Rockies @ Phillies Game 1- 2:37 p.m. TBS- Colorado may have gone 20-11 since September started to claim the NL Wild Card, but they lost four of six to the NL East champion Phillies this season. The two teams open the postseason at Citizens Bank Park today, where the Phils won two of three in the beginning of August. Young Ubaldo Jimenez (15-12, 3.47, 1.22) will be the game one starter for Colorado, and he struck out 198 during the regular season which could be key against an extremely potent Philadelphia lineup. Jimenez went 2-1 in the 2007 Rocktober including a win in their Division Series sweep of these Phillies. Jimenez has an 8.10 ERA in two career regular season starts at the Citizen, and had a 4.17 ERA in September after an incredibly strong August. He’ll go against the Phillies’ big in-season acquisition Cliff Lee (combined 14-13, 3.22, 1.24) who also had a dominant August to the tune of 4-1, 1.80. That includes a win over Colorado where he allowed one run in seven innings while striking out nine. Ryan Howard had 46 homers and 141 RBI’s in the regular season, and Todd Helton was fourth in the NL in batting with a .325 average, and both will look to be the dominant hitter in this series. If it gets down to a battle of the bullpens, Colorado has a clear advantage. First pitch is set for 2:37 p.m. in Philadelphia.
Twins @ Yankees Game 1- 6:07 p.m. TBS- Less than 24 hours after a dramatic 12-inning win over Detroit to capture the American League Central, the Minnesota Twins will be riding high as they go to Yankee Stadium to play the American League East champions from New York, who won 103 games and finished with the best regular season record in baseball. Needing to get to this point, the Twins used their best starting pitchers, leaving 26-year-old rookie Brian Duensing to get the ball for this important game one. Duensing was 5-2, 3.64, 1.37 in 24 games (nine starts) this season, and allowed four runs in 2 2/3 in a July 7 loss to New York at the Metrodome. His team has won 17 of 21 and is hot, led by probable AL MVP Joe Mauer, who batted a mind-boggling .365 this season which is an all-time record for catchers. Joe Nathan was second in the AL in saves this season with 47 but may not be available this evening after working Tuesday night’s game. One bigtime player not available will be Justin Morneau, who is out for the season with back spasms. The Yankees will counter with CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37, 1.15) who won his only start this year against the Twins, but comes with an abysmal postseason record. In five postseason starts, Sabathia is 2-3 with a 7.92 ERA including a horrid performance in Milwaukee’s division series loss to Philadelphia last season. New York counters on offense with Mark Teixeira, who tied for the AL lead in homers with 39 and paced the league in RBI’s with 122. Game one commences at 6:07 p.m. in The Bronx.
Cardinals @ Dodgers Game 1- 9:37 p.m. TBS- After running away with the NL Central Title, St. Louis will send ace and NL Cy Young award frontrunner Chris Carpenter (17-4, 2.24, 1.01) to the hill against the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who finished with the best record in the NL. Carpenter is 2-0 against LA this season with a 1.80 ERA in two starts, including an eight inning, two run preformance in Chavez Ravine on August 17. He’s 9-2 on the road this season and will look to continue his dominating season. Carpenter is 5-1 lifetime in the postseason with a 2.53 ERA in eight starts, his last coming in the 2006 World Series. Albert Pujols (.327, 47, 135) leads St. Louis in hitting and the NL in home runs, and closer Ryan Franklin was third in the NL in saves with 38. The durable and reliable lefty Randy Wolf (11-7, 3.23, 1.10) takes the ball for the Dodgers in game one. Wolf was only 4-3 in 18 home starts this season, including a tough luck loss to the Cards on July 27, when he allowed two runs in six innings in defeat. This will be Wolf’s first postseason start. Los Angeles led the majors in team ERA this season, and they’ll look to best Carpenter and St. Louis in game one starting at 9:37 p.m.