Digital Sports Desk

The online destination for sports purists

Archives for October 1, 2018

NL West Game Scout:

by

Colorado Rockies at LA Dodgers

When: 4:09 PM ET, Monday, October 1, 2018
Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote
Embed from Getty Images
Charlie Blackmon
***
LOS ANGELES – Teams that look to carry over the offensive production from their final regular-season contests clash when the Colorado Rockies visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday afternoon for a one-game playoff to decide the National League West title. The Dodgers swept three from San Francisco over the weekend while scoring 28 runs, including 15 on Sunday, and Colorado won nine of its last 10 contests after a 12-0 rout of Washington in Sunday’s finale.The winner advances to host the NL East champion Atlanta Braves in the opener of the best-of-five Division Series on Thursday and the loser settles for playing in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday at the Milwaukee Brewers or the Chicago Cubs. “Obviously it’s not do or die,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts told reporters, “but obviously it’s a must-win game. To win the game and to get a couple days off, and to host a division series, is very important.” Two young hard-throwing right-handed pitchers will take the mound Monday when Los Angeles hands the ball to Walker Buehler and the Rockies counter with German Marquez, who has two wins and a no-decision in three starts against the Dodgers this season. Colorado’s Nolan Arenado went deep twice Sunday, giving him an NL-most 37, and Manny Machado takes a nine-game hitting streak (12-for-36) into the contest for Los Angeles, which has won 12 of 19 games in the season series.

TV: 4:09 p.m. ET, ESPN

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH German Marquez (14-10, 3.76 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Walker Buehler (7-5, 2.76)

Marquez won his last two starts, including Wednesday when he permitted three hits and one walk over seven scoreless innings against Philadelphia. The 23-year-old Venezuelan has registered 11 or more strikeouts in five of his last six outings and boasts 221 over 191 1/3 frames this season. Joc Pederson is 3-for-10 with two homers versus Marquez, who is 2-0 with a 3.19 ERA in five career starts against the Dodgers.

Buehler recorded four quality starts in five opportunities during September, but managed only a 1-1 record in that stretch despite a sparkling 1.95 ERA. The 24-year-old Kentucky native, who owns 148 strikeouts over 130 2/3 innings, held Arizona to two runs over six innings in his last start and has lost only once since Aug. 1 — at Colorado on Sept. 8. Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez are each 3-for-10 against Buehler, who is 0-1 with a 2.61 ERA in five starts versus Colorado in 2018.

WALK-OFFS

1. Los Angeles has won at least 90 games for the sixth straight season, matching the streak of the Brooklyn Dodgers (1951-56) for the franchise record.

2. Colorado CF Charlie Blackmon hit for the cycle Sunday, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs, and has a team-high five homers against the Dodgers this season. Arenado has gone deep four times versus Los Angeles in 2018.

3. Los Angeles OF Yasiel Puig is 21-for-48 with five homers versus the Rockies this year.

Monday Night Game Scout

by

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

When: 8:15 PM ET, Monday, October 1, 2018
Where: Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote
Embed from Getty Images

DENVER – Three games into his first full season as a starter and second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes already has bumped Peyton Manning from the NFL record books. Mahomes looks to continue his blistering start to the campaign and keep his team perfect when the Kansas City Chiefs host the Denver Broncos on Monday night in a matchup of longtime AFC West rivals.The Chiefs are the league’s highest-scoring team behind Mahomes, who became the first quarterback in league history to throw 13 touchdown passes in the first three games of the season. “He’s a great quarterback, he can make all the throws, quick, athletic, young,” Broncos linebacker Von Miller told reporters. “He’s got everything you want.” Mahomes also has yet to throw an interception and already was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week on two occasions for Kansas City, which has won five consecutive matchups against Denver. The Broncos, who won their first two games by a total of four points, will try to bounce back from a 27-14 loss at Baltimore last week in which they surrendered 20 unanswered points.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Chiefs -4.5. O/U: 54.5

ABOUT THE CHIEFS (3-0): Mahomes threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns – all in the second quarter – in last week’s 38-27 home win over San Francisco, the third time in as many weeks Kansas City has scored at least 38 points. Explosive wide receiver Tyreek Hill finally was held in check and kept out of the end zone, but tight end Travis Kelce picked up the slack with eight catches for 114 yards. Kareem Hunt, who led the league in rushing as a rookie in 2017, is averaging 3.2 yards per carry but did record a pair of 1-yard TD runs. The Chiefs have struggled on the other side of the ball, ranking last in yards allowed (474) and 30th in points surrendered (30.7).

ABOUT THE BRONCOS (2-1): Case Keenum signed a two-year deal with Denver after a breakout season in which he led Minnesota to the NFC Championship Game, but he already has been intercepted five times – just two fewer than his total for the entire 2017 campaign. Emmanuel Sanders is the team’s leading receiver with 19 receptions and Demaryius Thomas has 16, but Denver’s best hope may be leaning on the rookie tandem of running backs Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, who have accumulated 350 yards for the league’s fourth-ranked rushing attack. Denver will need to generate pressure against Mahomes with a group led by former Super Bowl MVP Miller, who is tied for the NFL lead with four sacks.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Miller has registered eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss in his last eight contests against the Chiefs.

2. Hill has scored four touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving and one kick return) in three games versus Denver.

3. The Broncos lost TE Jake Butt to a torn ACL suffered in Thursday’s practice.

National League Tie-Breaker Monday

by

DENVER – (Wire Service Report) – Charlie Blackmon hit an RBI double in the eighth inning to complete the cycle, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Washington Nationals 12-0 on Sunday in Denver to tie the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West.

Embed from Getty Images

Charlie Blackmon

***

Blackmon tripled in the first, homered in the third and singled in the fifth to help Colorado make quick work of the Nationals and force an extra game for the division crown.

The Dodgers and Rockies will meet Monday in Los Angeles, with the winner taking the division and the loser playing either the Milwaukee Brewers or the Chicago Cubs in the NL wild-card game on Tuesday.

Nolan Arenado homered twice, David Dahl and Trevor Story also went deep, and Tyler Anderson pitched 7 2/3 sharp inning for the Rockies, who will play in a 163rd game for the second time. In 2007, they beat the San Diego Padres to earn a wild-card berth, and then went on to sweep through the NL playoffs on the way to the World Series.

Dodgers 15, Giants 0

Matt Kemp singled, doubled twice and drove in three runs, and Rich Hill threw seven shutout innings, helping Los Angeles embarrass host San Francisco and complete a three-game sweep.

Los Angeles bombed Giants starter Andrew Suarez (7-13) for two runs in the first inning, then added seven more in the third against Suarez and reliever Hunter Strickland.

Justin Turner and David Freese drove in the Los Angeles runs in the first inning before Kemp had a two-run double and Brian Dozier a two-run homer in the third, during which the Dodgers went up 9-0. It was Dozer’s fifth homer since joining the Dodgers at the trade deadline, and his 21st counting his time with the Minnesota Twins.

Brewers 11, Tigers 0

Jesus Aguilar homered and drove in three runs, and host Milwaukee remained tie for first in the NL Central by pummeling Detroit.

The Brewers will visit the Cubs in Chicago on Monday to decide the division title. The loser of that contest will play host to the NL wild-card game on Tuesday against the Dodgers or the Rockies.

Ryan Braun supplied two hits, two runs and two RBIs, while Orlando Arcia also drove in two runs. Travis Shaw added a solo homer for Milwaukee, which finished the 162-game schedule on a seven-game winning streak.

Cubs 10, Cardinals 5

Chicago kept alive its hopes for a third straight NL Central title, defeating visiting St. Louis.

Anthony Rizzo scored three runs and went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two singles, one RBI and one walk to lead the Cubs’ offense. Allen Webster (1-0) got two outs to close the third inning, earning his first major league win since 2015.

Chicago used nine pitchers to close out the win, the Cubs’ second in the weekend series against their rival.

Angels 5, A’s 4

After manager Mike Scioscia announced he was stepping down, his team beat Oakland to win the season finale at Anaheim, Calif.

Taylor Ward belted a two-run, walk-off home run as the Angels scored three times in the ninth inning. Shohei Ohtani led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single to center off Chris Hatcher (3-3). That was the first hit allowed by six Oakland relievers and the first hit by the Angels since the third inning.

Jefry Marte, who had homered earlier, laced a double into the left field corner, scoring Ohtani, and setting the stage for Ward’s heroics. The rally made a winner out of Parker Bridwell (1-0), who pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.

Orioles 4, Astros 0

Jimmy Yacabonis, Paul Fry and Mychal Givens combined for a one-hit shutout as Baltimore defeated visiting Houston.

Trey Mancini, Tim Beckham and Renato Nunez each drove in a run for Baltimore, which finished 47-115 and set a franchise record for losses.

The American League West champion Astros finished with a record of 103-59, a franchise record for wins, and they are headed to the AL Division Series to play Cleveland.

Patriots Back on Track

by

New England 38, Miami 7

When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, September 30, 2018
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Head Official: Alex Kemp
Attendance: 65,878
Recap for Digital Sports Desk By Field Level Media
Embed from Getty Images

FOXBOROUGH – Tom Brady and the New England Patriots didn’t waste any time getting back on track, thumping the previously undefeated Miami Dolphins 38-7 to end a two-game skid Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.

Brady completed 23 of 35 throws for three touchdowns and two interceptions. He threw for 274 yards.

Rookie running back Sony Michel rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, and Cordarrelle Patterson notched his first New England TD as part of the offensive explosion. Michel is the first New England rookie to reach 100 rushing yards in a game in six years.

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill was 11-for-20 for 100 yards with an interception. Miami didn’t score until backup quarterback Brock Osweiler’s 6-yard pass to running back Frank Gore with 2:42 to play.

Patterson, a receiver in his first season as a member of the Patriots, turned in a series of moves that took him to the end zone on a 55-yard touchdown play early in the second quarter. It was his first receiving touchdown since 2016 with the Minnesota Vikings.

The big play put New England on top 10-0 with 12:01 to go in the second quarter.

The Patriots (2-2) boosted their lead to 17-0 on James White’s 22-yard touchdown carry midway through the second.

That scoring opportunity came one play after Tannehill couldn’t handle a shotgun snap on Miami’s first play of a possession following a New England punt.

The Patriots controlled the clock late in the first half, going 85 yards in 15 plays with Brady connecting with Phillip Dorsett for a 9-yard touchdown.

The Dolphins (3-1), who have lost four of their past five meetings with the Patriots, compiled only 75 yards of total offense in the first half while New England had 272 by the break.

White’s 14-yard, third-quarter scoring catch from Brady, who was hit on the play, boosted the Patriots’ advantage to 31-0.

That was followed by undrafted rookie J.C. Jackson’s interception of Tannehill.

Michel’s 10-yard run early in the fourth quarter capped a 90-yard New England scoring drive and gave him his first career touchdown.

Stephen Gostkowski opened the scoring with a 20-yard field goal in the first quarter to conclude a 13-play, 74-yard drive.

New England finished with a 449-172 edge in total yards.

The Patriots, who will be home for a Thursday night game against the Indianapolis Colts, cranked up their rushing attack early, posting 118 rushing yards in the first half. New England ended up with 274 yards on the ground.

–Field Level Media

Copyright 2018

www.digitalsportsdesk.com