny day is leadoff man and LF Kyle Schwarber who hit .197 with 215 strikeouts – but with 47 homers and 126 walks. RF Nick Castellanos became the player that Dombrowski thought he had signed. The bullpen has big arms but also has the possibility of giving a game away late.   

Braves: Damn, this team is intimidating. MVP Candidates RF Ronald Acuna Jr. and 1B Matt Olson, join with all stars 2B Ozzie Albies, C Sean Murphy and 3B Austin Riley. Acuna’s 70 stolen base/40 homer season is one for the ages and should earn MVP in a crowded field. RH Bryce Elder and RH Spencer Strider have struggled over their last five starts, but LH Max Fried has plenty of bullets left, making just 11 regular season starts. Strider is a Cy Young favourite. CL Raisel Iglesias has a 12.00 ERA and 3.33 WHIP in four career post-season games.   

Winner: Braves in 5

6-Arizona Diamondbacks (84-77; 2-0) vs. 2-Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62)

Games 1-2 at Dodger Stadium

Saturday (9:20 p.m.) – RH Merrill Kelly (12-8, 3.29) vs. LH Clayton Kershaw (13-5, 2.46)

Monday (9:07 p.m.) – RH Zac Gallen (17-9, 3.47) vs. RH Bobby Miller (11-4, 3.76)

Games 3-4 at Chase Field

Wednesday (9:07 p.m.) – Brandon Pfaadt (3-9, 5.72) vs. RH Lance Lynn (7-2, 4.36)

*Thursday (TBD) – TBA vs. TBA

Game 5 at Dodger Stadium

*Saturday (TBD) – TBA vs. TBA

OVERVIEW: The Dodgers and D’backs faced each other 13 times in the regular season with the Dodgers going 8-5 and outscoring Arizona 72-47. The Dodgers have been to the playoffs for 11 seasons in a row – three under MGR Don Mattingly and now all eight years for MGR Dave Roberts. The D’backs trade for LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and C Gabby Moreno for OF Daulton Varsho seems to have worked out for both sides, but Arizona is the one still alive. In MGR Torey Lovullo’s only other trip to the NLDS back in 2017, the D’backs were swept by the Dodgers.    

Diamondbacks: The Snakes were struggling at a game under .500 on August 14, but finished 25-18 in the last 43 games to slither through the wreckage that was the Cubs and the Reds down the stretch. Nice to see former Jays coach, now Snakes MGR Torey Lovullo back in the playoffs. C Gabby Moreno made 93 starts behind the plate and threw out 39% of base stealers and had a big home run in the NLWC. The offence is keyed by rookie OF Corbin Carroll, 2B Ketel Marte, 1B Christian Walker and LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. The bullpen is led by former M’s close Paul Sewald but is not scary. The rotation has been keyed all season by RH’s Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly.

Dodgers: This team has two legitimate MVP candidates that can match up in any argument against the guys with the Braves. UT Mookie Betts and 1B Freddie Freeman have the numbers to be Top 5 in the final voting. Betts, with his willingness and ability to play Gold Glove outfield and then both middle infield positions for a championship team is the “V” part of MVP, even if Acuna Jr. had the best numbers. Freeman had 59 doubles, 90 extra-base hits and a .976 OPS. LH Clayton Kershaw is 13-12 in 38 post-season appearances and LH Julio Urias is not eligible to pitch. Starter RH Bobby Miller may be the next great thing in Dodger-world. However…          

Winner: Diamondbacks in 5