Members Only Game Thread
Welcome to our first Members Open Game Thread. Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.
Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this could be a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked. This is a bit of an experiment, so we’ll see how it goes and potentially make adjustments or even add features as needed. And we certainly welcome your feedback!
Who the **** thought it was a good idea to give Cam Schlittler a breaking ball
Go Cubs, Phillies, Astros, and Red Sox.
Members Only thread..much better than a Members Only jacket.
What a time to be alive
A FanGraphs Members Only Jacket prototype does exists….
Hey all! Like we said, we're trying something new. We'll have staff pop in and out today. But you get to drive the conversation today.
I'm at work with this on my second screen, so I'll need a play by play if I'm going to follow the games.
Since June 14th (19 starts!) Sanchez has an ERA over 4 and a higher FIP than Tyler Mahle. I have concerns.
not sure if its smart to give me the ability to post immediately…
I find the delay on normal threads annoying. Giving members a revokable right to instant post would be a nice perk.
there's some trepidation here, too.
Great interview today in the Seattle Times with John Stanton, the Mariners' chairman, about why he's keeping DiPoto and why the M's refuse to sign aging stars.
All right! No safety net! Who’s gonna be the first to end their career with a screenshot
You should be able to click the settings gear in the top right and adjust your delay
Baseball is awesome, but I have to admit that I'm having a tough time choosing between following this game and taking a post-lunch nap
Roster Resources has Roman Anthony projected to play for the Red Sox today, anyone know what the problem was yesterday?
A few features to note:
– you can delay the incoming messages up to 3 minutes to using the gear in the top right corner.
– you can reply to a message by hovering over it and clicking in the top right corner.
Hand soreness
edited
We don't make individual edits to lineup projections on the Scores page, we just use the Go-To Starting Lineup that shows on the RosterResource page. So as long as Anthony's on the roster he'll show as projected to play, but we have no idea on his availability today.
very cool work, sean!
Infield in already!
Look at Philly playing small ball
I'm in the same boat after just getting back from hot pot with my day job colleagues
What's the deal with flipping Bohm and Stott last minute?
And no TOOTBLANS through 3 batters, astounding
Wasn't really last minute, got announced about an hour ago
Stott-Bohm was initially a clerical error
phillies dinking singles around, like we all expected
There ya go Suess
Ah well nm
Kinda feels like the Phillies need more than 1 here
I didn't see the play, but does being thrown out at home on a ball in play really count as a TOOTBLAM? I admit it wasn't a force.
suddenly braves have momentum again
Ehhh, without a wide angle to see if Harper broke too early thinking it was through hard to call it a bad read. There was going to be an out somewhere on that play.
trust the xfip brother
I thought it was pretty weird to see the Braves with the infield in in the first. I guess they're very open to the possibility of a low scoring game
Hi Ben!
Don’t think I’ve ever seen a batter with a knee guard like Acuna is wearing.
I've always been curious on the effectiveness of playing the infield in, in general. Is this the kind of thing we have data on in a way to analyze?
I feel like Weiss was quick to pull the infield in all season
Is Marsh a non tender candidate? Considering they just paid Bohm 10.2 in his final year, probably not, but that 2nd half wRC+ says 31!
I was thinking about this last half inning. I think the existing data could probably be manipulated to at least come up with SOMETHING. We don't have perfect infield positioning data, but we do have distance from home plate, so there's enough to do some approximating. Offseason project?
I'd read that!
hi
(If anyone is lurking both here and in the Rates and Barrels discord, I'm sorry you're seeing me posit this twice)
Bad baserunning by Acuna there.
@Ben Clemens any publicity is good publicity for UVA re: Bennett Sousa? He's spoiling all of Ernie Clement and Josh Sborz's postseason goodwill!
Sam Miller did a rough version of this at Pebble Hunting: https://pebblehunting.substack.com/p/infield-in-is-ideology
Didn’t Marsh hurt his hand or wrist around midseason? Might be the reason for that severe a drop
With the state of the Phillies bullpen, feels like every 15+ pitch inning by Sanchez is a win for the Braves
Acuna is hyped
I appreciate that you are here.
Lefties with a .391 OPS on the season vs Sanchez. Which is really, really bad, but as Olson just demonstrated, not .000
Is there any way to “pop out” the chat as its own window/tab? On my phone, the extra real estate (and not accidentally scrolling the browser instead of the chat) would be really nice.
I would be very surprised if he was NTed
we'll take it
is this what happens with no moderation? everyone too afraid to talk, or is my chat broken?
I find it really annoying that the playoff graphics online and on TV show players stats from the current series, rather than their regular season stats.
I think there just aren't many people on. I keep seeing the same names.
Fear. Everything is working. And only one person got put into auto moderation because of a swear word.
How available do we think Duran is? Lotta pitches yesterday but you'd think he could go an inning today or tomorrow. But since you need to win both, if you can only throw him one more time in the series, why not wait until tomorrow when he's better rested?
I mean i'm over here trying to do my job, we can't all be content creators
Sean, thanks for the incredibly fast turnaround on that chat delay feature I asked about yesterday! Helped me avoid spoilers given my cable package
Is this the most boring series judged solely by uniforms? Red and blue vs. red and blue
Acuña did not have only four stolen bases this year, no matter how many times they repeat that.
Same, and…I just don't have anything to say. Silence better than noise.
Yeah this has really been throwing me off. Do they not have fact checkers?
Philly needs to win because I’m not ready to lose Kruk this year. Man is delightful in the booth
Beating a dead horse a bit, but Votto is just really good at this- especially at pushing back on some of the other announcers
so far this series feels like it's wasted on the WC round
No problem! It wasn't too hard, because all we had to do was add X many seconds and filter base on that just in your client. No reason to wait to implement.
Some people are charming in ways you just can’t teach, and dude has it.
we should just be happy that not all baseball is a blowout
Sox-Yanks too. That shouldve been a 1-game or a CS.
despite limiting damage how concerning is Sanchez's pitch count?
Not extremely, I'd think? All he needs is a 10-pitch inning and he's right back on track to go his usual 6-7.
Sean, the nested replies are so good visually! Kudos!
My concern with Mahle is, really, does he have the weapons to get through the lineup more than twice? His splitter's been working quite well but the rest of his stuff just doesn't feel playoff elite.
🙏
for anyone that was here yesterday around this time, how do the numbers compare to the non-Members only chat?
Getting through the lineup exactly twice is more than enough for all but a handful of starters in these playoffs, IMO
Until they start spitting on the split let him keep going. Problem is if it’s a close game you might find out too late they’re not chasing it again.
Think there were about double for much of yesterday's game? Maybe a bit more at peak
I finally have my seat at the cool kids table here that is definitely not just a bunch of nerds
His 4S and FC are both pretty decent
You just keep thinking that.
yeah, relievers casting from HP in the playoffs is the standard at this point
Mahle's probably only going to see Turner three times, Lee/Dodd likely come in to face Schwarber/Harper/Bohm/Stott
I’d let him pitch to exactly one hitter a third time.
I'm sorry can you please translate "casting from HP"? I feel I'm losing nerd cred by even asking
Leaning on Lee is going to take a pretty big leap of faith. He was absolutely torched in the second half and the Braves barely pitched him in September. Maybe they're confident he's cleaned up his pitch-tipping, but he gave up runs in two of the four appearances he made over the last two weeks of the season.
Really baffling to me that they keep putting Kim in the lineup. It's hard to imagine more of an automatic out on any team that made the playoffs
Did they come out and say it was pitch tipping? He really was incredible to start the year and the late slide was concerning
Is it just me, or are more players wearing the 90s-style skinny pants? Look how tight Acuna’s pants are around the calves. Looks great.
Pretty much yes – it was in the team's newsletter https://www.mlb.com/braves/news/dylan-lee-pitch-tipping-seco…
Phils radio crew is just despondent over the walk
casting from hit points – I just mean they don't need much more from Mahle because bullpens get pushed to the brink as a matter of course in the playoffs
He's not the guy you want to walk
The peripherals weren't nearly as bad as the ERA. You've gotta trust Lee, he's the best lefty in the pen
Thanks. Lee didn't get many whiffs yesterday, but nice to see the velo up at least
It’s gotta be all hands on deck so at least a couple of batters, I’d think.
He's been hitting like a pitcher this year, except I'm pretty sure back when the braves had Madox/Glavin/et al, their pitchers were better than that.
Edited to add: And after walking Kim he strikes out Acuna. Baseball.
Max Fried was a much better hitter than 2026 Kim
I'm one of those people who types out half a comment before deleting it and staying silent. Is that a millennial thing?
I wonder if the bye team (in this case the Dodgers) get together to watch these wildcard series. Or if they're just taking a few days off to rest
Several players have mentioned the team has watch parties set up.
Hoping to hear Matty V say "Oh and he botches it!" at least once this postseason
Millennial here, I do that quite often
If I'm Shohei Ohtani, I'm inviting everyone over to my 2800 sq ft hot tub to watch the game on my 2km long tv
The Phillies are right there and have Marchan and Stubbs on their roster.
Okay, just finished enough work that I can turn the game on and coast for the rest of the day, what did i miss!
Millennial here, I to do that
Love a ground ball pitcher
looks like playing IF in in the 1st inning has been a smart idea so far
Atlanta's great hope for this whole series is to get into the pen as early as possible. But Sanchez is getting stronger as he goes.
Can the White Sox actually make the World Series??
Since my Tigers let me down ..
I would much rather be able to watch the playoff games with the MLB.tv subscription that I pay for every year…but the fact that the little field view on Gameday shows the little box position players doing grounders and throws to first while the pitcher is tossing warmup pitches is kind of delightful.
I don't know how it is for everyone else, but it's almost like I got all the social part of social media out of my system with Myspace/early FB and now it's a mix of not being able to quite articulate the thought I'm having, fearing negative comments, worrying it isn't going to meaningfully add to the conversation. My urge to even delete this comment is high, but I'm going to resist!
Is that Maddux out there today–lol
Votto is so good at this. Avoiding nonsense and providing actual analysis of Schwarber mid-at bat
I love Votto completely ignoring the dumb question
I’m guessing they give Rushing the wrong address.
The first inning definitely had me thinking things could get out of hand, but the pitchers have locked in!
Dealing!
Harper just has one of those swings, man
Ya exactly, I got rid of most of the social media stuff years ago (use bluesky for science since im a microbiologist and its good for that) and just struggle with the idea that anyone gives a schlitt about random things i have to say (or most of the time not say lol)
with 1.5 usable SP, that would be reminiscent of the 2006 Cardinals
Gosh that sequence was good from Mahle
Whats the deal with that philly fan's costume? Is that supposed to be the Phanatic? Is this a Philly-Florida Gators Crossover?
Mahle carving up the Phillies, as expected
So do you bring Mahle back for the 6th facing the middle of the order a third time? Or say that 5 innings is a job well done and turn it over to the relievers?
Definitely let him start the next inning
He's looked good but guys are good until they aren't sometimes
I totally get what you mean. Awesome that you're a microbiologist btw
3.32 FIP since the trade and 1 ER over 13 innings in his last two starts against Philly. Braves have made adjustments to his mix that have yielded results
Think philly's offense has been so anemic you can push him a bit with a short leash
I struggle with that, any time a SP is looking good I want them to come back out
Philly 28th in baseball v. RHP this year
Backstreet Boys on the organ, love it!
Braves' organist is very fun!
Organist a fan of the Backstreet Boys?
A Braves Dodgers series would be pretty epic for organs
What a fun job that would be!
Dieter Ruehle (Dodgers and LA Kings organist) is one of the best, yes!
I will never not be upset when there is an in-game picture-in-picture ad
mattingly's got the look of a man that's about to let sanchez throw 800 pitches today
[Hooded Kermit meme] do it.
pleeeeeease
I really like Bluesky for following researchers and science news too. plus pretty much all my preferred baseball writers are there too
Mattingly is at least partially responsible for playoff Kershaw.
Kruk is having a hilarious and great series
Agreed!
and theres the play that will haunt the phillies
What an awkward play
The Phillies defense is frustating.
Pitcher deflection messing up a play is always so frustrating, you can't blame them for reacting on instincts
This is peak Phillies baseball
Any in-game alteration of the video — including showing stupid mid-game interviews — is terrible.
Woooooooow
sike just kidding hehe
Maybe I spoke too soon on the Phils defense
Crowd got silent REAL FAST.
Another win for infield in
Wow
Or at least a little in
The ever famous 3-2-3 double play!
At some point you would've thought someone would tell Michael Harris he can take a pitch
Just how they drew it up
Sanchez must feel like an impossible matchup if you’re Harris.
Harris is pretty good v lefties tbh
Mahle back out for the 7th, surprising.
Just like I always say, Phillies are all about defense.
I think these are his last 3 hitters
First 2 splits to JT were nkt well located
yeah if it gets to schwarber a lefty is definitely coming in
I was about to ask if we’re talking about the same Harris but I looked up his splits again – increased his OPS vs lefties by 150 pts this year. So not as bad as he used to be.
I know Mahle was way better with the Braves but I was not expecting a playoff start this good.
Man 7IP 1ER from Mahle is better than anyone even dreamed of in this game
I feel like if I were Votto I'd only be saved from tearing my hair out watching this game by the lack of hair
Man, Mahle facing 28 batters and giving up only 1 run is an enormous win for the Braves
Like, Mahle has one move. And he's already showed them that move TWICE in September.
55 splitters! Massive
And they keep being like 'wait what, a splitter? what is this?'
(I'm recapping this game, this is going to be a focus of my writeup)
Way more than he's ever thrown before
So even if you're 'ready' for it, going that far above his previous high is ballsy
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it mentality
The ump view on the splits made it look really difficult to pick up that spin in daylight.
🎶Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks
I don't care if I never get back🎶
Is it too late for the Phillies to sign Votto to take an ab? He's probably the guy in the building most capable of taking those splitters
Can we get some sort of animation and midi music?
"They didn't need the Pope, they had Cam Schlittler"
God bless you Franzke
How can Sanchez be the "pitcher of record" in a tie game?
Listening to the radio call and not being able to see the actual pitch makes these ABS reviews much more dramatic
Votto said he was getting Braves playoff nervousness from his 2020 trip there, so maybe he's too out of the game to do it. BUt otherwise, yeah, their lefties were not really up to the task today.
I really wish they'd take away the K zone
Is this game gonna be the end of the Phillies window?
please break it open now braves
Great day from murphy, walk, double, 3 (I think?) abs overturns
yes please!
How do you let Kim bat here? Have they no bench?
Mattingly has no good options here, but this is a highly risky decision, assuming the intent is to leave him in to face Acuña for a fourth time.
Oh man bad decision there
oh noooooooooo
I think the starting pitching is too good for that, the floor is fairly high. But the position player age and cost is concerning for sure
now THIS is the play that will haunt the phillies
crazy going to second there
The throw wasn't horrendous, but you can't go to second there unless you're *sure* you'll get him!
Once that ball is past you, it makes no sense to go to second
I find watching baseball so much more enjoyable when there is no k zone overlay
Killer non-challenge on the 0-1
If they just take the out at 1st, things are looking much better here.
if they take the out at 1st, do they just walk acuna, and they're in the same spot anyway?
Is Country Roads the Dolly Parton of songs?
You can't walk him there, IMO
Nooooooooo waaaaaaay
Even if they get 1, you're still in the game. Have to prevent a big inning.
No, that’s the one that will haunt them
Oooooooof
That's a clown play
now THIS is the play that will haunt the phillies
oh noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
holy bad defense
Harper about to be a meme
LOL
unbelievable
LOVE THAT PHILLIES DEEEEEEEEE
Bryce Harper with those deck-of-cards hops
That was not great
Maybe they shouldn't have moved him to the outfield in the middle of the season
It's one thing when it is a reliever spamming one pitch (idk why but Tommy Kahnle's changeup is what I think about for this archetype) but I feel like you aren't fully prepared if you let a starter throw that pitch mix
I feel like I just watched a car crash
slo mo
Check in on the Phillies fans in your life
should baldwin be that pumped up for an error
(Handshake meme) Acuna – Harper – misplays in RG that allow a run
I hate how few things are recorded as errors these days
That should have been the "Oh and he botches it!" call
Cannot think of a worse way for the Phillies to potentially lose an elimination game
That wasn’t an error???
When I played RF in rec league softball a few years back, that's pretty much how I played fly balls.
Yes
Is there wind?
It is insane to leave Sanchez in here
Arraez isn't even on the roster, what is he doing out there
Sanchez at 115 pitches
Potential series winning run scoring? Yes?
i expected the Phillies defense to be bad but this plus the wrist hit yesterday seem more like pure flukes or nerves then bad baseball
it was an error whether it was recorded or not
I played kickball a few times a couple years ago and I could not believe how hard of a time I had tracking those fly balls!
(im being facetious if thats not clear)
hooooooo weeeeeee
Do the Braves go Suarez/Iglesias from here then?
Ive said this in every thread ever since defense wasnt mentioned at all in the preview article, but PHI's poor defense is a story. A better CF than Hill catches Ozzie's triple, a better IF gets Harris, and most RF catch that go-ahead flyball.
I'm sorry, how was that ruled a hit?
Probably Fuentes next unless they want Lee for the lefty/lefty
Nelson Cruz flashbacks on that one. Sorry Bryce (and Rangers fans)
not to mention bohm's play on the bunt
One time, with the sun in my eyes, I somehow got under a fliner, scared me a little when the ball landed in my glove.
So silly. You can't even give the usual excuse that he never touched it.
That was my thought!
As a Braves fan, I lack the imagination to conceive of a more enjoyable way to take a lead in a crucial game.
A batted ball with an xBA of .08 that hit the fielder's glove on the fly when they had ample time to catch is like the textbook definition of an OF error, but I guess I'm not an official scorekeeper
I mean, last year Kerkering, but yeah
seconded
Let's not jinx it, lest Philly find a way to have an equal and opposite heartbreaking lead change
can't watch at work, but saw the replay of that flyball….big OOF
Schwarber bunt?? Nah, he's just goofin'
21.7% change in WPA after the Harper drop, really hate to see it happen to such an intelligent guy
On the one hand, this series has been far too weird that I expected game 2 would continue as it was. On the other hand, there's still 2 innings left for another twist to happen.
Guessing a solo shot here and then Iglesias causes drama in the 9th
a prophet
I mean you can do that too
Knew it
schwarber shouldve bunted
Lotto numbers plz.
Are you from the future
I think I just heard that ball ounce off the front of my place here in Philly
Im from the land of "watching the Braves all season"
did the writers leak the script to you
I think Dylan Lee would've rather made a different pitch
Ok, I’m done here
Well this is less fun
Oops the drama came an inning early haha
wowwwwww
Philly needed their dudes to be dudes and they delivered.
HAHAHHAHA
lmaoooo
Well that was fun!
Ah well. We'll call that a wash
dear god
I was literally thinking "The Phillies have six outs to save their legacy" and they didn't even need one!
i just opened the broadcast and thought it was just really behind lol
harper is too relieved to even celebrate
Is he tipping again? They’re unloading
I hate being Cassandra on this, but I typed this an hour and a half ago: "Leaning on Lee is going to take a pretty big leap of faith. He was absolutely torched in the second half and the Braves barely pitched him in September. Maybe they're confident he's cleaned up his pitch-tipping, but he gave up runs in two of the four appearances he made over the last two weeks of the season."
Baseball rules
I do remember this comment, props to you
are they booing stott, or the braves?
I think I just heard Smelly Cat on the organ
My bad. 😞
Justice for Sanchez
May all of us be blessed with the same opportunities for redemption that baseball inherently provides
They're saying Boo-urns
I think they're saying Boo-raves!
surely it's that
Sanchez doesnt deserve justice. Poor performance even though Harper hurt him
dylan lee didn’t give up a homer to a LHH all season lol
Love baseball for these kinds of things
Preach
Everything goes out the window in october. It’s awesome
I want to see some reactions from Philly of the defensive miscues followed by the homers
BuT it's NoT oCtObEr
So technically it's still in the window then
Painter, what a great last name for a pitcher
Mattingly giving Painter the ball in relief is giving Chevy Chase in Caddyshack: "Don't worry about this one. If you miss it, we lose."
surely painter isnt the best option for the phillies here?
Painter trying a little too hard to paint here
Do we have any analytics on how much afternoon shadows actually impact the game?
He *is* the best option. And don't call me Shirley.
is there a reason painter is in this game
Beautiful
Harris has been rough this series
Good mound visit
The Phils pen is a travesty of a mess
Props to the kid.
I’m also shocked by painter here. I mean it worked but seems like a weird ass time to bring him in.
Philly fans in the group chat probably pulled a muscle 180’ing so hard on Bryce Harper
I hope we get some good extra inning games this postseason. Such a treat to not have the nonsense ghost runner ruining it this time of year.
lol
it worked!
I walked away at the mound visit to check on laundry. I came back and there were 3 outs. For the sake of Philly, I should just…leave work, i guess.
bad game today for 3-3 yesterday.
Torn between wanting extra innings, and wanting the Phillies to score to ensure another game of this tomorrow
screw it, extra innings *and* the phillies win
Hey TJ, your boss just texted me and said you need to stay late.
Ugh, feel bad for Sosa
Ok, while I AM generally anti-hustle, if you're going to hustle and get hurt, that is probably the time to do it
username checks out
Not to sound insensitive, but what's the point of checking on him on the field when you know he's coming out either way?
Works for me!
i'd think you would just bring him into the dugout
Now that time going to second was smart
Fair question
Yeah, you expect the fielders to have a good sense of when to do it
Sucks to sacrifice yourself physically only to have the pinch runner get out at 2nd right after
so what exactly was the point of the bunt? are they more concerned about p(scoring at least one run) vs run expectancy?
Steal a base instead guys, blah
RE Russel: yes. It's a tie game in the ninth. One run is kinda important
Bohm should have changed course when he had to awkwardly field it. It really was more inexcusable than Harper’s play, which was just a classic misplay.
Teams always get too conservative in the playoffs but even if only 1sb etc etc who cares. Rp very rarely hold guys on well. Hill can run, why attempt to move him over. Better imo running and Crawford likely puts the ball in play. Blah
based on data I could find, it increases the probability of at least one run by 1.3%. That seems bad, given the drop in expected runs
edit: other data says 1% drop
Nevermind!
You're in too deep, pull up!
bring back the hit and run!
Womp womp
I love your imagination
Yaz*
Wonder if Bohm being relatively new to 1B was a factor here- at least anecdotally it seems like 3B moving to 1B are sometimes overly aggressive at first
coward Walt to take the bat out of HSK hands
*Ronnie?
We can edit??
I really want old-school extra innings! Glad its gone in the regular season, but love it now.
lol easy there
Phillies in extra innings on the road what could go wrong
This has been a fun game
Chip Carey vibes
Is Jonathon Bowlan alive?
this announcer has no clue what a home run looks like
Bohm’s played an entire season’s worth of 1B in MLB, he’s just not that good a fielder in general
Vasgersian got my hopes up
I kind of wish that kind of fake out call would be in MLB The Show, that'd be funny
There seems to be no correlation today on his enthusiasm level for the call and how likely the batted ball is to be a homer
Well at least we'll have real extra innings baseball…
he's only been announcing baseball for 30+ years, gotta give him some slack
Hasn’t pitched in two weeks because of a groin thing
so true, my bad
Ooof, that was your pitch Schwarb.
Every other major change they've made to baseball in my lifetime I have felt somewhere between positively to relatively ambivalently about, but, man, I miss old school extra innings
Vasgersian was born Vasgerdsian and later it was changed. Fascinating!
The Phillies still can't hit a splitter
Woooooooooow
Hard not to feel like this is Philly's best shot, with the top of the line up due up and a thin bullpen to lean on…
Hahahahaha
I like the Manfred man for regular season because it adds more excitement and keeps the games going fast. Like I have work the next day, I cant be up till midnight watching a 13 inning game. The playoffs already have a ton of excitement and it's worth the time
AAHAHAHHAHHAHHA
That ball had way more carry than I realized
One of the most out-of-nowhere homers I can remember. How the heck did that happen?
Did they not just say he hadn't given up a HR to a righty all year
absolutely did not look like a homer off the bat
perennial mvp candidate alec bohm
It was the thermals
Postseason baseball is the best
Why did Matty V sound more excited on the Albies flyout
Is Duran hurt?
Guess he didn't want to make the same mistake twice
De la Cruz has been a quiet find for the Phils this year. Him and Hill have made Dombrowski look smart
whoops, wrong thing to reply to
Don't think so but he pitched a lot yesterday and will likely need to pitch tomorrow
Gotcha, thanks!
Any reason to take out Iglesias after only 9 pitches?
Or is that just a hindsight 20/20 thing
I just checked Statcast Search – that's the fastest pitch a righty has ever hit for an oppo homer in that zone of the plate. Absolutely unreal swing.
not a must win game for them, maybe?
My guess is they think Painter is settling in and would rather have him keep going as long as he can.
Trea turner has crushed him.
Apparently because Turner has killed him, in a small sample.
Yeah I believe they said he’s 5/11 with 3 HR against him
Wild
Come on Painter, I want more of this drama.
andrew "3.63 BotERA" painter has got this
I like being in a live game chat without a ton of people, there's time to respond to people and actually read all the comments
that auto insurance ad was horrific omg
Yeah this has been fantastic, more chat type stuff Fangraphs team!
yes! would love more of these
How would you want to see Olson pitched to? Pitch around and accept a walk?
I have my mute button on the ready for ads
I realized this didn't necessarily imply he has to get the outs.
Don’t not walk the lead off hitter
I feel like walking the tying run to first is to be avoided
Crazy!
No. Go get him. Don't give a free base
holy smokes
Painted it!
Painter painting
insane call by the ump
Meanwhile Yordan in LF started off with a misplayed ball on the first hitter
Playoff challenge system is so dramatic. I adore it. Please no full ABS.
But please remove the strike zone overlay!
I absolutely adore the challenge system and have 0 interest in full ABS
White Sox up 1-0 on Hunter Brown two batters in
Agreed
This has to be below replacement level managing. Leaving Duran in so long to give up the homer after bouncing ball 4 yesterday. And now leaving a rookie starter in for 3 inning save.
If Mattingly trusted Painter here, why not yesterday?
I think umps should be encouraged to chirp back when the calls stand
i mean, they've got the pope, astros have no shot
is yellow an unofficial 4th color for atlanta?
Yes please
What is Bowlan doing on the roster if you can't trust him here?
This is the Andrew Painter I pictured based on scouting reports
Who gives a better series against the Dodgers?
I go back to what I said before, I think that they feel that he’s getting into his regular game flow and is settled in.
Drama
The ominous Michael Harris soft single….
Astros put Yordan in LF to get Nick Allen in the infield at 3B, now Yordan has misplayed a ball and Allen has made an error in the 1st inning
i'd think the braves given 2021
Only time I want to hear turn down for what is watching Valerie and Ricky on SYTYCD
Not that it's the be all end all, but Dodgers went 4-2 versus the Phils and 1-5 versus the Braves this year.
A comment for no one but that's ok
Love the catcher/pitcher combo challenge
What a performance by Painter
LMaO
A few middle middle pitches by Painter that haven't been blasted
Imagine if they had used up their challenges!
How anti climatic
omg what an ending
Yeah I don't find that to be great theater tbh
the first-pitch middle-middle changeup to baldwin should've been destroyed
Phillies just became a trivia question answer.
3-0 Sox, still top of the first, #wildthrowoffense
ABS is sick
i think it would get a home crowd pretty hyped, but the braves fans aren't exactly enthused
starting Nick Allen (not at shortstop) in an elimination game is certainly a choice
What a close, tense game, hope we get more of those- now to check in on HOU-CWS…
I stand by this. It worked today, but Mattingly needs to figure out his bullpen pecking order ASAP. Not having a real answer to lefties is going to bite them eventually
i'm impressed that hunter brown has done this with only 21 pitches
incredibly efficient pitches/run
I feel embarrassed for picking the Astros to win this series. They've been outclassed in every which way by a team that's truly just happy to be here. I can hardly blame Jim Crane for blowing everything up after this.
Do we know the possible start times for Braves Phillies game 3 tomorrow? Presumably if some of these other series end today they'll move it later in the day, but are there specific conditions for a time change?
Just switched to the Astros game. Why are Hunter Brown's pants so dirty?
back from an hour long meeting sure hope i didnt miss any insane endings to the phillies game and terrible starts to the next game!
MLB put up the whole list of combinations on one of the articles about where to watch the game.
I'm seeing double! four Montgomeries
I am having a hard time getting over the notion that the White Sox legitimately may play in the ALCS. Absolutely crazy.
33 pitches
in retrospect, braves could be out of the playoffs if not for unlikely hero austin riley. wild to think about
socktober
I refuse to believe the Astros are eliminated until the game is completely over. They're like Jason or Freddy.
Ah found it. Not the way I'd do it that's for sure
Brown is down
Big HRs from Austin Riley, and Alec Bohm, two players their fanbases have made into pariahs. Now we need Volpe to HR
He just wanted to see him face the full 9, for funsies.
yeah the prognosis is pretty bad, but I've seen many teams piss away a four-run lead with the whole game ahead
it's okay, at least the astros have an elite bullpen
So the Astros need 25 outs from their bullpen that stunk it up yesterday and they need to outscore the White Sox by 4 runs across those 25 outs, assuming they get out of this jam. How hard can it be?
Yikes, Roman Anthony is out for the rest of this series and likely the ALDS (in the vanishingly small likelihood the Sox go that far) with a recurrance of his mysterious hand injury…
Tell 'em, Wash.
Where is Brown? There is Brown. Mr. Brown is out of town.
Is it a mystery? He was out with a hand injury before and it's some kind of flare-up, right?
Well, it was a wrist injury, and then it was a tendon injury in his ring finger, and now it's a strain of "several muscles" according to Tracy, and no one seems to know how to fix it
final score of this game will be 36 – 22
I forgot that the white sox still have to pitch in this game
Cue: "did Burke get cold on the bench?????"
It was a partial tear of the tendon that connects the ring finger to the wrist
Will Yordan get his Harper moment to redeem his blunder
Burke often has lower velo early in the game.
Just realized no strike zone overlay on the broadcast!! So nice
I heard "hit the dirt" and was soooo confused
They must have read this chat thread.
Paredes is used to hitting beams and catwalks in his home ballpark
At this rate, he might not have a right hand by Christmas.
Gameday had a weird fit. It put up "in play, out(s)" then blinked a few times and changed it to a foul ball.
Elite take.
By rule he can't play in the ALDS since he's been removed from the roster
Anthony officially off the Red Sox roster, Curtis Mead (!) is in. Anthony will be ineligible for the ALDS should the Red Sox advance
36 minute first-inning. Looking forward to the Yankee-Red Sox game starting in the bottom of the 5th.
Mead redemption would be fun.
At least Blubaugh didn't have to wait around to never get into this game
This was not a good joke. And I'm not sure how to pronounce his name
Both Mead and Sanchez showing out today would be fun
Blubaugh way better today so far. Pitched 96 innings in relief, horrible September, bad yesterday, and I assumed he was toast until next year.
In my head it's pronounced Blu and then the sound Orson Welles makes in that champagne commercial, not sure if I can post a Youtube link here
Everyone throws so hard nowadays. Who are some of the best pitchers in 2026 that don't throw hard at all
Ranger Suarez
Is Blubaugh the first pitcher ever to appear in the first inning of consecutive playoff games?
Weiss went “all in” in today and Phillies look to be in an excellent position to close it out tomorrow. Mattingly has an ace for tomorrow and his best pen arm rested. Weiss has neither.
brent suter
only 48 more runs until my prediction was right
Tyler Rogers, Alex Vesia, Logan Henderson to name a few
Hey all, I think we are going shut down this game thread for the day. I think a lot of people left work or are eating dinner now. This worked out pretty well, and we are going to try more things like these in the future.
Nick Allen clearly understood the assignment and…popped out immediately.
but we still have 16 hours of baseball…
Will there be something for the night games?
thank you for setting this up Sean!
Thanks Sean!
Not for today. We usually peak around 4PM ET then it's downhill after that. But hopefully, for other days.
I think this was a success. I advocate more of these.
essentially a fangraphs discord… which…..sign me up!
This looked like a whole lot of fun and I am sad to have missed it.
(Things have been *real* busy this month, there have even been a couple days I think where I failed to check the site)