Ten hours of baseball playoffs.

Four games.

Two close ones, two no-doubters.

In the National League, both Milwaukee and Los Angeles took commanding 2-0 leads in much the same way. Their opponents cannot hit. The Braves have yet to score a run. The Rockies have scored two.

In the American League, Houston came out swinging, hitting four home runs, three off Corey Kluber to knock him out of the game in the fifth.

The best game of the day, both in drama and outcome, was the Red Sox edging the Yankees 5-4. Boston got out to a 5-0 lead but, in typical Yankees fashion, they pecked away and nearly won the thing. They certainly had their chances.

New York had runners on base in the first four innings but couldn’t score. When they eventually did score two in the sixth, they could have had so much more, leaving the bases loaded and the Red Sox in relief pitcher roulette panic mode.

They loaded the bases again in the seventh with no outs and settle for one run.

The top of the ninth was about as perfect of a microcosm of 2018 baseball as you will ever see. Home run, strike out, strike out, strike out.

In the end, Boston held its breath and held on to a one-run lead.

Ten hours of playoff baseball.

You can’t get much better than that.

*****
TODAY’S GAME:
(Times listed are Eastern time)