Tag Archives: MLB postseason

18 Oct

stunning start

There have been 75 leadoff home runs in MLB postseason history, No. 75 coming courtesy of Shohei Ohtani as part of his epic performance on Friday night. A Mississippi native hit one of those 75 homers and another Magnolia State product was victimized by a big one. But first, Ohtani. What he did Friday night — the magnum opus of his career, some are calling it — began with a first inning unlike anything ever seen. As the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting pitcher against hapless Milwaukee, he struck out the side after issuing a leadoff walk, then grabbed a bat and belted a 446-foot homer, his third postseason leadoff blast. He would hit two more homers — including a 469-foot bomb that left Dodger Stadium — and strike out seven more batters in six-plus innings, propelling the Dodgers to a 5-1 win, a sweep of the NLCS and a berth in the World Series. “I think we’re going to be talking about this forever,” said Freddie Freeman, Dodgers first baseman and Mississippi Braves alum. Simply stunning. Back in 2017, Brian Dozier, the Tupelo native and ex-Southern Miss star, enjoyed a moment that stunned the crowd at Yankee Stadium. Playing for Minnesota, in his first postseason appearance, Dozier led off the American League Wild Card Game with a bomb off Luis Severino. However, the Yankees would rally to win the one-game showdown 8-4. Back in 1986, Boston took the field at Fenway Park for Game 3 of the World Series holding a 2-0 lead in games over the Mets. Oil Can Boyd, the Meridian native and ex-Jackson State star, was on the bump for the Red Sox, and Jackson Mets alum Lenny Dykstra yanked Boyd’s third pitch out of the park, sparking a four-run first inning and a 7-1 Mets win. New York won that unforgettable Series in seven games.

17 Oct

‘so you’re telling me …’

It has been done. The Milwaukee Brewers can hang their hopes on that fact. Once — once — in MLB history a team has come from down 3-0 in games to win a best-of-7 series. That team was the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who pulled off that incredible feat against the New York Yankees. The other 40 teams who faced that mountain tumbled off. Julio Borbon, the Brewers’ first-base coach (and a Starkville native), has been a lonely man in this National League Championship Series. The Brewers, and their contingent of former Biloxi Shuckers stars, simply haven’t hit — or scored — against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ array of strong arms: nine hits and three runs in the three games. And tonight at Dodger Stadium, they face Shohei Ohtani. He did not have a dominant season on the mound (2.87 ERA in 14 appearances) but did beat Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park in the NLDS. And he’s Shohei Ohtani, who throws 100 and features a wide variety of off-speed weapons. Milwaukee was one of the highest-scoring teams in MLB this season and posted the best overall record. But their hitters have not come through in this series. Former Shuckers Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick and Brice Turang — dynamic forces in the lineup all season — are a combined 3-for-33. William Contreras, the former Mississippi Braves catcher and a two-time All-Star, is 0-for-10. So here they are: Down 3-0. On the brink of elimination. On the road. Facing Ohtani and a rested L.A. bullpen. It’s a steep climb, to say the least. “It’s going to take more than what we’ve shown so far,” Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin said in an mlb.com story. And it has been done. Once.

09 Oct

quick pitches

Drew Pomeranz, the veteran left-hander out of Ole Miss, has thrown four hitless innings for the Chicago Cubs in four postseason outings, including a stint in Wednesday’s win against Milwaukee at Wrigley Field. Pomeranz worked a 1-2-3 fifth and got the W as the Cubs stayed alive with a 4-3 victory in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. … Brookhaven native Lance Barksdale was the first-base umpire for that NLDS game and if the normal rotation holds, he’ll be behind the plate for tonight’s Game 4. … Colt Keith, coming back from an injury, has started each game at DH for Detroit in the American League Division Series, but the ex-Biloxi High star is just 1-for-10 with a walk. He went 0-for-4 in Wednesday’s 9-3 victory over Seattle, which forces a decisive Game 5 on Friday. … Devin Williams, the Biloxi Shuckers alum, yielded a crushing two-out hit — on a fastball, not his signature changeup — that scored two inherited runners in the seventh inning of the New York Yankees’ season-ending 5-2 loss to Toronto in their ALDS. Trent Grisham, another former Shuckers star and a big bat for the Yanks all season, went 0-for-5 in Wednesday’s Game 4 loss and finished 2-for-17 in the series. … Former Mississippi State righty Tyson Hardin, a second-year pro, was named Milwaukee’s pitching prospect of the year by MLB Pipeline. The Brewers’ No. 20 prospect, converted from reliever this year, Hardin went 6-5 with a 2.72 ERA in 21 starts between High-Class A Wisconsin and Double-A Biloxi this season. Ex-Jackson Prep star Konnor Griffin, the top prospect in the minors, was named Pittsburgh’s hitting prospect of the year. … Jalen Miller, a member of the Mississippi Braves’ 2021 league championship club, won another title this season with the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League. Miller was the MVP of the championship series, batting .474 in the four games, and also earned postseason All-Star recognition and All-Defensive Team honors at second base. He hit .297 with 19 homers and 80 RBIs on the year. Of note: Miller is among the handful of players to hit a homer over the batter’s eye in center field at Pearl’s Trustmark Park. … The Mississippi Mud Monsters will open their 2026 season on May 7 at Trustmark Park against the Gateway Grizzlies, first game of a three-game set. The indy club’s second season will feature 51 home games on the new artificial surface at Trustmark. The club went 49-47 in its inaugural season in the Frontier League.

08 Oct

what’s that sound?

The thunderous applause at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night went to Aaron Judge, of course, and Jazz Chisholm, whose home runs powered the New York Yankees’ historic 9-6 comeback, must-have win over Toronto. But Devin Williams, the much-maligned former Biloxi Shuckers closer, heard his share of cheers, too. Williams, the fourth of five relievers the Yankees used to shut down the Blue Jays after the third inning, worked 1 1/3 scoreless — the seventh into the eighth — and was credited with a hold as New York won Game 3 of this American League Division Series. When David Bednar replaced him, Williams got a standing ovation as he left the mound. “That’s awesome,” Williams told the New York Post. “It was definitely a lot better than what I’ve heard for much of the year.” Acquired in a December trade after a stellar run in Milwaukee, Williams (Shuckers 2019) posted a 4.79 ERA for the Yankees. He had 18 saves but blew four and suffered six losses in 67 appearances. By season’s end, he was largely relegated to mop-up work and was often greeted with jeers and boos from the home crowd. Williams had only three save opportunities the last two months. But Yankees fans, nothing if not fickle, loved him Tuesday night — and now they might get a chance to see him again in tonight’s Game 4. P.S. Old Jackson Mets fans surely remember Game 1 of the 1986 National League Championship Series, which took place on Oct. 8 at the Astrodome. Houston ace Mike Scott, a JaxMets alum, threw a brilliant 14-strikeout, five-hit shutout at his old team, beating Doc Gooden 1-0. A Glenn Davis homer was the game’s only run. The Mets’ starting lineup included former JaxMets Lenny Dykstra, Wally Backman, Darryl Strawberry and Mookie Wilson; Lee Mazzilli, Kevin Elster and Jesse Orosco also got in for New York. The Mets, en route to a World Series title, would win that NLCS in six dramatic games, with Scott — who also beat them in Game 4 — slated to go again had there been a Game 7.

07 Oct

connect four

Those were familiar names rising to the occasion in Milwaukee’s huge Game 2 win Monday night in the National League Division Series. Three Biloxi Shuckers of recent vintage and a Mississippi Braves alum took star turns in the 7-3 victory over Chicago at American Family Field. Start with Jason Misiorowski, the 6-foot-7 stringbean rookie who threw three innings of high heat and got the win. He yielded just one hit and no runs, striking out four and hitting 102 mph-plus on 12 of his pitches, topping out at 104.3. In two seasons at Double-A Biloxi, The Miz flashed some of that stuff: He struck out 141 batters across 100 2/3 innings. With the score tied at 3-3 in the third inning, William Contreras (M-Braves 2019) launched a 411-foot (at least) solo home run off Shota Imanaga. (Why did Atlanta ever trade Contreras, who’s also an excellent defensive catcher?) In the fourth inning, Jackson Chourio — one of the top prospects in the minors when he wore the Shuckers unie in 2023 — belted a three-run bomb, 419 feet to center field on an 0-2 pitch, that essentially iced the game for the Brewers. Almost overlooked is what reliever Abner Uribe (Shuckers ’22-23) did in the ninth, blowing away Carson Kelly, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson on 13 pitches. The largely unsung Uribe had a 1.67 ERA in 75 appearances this season. The Brewers hold a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Wrigley Field. P.S. Oh yeah, in the other NLDS, Los Angeles took a 2-0 series lead with a drama-filled 4-3 win against Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. In the middle of it all was Freddie Freeman, the “grizzled veteran” who toiled for the M-Braves way back in 2009. Freeman had a hit and scored a run in the Dodgers’ four-run seventh, then made two outstanding plays at first base in the ninth as the Phillies tried to rally. Because of his clutch hitting prowess, it’s easy to forget what a great defensive player Freeman is: In 66 postseason games, he has a .996 fielding percentage with just two errors.

06 Oct

into the frying pan

Will Warren’s postseason debut could not have started much worse. The Jackson Prep product came on for the New York Yankees in a tough spot Sunday, his team trailing by five runs with no outs and two runners on in the fourth inning. Warren walked the first batter he faced, gave up a grand slam to the third, a single to the fourth and a homer to the fifth. Ouch. Toronto was well on its way to a 13-7 win at Rogers Centre and a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series. Yankees starter Max Fried was charged with seven of those runs and took the loss. Warren, to his everlasting credit, battled into the eighth inning, allowing two more homers and six runs all told. During the regular season, over 162 1/3 innings, Warren had a 4.44 ERA and allowed just 1.22 homers per nine innings. He made 33 appearances during the season, all as a starter. “I worked my best to treat it like a start,” he said in a postgame interview. “You get ready the same way. … I got to come in and get us out of that.” With the Yankees heading back to New York one loss from elimination, Warren may not get another opportunity in this series. He’d surely like one.

05 Oct

spotlight on …

Jackson Chourio was the center of attention for the first two innings of Saturday’s American League Division Series game at Milwaukee. The former Biloxi Shuckers star had three hits, three RBIs and a run as the Brewers cooked up nine runs en route to a 9-3 win against Chicago. Chourio was the center of attention again after the game, which he left in the second inning with a hamstring strain; a hamstring injury in the same leg sidelined him for a month earlier this season. His status for the rest of the best-of-5 series, which resumes Monday, is to be determined. Losing him would be a huge blow: “devastating” is how manager Pat Murphy described it. The 21-year-old outfielder belted 22 homers and stole 43 bases for Double-A Biloxi in 2023, then got an $82 million contract before making his MLB debut in 2024. He finished third in the NL rookie of the year voting and backed that up by hitting .270 with 21 homers, 78 RBIs and 21 bags this season.
Max Fried, the former Mississippi Braves standout and current New York Yankees ace, gets the start today in a critical Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Toronto. The Yankees were blown away by the Blue Jays’ power in Game 1, losing 10-1. Fried, 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 2025, has a wealth of postseason experience, though not all of it is good stuff. He delivered a quality start against Boston in the Wild Card Series but got a no-decision in a game the Yanks lost. Overall, the lefty is 2-5, 4.66, in 21 postseason games. He did get a gutsy win for Atlanta in the ’21 World Series. M-Braves fans might recall that Fried’s 2017 season in Pearl was a little ragged: 2-11, 5.92, in 19 starts. He was evolving, apparently, and two years later won 17 games for the big Braves. He is a fiery competitor, “a Yankee for this exact moment,” per the New York Post.
Colt Keith, former Biloxi High star, got the start at DH for Detroit in Game 1 of the ALDS vs. Seattle and figures to be in the lineup again today against right-hander Luis Castillo. The resurgent Tigers won the opener 3-2 in 11 innings at T-Mobile Park. Keith, a left-handed hitter, missed the Wild Card Series against Cleveland because of a rib cage injury. He went 1-for-2 Saturday (in the 5-hole) against George Kirby and is 3-for-20 in two postseasons. The second-year big leaguer hit .256 with 13 homers, 45 RBIs and 65 runs this season, typically as the leadoff batter.

04 Oct

special delivery

The major league postseason always delivers. Heroes rise. Goats emerge. Great things happen — and so do disasters. Stories become part of a team’s lore. Take today, Oct. 4, in MLB history. No longtime San Francisco Giants fan — or Chicago Cubs fan, either — will forget Will Clark‘s performance in 1989, Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field. The former Mississippi State star went 4-for-4 with two homers (one a grand slam), four runs and six RBIs to power the Giants to an 11-3 rout. He hit both bombs off Greg Maddux. The Giants would go on to win the best-of-7 series in five games — Clark was MVP — and advance to their first World Series since 1962. (They lost to Oakland in the Earthquake Series.) Digging down in baseball-reference.com’s BR Bullpen page for Oct. 4, several other performances by Magnolia State products jump out. In 1997, ex-Ole Miss standout Jeff Fassero, in his postseason debut, threw eight-plus strong innings for Seattle to beat Baltimore 4-2 in a must-win game for the Mariners, who trailed 2-0 in the best-of-5 American League Division Series contest. Fassero checked the O’s — Rafael Palmeiro, Cal Ripken Jr., Roberto Alomar Jr., et al. — on three hits and four walks, surrendering just one run at Camden Yards. Alas, the Mariners lost Game 4. End of season. On Oct. 4, 2000, Vicksburg native Ellis Burks‘ three-run homer in the third inning propelled San Francisco to a 5-1 win over the New York Mets at Pac Bell Park in Game 1 of the NLDS. Burks, who hit 352 career regular season homers, most by a Mississippi native, belted three in postseason play with three different teams. His bomb for the 2000 Giants came in the only game the club would win in that best-of-5 series. In 2016, Buck Showalter, the former MSU standout, made a managerial decision that still confounds Orioles fans and many others. In the 11th inning of the one-game wild card playoff at Toronto, with the score tied, he didn’t bring in ace closer Zack Britton, who had an 0.54 ERA and 47 saves during the season. After Brian Duensing got the first out, Showalter went with Ubaldo Jimenez, who allowed two singles and a three-run walk-off homer by Edwin Encarnacion, ending Baltimore’s season. That story endures. P.S. MSU alum Brandon Woodruff will not be on Milwaukee’s roster for the NLDS, which starts today against the Cubs. Detroit’s decision on former Biloxi High standout Colt Keith’s status for the ALDS, which begins tonight at Seattle, is still pending.

03 Oct

forging ahead

The final eight teams are now set in the major league postseason, but for the Mississippi baseball aficionado, there are some questions. What will Will Warren’s role be with the New York Yankees? Will Colt Keith be back on the field for Detroit? Is Brandon Woodruff ready to come off the injured list for Milwaukee? … Former Jackson Prep standout Warren watched as the Yankees, behind the gas-pumping Cam Schlittler, eliminated Boston 4-0 Thursday night in Game 3. Warren, 9-8, 4.44 ERA, as a starter this season, shifted to the bullpen for the Wild Card Series but never made an appearance. A Baseball America MLB All-Rookie selection, the right-hander reportedly is a candidate for Saturday’s Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Toronto, the AL East champ and the league’s top seed. On the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster is Southern Miss alum Nick Sandlin (2.20 ERA in 19 games), on the IL since early July with an elbow issue; he has been throwing but apparently isn’t ready for active duty. … Thursday’s loss ended a brilliant season for Ocean Springs High product Garrett Crochet, who beat the Yankees — for the fourth time in 2025 — in the series opener. Also going home is ex-Mississippi State slugger Nathaniel Lowe, who went 1-for-7 in the series. He had one of the Red Sox’s five hits — and one of the 12 punchouts — against Schlitter; he also committed a tough error at first base in the pivotal fourth inning of Game 3. … Keith, former Gatorade player of the year winner (2019) at Biloxi High, watched as the Tigers beat Cleveland in Game 3 on Thursday to advance to the ALDS against Seattle. Keith, who hit .256 with 13 homers, 45 RBIs and 65 runs this season, went on the IL on Sept. 19 with a rib cage injury. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Thursday there were “good signs” that Keith might be able to return for the ALDS. … Ex-MSU star Woodruff’s status remains cloudy for Milwaukee’s National League Division Series against Chicago. The big right-hander returned from injury this year to go 7-2, 3.20, in 12 starts but went on the IL on Sept. 21 with a lat strain. He is technically eligible to come off the IL today (Oct. 3). He has pitched in eight postseason games for the Brewers in his career, going 1-3, 3.18. The Brewers would certainly love to have their horse against the Cubs. … Chicago out-pitched San Diego in their Wild Card Series, winning Games 1 and 3 by 3-1 scores. Former Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz worked in both of those wins, retiring all six batters he faced and notching two holds. The situational lefty, 36, entered Thursday’s game in the seventh with a runner at first, no outs and the Cubs up 2-0. He got a fly out, a line out and another fly out to end the inning. P.S. The last time the Blue Jays won the AL East, in 2015, their manager was former Jackson Mets catcher John Gibbons. That team lost in the AL Championship Series to Kansas City, which was managed by former JaxMets catcher Ned Yost. Oddly enough, the Royals beat the New York Mets in the World Series.

29 Sep

on the eve …

Few things in baseball beat a Red Sox-Yankees game, especially when it’s a postseason game. At Yankee Stadium. With a Mississippi native starting for Boston and a former Mississippi Braves standout on the bump for New York. That’s what Tuesday’s American League wild card round will give us. Garrett Crochet, an 18-game winner, the pride of Ocean Springs, gets the call for Boston against Max Fried, a 19-game winner who pitched in Pearl in 2017-18. Game time is 5:08 CDT. Crochet went 3-0 with a 3.29 ERA in four starts against the Yankees; he struck out Aaron Judge 10 times in 13 at-bats, yielding two home runs. Fried was 1-1 with a 1.97 in three starts vs. the Red Sox. This best-of-3 series will be the sixth postseason meeting between the rivals. Boston has prevailed in the last three — and won the World Series in two of those years (2004 and 2018). … Boston’s lineup figures to include Mississippi State alum Nathaniel Lowe, a lefty hitter who hasn’t faced the lefty Fried. The Yankees’ roster includes two ex-Biloxi Shuckers standouts in outfielder Trent Grisham and reliever Devin Williams and former Jackson Prep star Will Warren, expected to work out of the bullpen in this series. … In Tuesday’s first game, Detroit is at Cleveland in a matchup of AL Central rivals. There is a familiar name in the Guardians’ bullpen: Kolby Allard, a former first-round pick by Atlanta who pitched for the M-Braves in 2017. The lefty has a 2.63 ERA over 33 games. Biloxi High alum Colt Keith remains on the injured list with Detroit. Former M-Braves outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy was on the Tigers’ roster at season’s end but may not make their postseason list. … Drew Pomeranz, the ex-Ole Miss star, is a mainstay in the bullpen for the Chicago Cubs, who play host to San Diego in the NL wild card round. M-Braves alum Dansby Swanson has had a productive year as the Cubs’ shortstop. Of note: The Cubs signed Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton — he of the 326 career stolen bases — to a minor league deal in early September, and he played a handful of games at Triple-A Iowa, swiping three bases in five tries. He’s 35 but can still run; he could be a weapon on the bases should the Cubs add him to the roster at some point. … The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who’ll host Cincinnati in the nightcap on Tuesday, got another a big year from Freddie Freeman, the former M-Braves standout who hit .295 with 24 homers and 90 RBIs for the NL West champs. He is a .277 career postseason hitter with 14 homers, including the Game 1 grand slam that essentially powered the Dodgers to the 2024 World Series title. There is a familiar name on the Reds’ roster also: Ke’Bryan Hayes, son of Charlie Hayes, the Hattiesburg native who won a World Series with the Yankees 29 years ago. P.S. Since there are no major league games today, ripping open a couple packs of Topps cards from, say, 20 years ago can help fill the void until the postseason starts on Tuesday. You never know what treasures might be found inside. To wit: Unfortunately, there were no cards of Mississippians, but there were some interesting ones. Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon (of the curse-busting Red Sox), Vinny Castilla, Eric Chavez/Gold Glove, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds/Sporting News All-Stars, Tony Batista (in the uniform of the defunct Montreal Expos) and a Felix Hernandez/Prospects (but not an actual rookie). The best pull, if not the most valuable, from these two 2005 foil packs: a commemorative action shot of Ken Griffey Jr.’s 500th home run, hit on Father’s Day 2004, when he was with Cincinnati.