sudden stops

The list of Mississippians in the MLB playoffs grows thin. Ole Miss products Zack Cozart and Seth Smith bowed out on Thursday in the first two of the four 5-game division series battles we’ll be treated to this postseason. Cincinnati’s Cozart went 5-for-21 in his first postseason series. He was 1-for-4 with a run on Thursday but also committed a costly error at shortstop in San Francisco’s six-run fifth inning. The Giants held on to win 6-4. Smith was just 2-for-15 (with three RBIs) in Oakland’s ALDS loss to Detroit. His two hits were big ones in A’s wins, but he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Thursday as the Tigers followed Justin Verlander’s four-hitter to a 6-0 win. Smith made the last out of the A’s season, a ground out to second. Meanwhile, ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn was involved in the last at-bat of Thursday’s St. Louis-Washington game. The Cardinals right-hander gave up the game-winning homer in the ninth to Jayson Werth (on the 13th pitch of the at-bat) as the Nationals evened the series 2-all. Lynn is 1-1 (with an 8.10 ERA) in three relief appearances in the NLDS and said after Thursday’s game he would welcome the chance to pitch again in today’s Game 5. Mississippi State product Tyler Moore must also be eager for another shot. He has just the one AB for Washington in this series — a two-run pinch single in a Nats win on Sunday. Baltimore, managed by Mississippi State alumnus Buck Showalter, forced a Game 5 in the ALDS with a 2-1, 13-inning win over the New York Yankees on Thursday. A decisive postseason game at Yankee Stadium is always a pretty cool thing.