No team represented the rise of new blood and breakout young talent during the 2015 MLB season than the Houston Astros. (OK, the Chicago Cubs might disagree with that.) The Astros were on schedule to improve this year, but not necessarily make the jump to contender. But Houston disrupted whatever preconceived notions observers and experts […]

Since Johnny Cueto joined the Kansas City Royals after the trade deadline, the team and its fans have been waiting to see the pitcher who was one of the best in MLB during the past four-and-a-half seasons. He finally showed himself when the Royals needed him most, with their season on the line in a […]

Clayton Kershaw saved the Los Angeles Dodgers season on Tuesday night, and hopefully also silenced the misperception that he’s not a good postseason pitcher. Starting on three days’ rest, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner (with a strong chance to win the honors for a third consecutive year, and four of the past five […]

Game 3 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and Mets posed some intriguing pitching questions. Could the Dodgers get a good start from someone besides Clayton Kershaw or Zack Greinke, with Brett Anderson getting the nod? And for the Mets, how would Matt Harvey pitch in his first postseason start when his ability to pitch […]

Among the many reasons that the Toronto Blue Jays were viewed as a favorite to win the AL pennant (at least among the staff here at The Outside Corner) was their lineup’s ability to crush opposing pitching. Playing the role of Wile E. Coyote underneath a piano dropped from the sky in Monday’s Game 4 […]

A crazy seventh inning helped the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome an early deficit to beat the New York Mets in Game 2 of their NLDS, 5-2. The series is now tied 1-1 and headed to Citi Field on Monday. The Mets looked as if they would keep the Dodgers on the ropes, taking an early […]

With Clayton Kershaw and Jacob deGrom matched up against one another, Game 1 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and Mets figured to be a classic pitching standoff. But deep down, you probably would have expected Kershaw to emerge as the better ace, right? He’s the best pitcher in MLB. You would have been wrong. […]

After two games, at least one of the ALDS matchups will go four or five games. The Royals rebounded from their 5-2 loss in Game 1 to tie the series, beating the Astros 5-4 on Friday. Ben Zobrist’s single drove in Alcides Escobar following a leadoff triple to break a 4-4 seventh inning tie and […]

If the Chicago Cubs got to the postseason a year earlier than ultimately expected, they looked especially precocious during Wednesday’s 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Wild Card Game. A young team that developed quickly accelerated the plans in Wrigleyville, helped largely by Jake Arrieta pitching like the ace he’s been all […]

What a strange season for the Washington Nationals and their fans. Despite a disappointing season in which a World Series favorite fell woefully short of expectations, the Nats did boast the likely NL MVP in Bryce Harper and got two no-hitters from Max Scherzer. Scherzer became the sixth pitcher in MLB history to throw two […]