Non-Phillies Postseason chat

[Philsmania]

At this point, the Dodgers should put a non-pitcher on the mound.

[DurhamBull]

Didn't realize Scherzer (Toronto's starting pitcher tonight) is 41. You go, Max! I'm rooting for you and the Jays.

[EastFallowfield]

Anyone stay up for that game? I set my old fashioned DVR to record the rest of it when I headed to bed but didn't add enough hours to the recording, out of practice dealing with games without ghost runners now.

[BostonRoss]

I stayed up for the whole thing. Amazing that the Jays stayed in it as long as they did. They had no position players on the bench for the last six innings. The lineup was pretty thin, with Biggio, Springer, and Kirk all out of the game. Lots of innings from pitchers who didn’t expect to appear in the series.

[andyb]

I managed to stay up till the end. Great game but was kind of glad when it ended. My brain was channeling Danny Glover by the end of it.

Jays came out worse as said previously. If Springer is out and their bullpen was thinner to begin with, it's going to be really hard to come back. Nice to see Kershaw get out of that jam. Not sure I agree with the announcers that it was likely his last appearance. Could easily see them use him as an opener in a later game (not tonight) if they want to shorten it potentially.

[BostonRoss]

It really was a great game. I would not have made it another inning though, even though it would have been amazing to see Yamamoto enter the game after throwing a complete game in the previous game.

Many runners were thrown out on the bases, including some very nice plays. Vlad's slide into home was awesome.

I'll probably fall asleep in the fifth inning tonight.

[VoteForKalas]

Blue Jays bounce back to take Game 4. Impressive after that 18 inning slog.

Best of 3 now with 2 in Toronto.

[DurhamBull]

Toronto is doing themselves proud. Win or lose, they're putting up a great fight.

This is also (IMO) interesting baseball, and not just because there was an 18 inning epic. I feel like I'm seeing more small ball, singles through the hole, etc. And Shohei Ohtani is a phenomenon unto himself.

There was an Ohtani moment I particularly enjoyed. He hit a double, and once on second base, he turned towards his teammates in the dugout, and instead of giving them the typical testosterone-y roar, he had a huge grin on his face. So much talent, so much fun.

[Philsmania]

Even though the Jays had the best record in the AL, there's a certain feeling that the Jays are playing with house money. Grinding at-bats and putting balls in play...what a concept!

[LoneStarPhan]

One of the best WS games in years (game 3) but it would not have happened if the regular season rules had been in play.

[zambonir]

That doesn't especially bother me. Hockey is the same way (3-on-3 for five minutes then a shootout in regular season, normal 20-minute sudden-death OT periods in the playoffs). So is MLS (immediate shootout in the regular season, two 15-minute OT periods played in their entirety before shootout in the playoffs). NFL playoff overtime is also theoretically infinite versus regular season.

Old-timers and die-hards like us are always going to love it but there's still really no reason to have two teams play a game like that in August. And had that game been in Toronto it would have been a mess (even more tired players, people leaving, lowered TV ratings, the latter of which was probably still the case).

[EastFallowfield]

Guessing FOX wasn't too bothered by the ratings for the 18 inning game, they say the ratings have been (relatively) good so far this year, so during prime time they would have all those viewers, and even if people (like me) dropped off, they probably had way more people watching their stations from 11 PM to 3 AM ET than usual, and they got all those primetime hours in the other time zones for once too.

[zambonir]

True true, though they haven't released the Game 3 ratings yet. In hockey the problem is there are no ads sold for overtime. But it does make the games go quicker. And for sure the West Coast ratings were probably great. Fox is already somewhat out of luck since they don't air the Series in Canada. I'm sure the 2am viewership in Toronto was just fine.

[EastFallowfield]

The ratings weren't as good as last year's Game 3 with the Yankees in it instead of the Jays, or Game 3 of the Phils/Astros series, but kinda in the same ballpark. Peaked around 1130, they say, during the 9th inning.

World Series Game 3 earns strong audience for 18-inning thriller

[zambonir]

Ah, same as hockey.

> It is important to note, Nielsen does not measure viewership past when the final national ad airs for a given broadcast, meaning the 11.4 million figure does not include many of the later innings, when Fox ran out of commercial inventory and began exclusively airing promotions for its own programs.

[DurhamBull]

Toronto could put the game out of reach here.

[VoteForKalas]

Toronto with a dominant 6-1 win in Game 5. The rookie pitcher, Yesavage, went 7 innings allowing 1 run and posting 12 Ks- so impressive!

Travel day today, Toronto has to win 1 more game at home. Hope they can get it done..1993 was a very bitter pill, but this is a fun team to root on.

[zambonir]

I want them to win but I wouldn't mind seeing a Game 7.

[andyb]

The U.S ratings may be a bit lower with a Canadian team participating, but the Canadian ratings are much, much higher.

World Series Games 1–2 Ratings Up With U.S., Canada Combined

Both count. Guessing MLB is pretty happy if combined US + Canadian ratings are up. MLB gets paid for Canadian rights as well.

[Philsmania]

The Dodgers just look beat at this point and have pretty-much packed it in. They'll go quietly in Game 6.