The Student News Site of Malvern Preparatory School

Friar's Lantern

The Student News Site of Malvern Preparatory School

Friar's Lantern

The Student News Site of Malvern Preparatory School

Friar's Lantern

American League Post-Season Recap

The marathon that is the 162 game regular season is over and it has been another wild year in baseball.

This season has had it all: home runs, diving catches, star rookies, veteran greats, and unfortunately, suspensions.

The regular season had it highs and lows, but the postseason is upon us, and as they say there is nothing like October baseball.  October baseball is known for drama and excitement and this year’s playoffs have not fallen short of expectations.

The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays were knotted at 90 wins apiece after 162 games.  So what’s a better way to start the playoffs than with a one game elimination game just to get into the playoffs?

The Rangers hosted the Rays, and the home crowd was electric.

Rays pitcher David Price, however, stole the show and silenced the crowd leading the Rays to a 5-2 win. Price pitched a complete game and his run support was highlighted by Evan Longoria’s three hits, including a homerun in the third.

The Rays then headed to Cleveland to face the Indians in another elimination game.  This one was for the Wild Card and chance to face the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS.

The storyline was set for a Cleveland victory.  The Indians were coming off a surprising season, and manager Terry Francona was set to manage against his former team.  All they needed was a home win, but the Rays had other plans.

Tampa got a stellar performance from its pitching staff again, as Alex Cobb threw 6.2 innings of scoreless baseball en route to a 4-0 win to set up a date with Boston.

The Red sox hosted the first two games of the series.  Boston’s offense combined for 19 runs over the first two games, thus destroying the Rays pitching staff.

The Red Sox were led by veterans Jacoby Ellisbury, Dustin Pedrioa, and David “Big Papi” Ortiz.  Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, and Stephen Drew added to the potent Boston line-up.

The Rays bounced back in Game 3 in front of their home crowd, winning on a walk off homerun by Jose Lobaton.

The magic ran out for Tampa, as Red Sox pitcher Jake Peavy dominated in Game 4, thus sending the Rays home.

The other American League division series featured the Oakland A’s and the Detroit Tigers.  The first four games of the series were split between the teams, forcing a decisive Game 5 in Oakland.  The series has gone back and forth.  The series has seen a walk off, a benches clearing moment, and big hits from a man who was suspended for the last 50 games of this season.  We saw great pitching performances from established veterans and young stars.

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