Just a quick reminder that game four of the ALDS between the Rays and the White Sox begins at 22.07 BST. The National League championship series may be set in stone, but there’s everything to play for in the American League.Â
Maybe it’s a bit of a stereotype, but the White Sox always strike me as a blue collar, hard nosed ballclub. Down 2-0 after two games at Tropicana Field, Chicago took game three by a final score of 5-3. They were never going to roll over and let the Rays sweep their season goodbye, particularly after their city rivals had just suffered that very same indignity. Tampa Bay didn’t get nervous with the finishing line in sight, they simply got beat on the day. The Rays would still back themselves to complete the job if they have to head back to the Trop for a series decider on Wednesday, but they’ll be more than happy to avoid taking it to a fifth game. The White Sox have no choice but to extend the series and they’ve proved quite adept at keeping their season going after their final regular season game victory over the Tigers and then their tie breaker against the Twins. It’s going to be another tight game tonight, with Andy Sonnanstine and Gavin Floyd on the mound.Â
The other ALDS is also poised at 2-1. The Angels could have folded after losing the opening two games to Boston in LA, but instead they took advantage of a shaky Josh Beckett outing and two homers by Mike Napoli to win 5-4 in extra innings. It was a tough night for Five from what I saw, with sound and picture problems plaguing their coverage. That’s a real rarity for Five and was a result of a late game switch, brought about by their desire to bring a live game to British fans. While it was frustrating for everyone concerned, you can’t fault Five for trying to provide the best possible coverage. In baseball terms, they swung for the fences rather than settling for a seeing-eye single. They’ve hit plenty of home runs in their time so we can certainly forgive them for whiffing on this occasion. John Lackey faces Jon Lester in a repeat of the game one pitching match up from 01.37 BST.
