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Jesus Luzardo SP | PHI
Marlins' Jesus Luzardo: Cedes three runs in loss
Luzardo allowed three runs on eight hits across four innings, taking the loss in Tuesday's 4-1 defeat to the Phillies in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. He struck out five.
Luzardo was knocked around by the Phillies lineup early and often, giving up a hit to every batter besides Bryce Harper at some point in his four innings of work. The pressure of the Phillies' home crowd may have gotten to him some considering he uncorked a pair of wild pitches, one which set up an RBI single by Christian Pache in the fifth inning. After Tuesday's outing, Luzardo is up to a 6.75 ERA and 1.64 WHIP with 16 strikeouts across 14.2 career postseason innings.
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Zack Wheeler SP | PHI
Phillies' Zack Wheeler: Fans eight to earn win
Wheeler allowed one run on five hits across 6.2 innings to secure the win in Tuesday's 4-1 victory over the Marlins in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. He struck out eight.
Wheeler was dominant in this outing, as he made quick work of the Marlins lineup, racking up 18 whiffs in the process. His sole mistake was allowing an RBI single to Bryan De La Cruz in the seventh inning that was set up by a defensive miscue when Wheeler forgot to cover first base. The right-hander thrives under pressure, as he now has a mint 2.55 ERA and 0.73 WHIP with 41 strikeouts across 42.1 career postseason innings.
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Freddy Peralta SP | TB
Brewers' Freddy Peralta: Officially starting Game 2
Peralta will start Game 2 of the Brewers' NL Wild Card Series matchup against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
With Brandon Woodruff nursing a shoulder injury and out indefinitely, Peralta will be bumped up to start Wednesday. Peralta put up a 3.38 ERA and 0.83 WHIP through 26.2 innings across his final five starts of the regular season, though he surrendered four runs in just three frames during his most recent outing.
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Pablo Lopez SP | MIN
Twins' Pablo Lopez: Claims first postseason win
Lopez earned the win in Tuesday's 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, allowing one run on five hits and two walks across 5.2 innings. He struck out three.
Lopez had a solid outing in his second career postseason start, mainly relying upon the defense behind him to take care of a bevy of outs on contact. Things began to break down a bit for the right-hander in the sixth inning after he allowed an RBI single to Kevin Kiermaier, but he was pulled with the lead intact. He had a 3.68 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 38 strikeouts across 29.1 innings in September heading into the contest.
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Kevin Gausman SP | CHC
Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Allows three runs in loss
Gausman took the loss after giving up three runs on three hits and three walks across five innings in Tuesday's 3-1 defeat against the Twins in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. He struck out five.
Gausman entered the postseason with a 2.43 ERA across 29.2 innings in September, but he was unable to keep it rolling in Tuesday's loss. His weak spot proved to be Royce Lewis, to whom Gausman conceded two home runs in the first and third innings. The team ultimately decided to hand things over to the bullpen after only 73 pitches, which may leave the right-hander available if needed to cover a few outs later in the series. Gausman now has a 4.91 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 25.2 career postseason innings with 30 strikeouts.
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Tyler Glasnow SP | LAD
Rays' Tyler Glasnow: Strikes out eight in losing effort
Glasnow took the loss in Tuesday's 4-0 defeat against the Rangers in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and five walks across five innings. He struck out eight.
Glasnow had his ups and downs in his 10th career postseason start, and he ultimately struggled to keep runs off the board. The blame cannot be placed solely on the right-hander, however, as the team also committed three errors behind him. While the 16 whiffs Glasnow compiled in the contest speak to some level of dominance against the Rangers lineup, he also struggled with his command, most notably throwing a wild pitch in the fifth inning that allowed Corey Seager to score. He now has a 5.72 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with 61 strikeouts across 45.2 postseason innings in his career.
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Jordan Montgomery RP | TEX
Rangers' Jordan Montgomery: Fans five to earn win
Montgomery allowed six hits across seven scoreless innings to pick up the win in Tuesday's 4-0 victory over the Rays in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. He struck out five.
Coming off a season where he mustered a career-best 3.20 ERA across 188.2 innings, Montgomery carried that momentum with him into the postseason. The southpaw looked sharp in the contest, picking apart the Rays lineup to earn the first postseason win of his career. Tuesday's outing marked the fifth quality start in a row for Montgomery dating back to the regular season, and the fourth time in that sample in which he logged seven innings.
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Max Scherzer SP | TOR
Rangers' Max Scherzer: Not included on wild-card roster
Scherzer (shoulder) isn't included on the Rangers' roster for their AL Wild Card Series versus the Rays that begins Tuesday.
Scherzer's absence doesn't come as a surprise, considering he recently had to pause his throwing program after not feeling as well as he had hoped during a light bullpen session. Working his way back from a teres major muscle strain in his right shoulder, Scherzer still hopes to be available at some point during the playoffs. It's not a guarantee that it will happen, however, and it might require the Rangers to make a deep postseason run.
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Chris Bassitt SP | BAL
Blue Jays' Chris Bassitt: Not a lock to start Game 3
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Tuesday that while Bassitt is probably the leading candidate to start a potential Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series, he's not locked in, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Kevin Gausman will take the hill for Game 1 on Tuesday, while Jose Berrios gets the ball for Wednesday's Game 2. While Bassitt represents the logical choice to start Game 3, Schneider didn't rule out using the righty in relief in the first two games or perhaps taking a different approach to Game 3. Bassitt comes into the playoffs riding high, having struck out 12 over 7.2 scoreless frames in his final regular season start.
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Alex Cobb SP | DET
Giants' Alex Cobb: Getting second opinion on hip
Cobb will get a second opinion on his troublesome left hip in the coming weeks, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Cobb battled hip discomfort throughout the second half and finished the regular season on the 15-day injured list with what was diagnosed as a left hip impingement. He's trying the rest-and-rehab route at the moment but will seek out other possible treatment options. San Francisco holds a $10 million club option (or $2 million buyout) on the 35-year-old right-hander for the 2024 campaign.