National League Championship Series
If you like seeing offense, you are definitely enjoying watching the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. Much to the chagrin of this Fangirl, the Braves hold a 3-1 series lead over the Dodgers, with Game 5 happening tonight at 9:08 pm ET/6:08 pm PT.
After the Dodgers put up a historic 11 runs in the first inning of Game 3 to lead them to a 15-3 victory, their offense went cold last night against Braves’ rookie pitcher Bryce Wilson. Wilson held the Dodgers to one hit in six innings, and the Atlanta offense showed up in their 10-2 win.
Tonight, it will be Dustin May on the mound for the Dodgers and A.J. Minter for the Braves. This will be Minter’s first start of his career. No pressure.
The heavily-favored Dodgers are on the brink of elimination, but it’s not over yet. It will be high drama at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas tonight.
American League Championship Series
Say what you want about the Houston Astros, and I’ve said plenty, but they are fighters. After going down 3-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS, the series is now 3-2 after Carlos Correa’s walk-off home run in last night’s Game 5. And they did it with nary a trash can in sight.
The battle for a trip to Arlington, Texas and the World Series continues today at 6:07 pm ET/ 3:07 pm PT. We’ll have two lefties on the mound, with Framber Valdez pitching for the Astros and Blake Snell pitching for the Rays.
Before he went up to bat with the one out in the bottom of the ninth, Correa told Astros’ manager Dusty Baker, “Walk-off.” Can they win tonight and force a Game 7? Ask Correa. He knows what’s up.
Patriots Cancel Practice and Colts Reopen
The New England Patriots canceled today’s practice after a positive COVID test. Per ESPN, they are awaiting the results of another possible positive test as well.
The Patriots and Broncos are scheduled to play Sunday at 1:00 pm ET, a game that was supposed to be played last week but was rescheduled due to Patriots’ defensive tackle Byron Cowart testing positive last week. Yesterday quarterback Cam Newton and CB Stephon Gilmore returned to practice after being removed from the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
Meanwhile in Indianapolis, the Colts reopened their facility after four people who had test positive were retested and came back negative.
AFC North
The NFL’s Week 6 is bringing an AFC North battle when the 4-1 Cleveland Browns travel to Pittsburgh to face the 4-0 Steelers.
The Browns, who started the season with a pummeling at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, have won four in a row and a win over Pittsburgh would legitimize them as a playoff contender, while also giving them a tie for first in the division.
Cleveland’s dominant rushing game will be up against a Pittsburgh defense that held the Philadelphia Eagles to 94 yards rushing last week. That defense also sacked Carson Wentz five times, so Baker Mayfield, who struggled in the second half against the Colts, will need his O-line to be on their A game. Browns’ wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. has been out with an illness but they are hopeful he’ll be good for Sunday. He has tested negative for COVID.
Big Ben and the Pittsburgh offense will contend with a Myles Garrett-led Browns’ defense that made life difficult on the Colts and ultimately gave Cleveland their fourth win of the season. In other words, this game is going to be really good.
Nick Saban
After testing positive for COVID-19 two days ago, Alabama football coach Nick Saban has tested negative and could potentially coach when the Crimson Tide take on Georgia tomorrow evening.
Saban, who is asymptomatic, would need to have two more negative tests, 24 hours apart, in order to get back to work. For now, he is isolating.
