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Maximum baseball! Four games on tap this afternoon, and we'll start with the American League, where the Astros and Royals both will have chances to advance to the ALCS. The Royals and Blue Jays will try to force a fifth game at their home parks win wins today.
We'll have a separate thread for the NLDS Games 3, the Cardinals and Cubs go first at 3:00 PM Pacific Time on TBS, which will overlap with the end of the Royals-Blue Jays game.
The Mets and Dodgers are set for 5:30 PM Pacific Time, where Chase Utley is appealing his two-game suspension for his takeout slide against Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada. Matt Reynolds was called up as an injury replacement for Tejada, and he would be the second player in the modern era to make his MLB debut in the postseason if he appears, after Oakland's Mark Kiger in 2006. Expect that game to start on TNT until the Cardinals-Cubs game concludes.
All times Pacific
Royals at Astros - 10:00 AM, FS1
The Houston Astros took a 2-1 series lead last night after Dallas Keuchel threw yet another quality start. Jason Castro hit a two-run single, Chris Carter went 3-for-3 with a home run, and Carlos Gomez added an RBI single of his own to give the Astros a 4-2 win over the Royals.
Today, the Royals start Game 1 starter Yordano Ventura, who was removed after two innings thanks to the nearly hour long rain delay in the opener. The Astros will counter with Lance McCullers.
Blue Jays at Rangers - 1:00 PM PT, FS1
The Toronto Blue Jays stayed alive Sunday despite Josh Hamilton breaking his 0-for-31 slump and the Rangers turning four double plays against the Jays. Marco Estrada held the Rangers to one run in his 6⅓ innings, and Troy Tulowitzki put the game in the bag with a three-run home run in the top of the sixth against Chi Chi Gonzalez, allowing the two runners left by starter Martin Perez to score. The Blue Jays won it 5-1.
The Jays will have to duplicate their magic again to send this series back to Rogers Centre, this time sending knuckleballer R.A. Dickey to the hill for the 40-year-old's first career postseason appearance. The Rangers will try to advance to the ALCS using Derek Holland.
The Rangers lineup still does not include Adrian Beltre, who hurt his back on a slide into second base in Game 1. UPDATE: An hour before first pitch, the Rangers announced that Adrian Beltre will start and bat third in Game 3. The Blue Jays are also at full strength.
