German_Force » Buehler Can Become

Houston Astros third basemen Alex Bregman blasted umpires Wednesday night after a triple was changed to an out because of fan interference.In the sixth inning of Houston's 3-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies Juan Marichal Jersey , Bregman seemingly led off with a triple; however, it was determined after review that a fan prevented Rockies outfielder Gerardo Parra from making the catch after reaching over the wall and touching the ball.According to ESPN.com, Bregman was highly frustrated by the decision:"It was a f--king joke, and they should be f--king ashamed of themselves. Obviously, the guy has never played f--king baseball before in his life, the guy in charge of whoever made that decision."There is no possible way you can say that a left fielder jumping backwards into a wall is guaranteed to make a catch.It changed the whole f--king game. We're up 2-1 at the time, I'm at third base. We need a fly ball to the outfield to get me in, and it's 3-1. It's f--king horrible."The Astros did not score a run in the sixth, and they went on to lose after a walk-off home run by Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon.Although there is no guarantee Parra would have made the catch, he said this after the game:"It almost hit me in the face. I thought, 'What happened? At the last second the ball moved.' I never saw the fan touch the ball until I saw the replay, but I feel I would have had that ball."Theofficial MLB rulestates that a batter will be called out if fan interference "clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball."The 24-year-old Bregman has come into his own this season with a .282 batting average, 21 home runs and 68 RBI.He was also named the 2018 All-Star Game MVP by virtue of hisgame-winning homerin extra innings for the American League.Despite Wednesday's controversial loss, the Astros are sitting pretty with a five-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the AL West.The win was huge for Colorado since it trails the Los Angeles Dodgers by 1.5 games in the NL West and the the Atlanta Braves by 1.5 games for the National League's second wild-card spot. Sean M. Haffey/Getty ImagesThe Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-0 at Dodger Stadium on Friday night to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the National League Division Series.Clayton Kershaw was masterful on the mound http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-cepeda-jersey , allowing just two hits across eight innings. Kershaw threw only 85 pitchesas the Braves' bats were silenced for a second straight game.The Dodgers, meanwhile, had their offense buoyed by a two-run home run from Manny Machado in the first inning and a solo jack off the bat of Yasmani Grandal in the fifth.MLB MLBMANNYWOOD. FngdCtFV7OKershaw Continues to Exorcise Playoff Demons with Dominant Game 2Fair or not, Kershaw has been dogged for years by a narrative that he isn't reliable in the postseason.And sure, there have been ugly moments along the way that leant credence to chatter about his shaky second-season demeanor.But if recent history has been any indication, it's hard to view Kershaw as some kind of playoff liability.Jon Weisman jonweismanI made a chart of all of Clayton Kershaws #Dodgers playoff starts, to show that yes, hes been terrible at times -- but hes also been great. mvNCAtTEU1 t2d6TiH9IcOne year after the southpaw went 3-0 with a 3.82 ERA across six postseason appearances (five starts), he picked up where he left off and made light work of Atlanta's lineup with a brilliant and efficient effort in Game 2.MLB Network MLBNetwork.ClaytonKersh22 was in command tonight. #MLBTonight breaks down the Dodgers Game Two victory, right now! #LADetermined #Postseason 4FP6mXBzuSAnd no, it wasn't a start dominated by overpowering stuff.That isn't Kershaw's M.O. anymore now that his fastball is barely eclipsing 90 mph on average, perFanGraphs.However, the three-time Cy Young Award winner was brilliant in other ways and induced weak contact all night long to frustrate a Braves lineup that ranked fourth among all clubs in hits."I don't care how you get the outs," Kershaw told ESPN.com'sAlden Gonzalezin September. "It doesn't matter to me how bad it looks Gaylord Perry Jersey , how good it looks, how many strikeouts you have. None of that stuff matters as long as you get the outs."The result of that mindset? Thelongestpostseason outing of Kershaw's career and, more importantly, a reminder that L.A. has the National League's most dangerous rotation.Braves' Lineup Showing Youth with Impatience at PlateThe Braves didn't record a single extra-base hit in Thursday night's Game 1 loss, and the results weren't much prettier Friday.Although Ronald Acuna Jr. led off the game with a double, that was the only real damage any Braves batter did against Kershaw.In fact, Kershaw retired 14 straight batters after Acuna's double before Ender Inciarte reached on an infield single with two outs in the top of the fifth inning.Compounding matters was that Atlanta simply didn't make L.A.'s ace work. While the Braves ranked a respectable 12th in weighted on-base average (.319) during the regular season, perFanGraphs, they were consumed by impatience and made life easy for the Dodgers as they hacked away at pitches early in the count and allowed Kershaw to produce quick outs.Bill Plunkett billplunkettocr#Braves are swinging like theyve got a plane to catch. Kershaw has faced 17 batters. Every one of them has swung at the first or second pitch. 5 swung at the 1st pitch, 12 were patient and waited for the 2nd. Result -- #Dodgers Kershaw is thru 5 scoreless IP on 55 pitches.Andy McCullough McCulloughTimesThe scouting report on Clayton Kershaw involves hunting fastballs and sliders up in the zone, early in the count, and looking to elevate. The Braves are just whacking everything into the ground. Six scoreless for Kershaw.As a result, the Braves offense is in a free-fall.And according to ESPN'sSarah Langs, they are the first team since the 1921 New York Giants to open a postseason series with back-to-back scoreless appearances.The Braves should be a force to be reckoned with in the National League for quite some time given the quality of their young core http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-dave-dravecky-jersey , but they are going to have to deal with a couple of sobering setbacks on the game's biggest stage before they can make another leap.Buehler Can Become Household Name with Big Performance in Decisive Game 3It's hard to grab headlining honors in the Dodgers rotation with Kershaw andHyun-Jin Ryu dealing, but Walker Buehler will have a chance to make himself a household name in Game 3.Just 24 years old, Buehler cemented himself as a core piece of L.A.'s starting staff this season as he rebounded from a forgettable 9.1 innings in 2017 to go 8-5 with a 2.62 ERA and 4.08 strikeout-to-walk rate."If it wasn't for Walker, we probably wouldn't be here in this situation right now," second basemen Enrique Hernandez said, per ESPN.com'sBradford Doolittle."He's been huge."Still, the hype has yet to reach a fever pitch.That can all change, though, if he rolls into hostile territory and leads the Dodgers to a sweep in Game 3.Some rejuvenated Braves bats will likely greet Buehler in Atlanta, but the opportunity will present itself for him to produce what is sure to be the first of many signature moments.What's Next?The series shifts to SunTrust Park in Atlanta as the Dodgers aim to punch their ticket to the NLCS. Game 3 will get underway Sunday at 8:07 p.m. ET.