Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer led the charge on just two days of rest as the Washington Nationals got even in the National League Division Series with a 4-2 victory over the host Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.
Strasburg (1-0) gave up one run over six strong innings, and Scherzer struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth as the Nationals leveled the best-of-five series 1-1.
Strasburg retired the first 14 batters he faced after pitching three scoreless innings of relief Tuesday in Washington's NL wild-card victory over Milwaukee. Scherzer threw 14 pitches in his perfect inning after he went five innings against the Brewers.
The Nationals jumped on Clayton Kershaw (0-1) for three runs in the first two innings, getting an RBI single from Howie Kendrick in the first, and a run-scoring single from Adam Eaton (NYSE:ETN) followed by an RBI double by Anthony Rendon in the second. Kershaw is now 9-11 with a 4.33 ERA for his career in the playoffs.
Braves 3, Cardinals 0
Mike Foltynewicz, banished to the minor leagues earlier this year, fired seven shutout innings as Atlanta beat visiting St. Louis and even their NLDS at one game apiece, as well.
Foltynewicz (1-0) allowed three hits and no walks while striking out seven in earning his first career postseason win. He outdueled Jack Flaherty (0-1), who gave up three runs on eight hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in seven innings.
Josh Donaldson hit an RBI single in the first inning, and pinch hitter Adam Duvall added a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh. Max Fried pitched the eighth inning for Atlanta, and Mark Melancon worked around two hits in the ninth for the save. A day earlier, Melancon blew a late lead and took the loss.
Yankees 10, Twins 4
Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu hit bases-loaded doubles, and New York beat visiting Minnesota in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
The Yankees beat the Twins for the 11th straight time in the postseason, dating back to Game 1 of the 2004 ALDS, by overcoming three Minnesota homers and an early two-run deficit.
Torres snapped a 3-3 tie with one out in the fifth inning off Tyler Duffey, and LeMahieu hit a three-run double in the seventh. LeMahieu and Brett Gardner hit solo homers for the Yankees while Jorge Polanco, Nelson Cruz and Miguel Sano belted solo drives for the Twins.
Astros 6, Rays 2
Jose Altuve slugged his ninth career postseason home run, and Justin Verlander allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings as host Houston recorded a 6-2 win over Tampa Bay in the opener of their ALDS.
Altuve snapped a scoreless tie and keyed a four-run fifth inning with his two-run shot to left field off Tyler Glasnow (0-1). Yuli Gurriel and Michael Brantley had two hits apiece for the Astros, and Alex Bregman reached base three times and scored twice.
Verlander (1-0) struck out eight and walked three. Glasnow allowed two runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings.
--Field Level Media