----Cardinals drop Game 3. Ryu dominates and Dodgers are one game down. Cardinals lead NL Championship Series 2-1.
The MLB Playoff Standings continue to see drama. Finally, the Boston Red Sox caught a break and it almost cost Torii Hunter his career. Here are the results and series records after Sunday's magical ending in Boston. The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals were off, which is why the main focus will be on Max Scherzer's blown performance, David Ortiz and Hunter.
A.L. Championship Series
The Detroit Tigers were up 5-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. By the time the Tigers went to bat in the top of the ninth, the scoreboard read 5-5. It took a base loaded jack from the Red Sox's superman, David Ortiz, to turn Fenway Park into a madhouse and have Red Sox fans believing they could still win this series.
A loss would have meant an 0-2 deficit for the Red Sox. Furthermore, in an 0-2 hole, the Red Sox's chances of winning Game 3 would be very slim as Justin Verlander is expected to take the mound on Tuesday at Comerica Park. Instead, the Red Sox find themselves with hope as they now believe anything could happen. They practically wasted a marvelous outing from the Tigers' ace, Max Scherzer, installing fear in Detroit's bullpen after this huge come-from-behind win.
Scherzer pitched seven innings of two-hit baseball, allowing just one earned run, walking two, while striking out 13 Red Sox. For the second straight night, more than 10 Red Sox were strikeout victims in a game. This is not a good sign. But once Scherzer left the mound, the Red Sox went to work, loading up the bases for the right man. Ortiz did not wait for Juaquin Benoit to find the strikezone. He lined the first pitch over Torii Hunter, who almost made the greatest catch in MLB Playoff history. He overran the ball, landed face first in the Red Sox bullpen as Ortiz circled the bases, making his way around the bases to tie the game.
The Tigers had zero momentum at this point and eventually, it felt as if the Red Sox were bound to win the game.
It did not take long for Boston to send everyone home happy, except those in the visitor's dugout. Jose Iglesias wildly misfired to first on a Jonny Gomes groundball to short. Gomes took second base. Rick Porcello threw a wild pitch, advancing Gomes to third with no outs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia popped out to Prince Fielder... no.... Fielder misplayed the ball and later tried to blame a fan for interference. Then Salty lined a short right past Iglesias, bringing home the game-winning run and tying the ALCS 1-1.
N.L. Championship Series
Though the Dodgers and Cardinals were idle Sunday evening, news on Hanley Ramirez's health is slowly making headlines. The superstar shortstop, who has carried the team in October, under went a CT scan, which would help the team find out the severity of his rib injury.
The Dodgers need some offense after being help scoreless for 19 innings. Their only two runs came from the bat off Juan Uribe in the third inning of Game 1 and those are the only runs the Dodgers produced in the 2013 NLCS. The Cardinals have no problem. They will find ways to manufacture runs even if Carlos Beltran is not making solid contact.
The series now shifts to Los Angeles, where the Dodgers will attempt to get back into the series, though they will face the second best pitcher in the N.L., Adam Wainwright. Hyun-Jin Ryu, this would be a good time to prove you are a big time pitcher.
Game 3 is on Monday evening.
MLB Playoff Standings
Tigers 1
Red Sox 1
Dodgers 0
Cardinals 2
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Eliminated Teams and Final Records
Oakland A's: 2-3
Pittsburgh Pirates 2-3
Tampa Bay Rays: 1-3
Atlanta Braves: 1-3
