Sebastian Elizalde and Culiacan got the Mexican Winter League season started on Wednesday night. The league kicked things off the night before with one game, but everyone played last night. For Elizalde, the Cincinnati Reds 25-year-old prospect, he wasted no time in getting his bat going.
In the first inning, batting third in the lineup, Sebastian Elizalde singled up the middle. He would later score. He would line out in his second at-bat. In the bottom of the 5th inning Elizalde would come up with one out and the bases empty. The lefty took the first pitch for a strike, but planted the second pitch of the at-bat in the right field bleachers. He would strike out in his final at bat.
Blake Trahan was the only Cincinnati Reds prospect that played on Wednesday in the Arizona Fall League. It was just the second game of the season for Scottsdale. The 24-year-old got the start at shortstop and was batting 8th in the lineup. He had a good day at the plate, going 1-3 with a walk and an RBI. Through two games none of the four Cincinnati Reds pitchers have made it into a game, and catcher Chad Tromp has also yet to play.
Playoff baseball is the best
Last night saw former Red Didi Gregorius play a huge role in sending the New York Yankees to the American League Championship Series. He smacked two home runs in the game and drove in three runs. It was his 3rd home run of the playoffs. He homered and drove in three runs in the Yankees win over the Minnesota Twins, too. It’s been a coming out party for Gregorius in 2017. He hit 25 home runs in the regular season and wound up being the 6th most valuable shortstop in the league.
In the National League Stephen Strasburg put the Nationals on his back and dominated the Cubs. He struck out 12 batters over 7.0 shutout innings. He got some help from Michael Taylor, who smashed a grand slam in the 8th inning into the rain and wind at Wrigley. Statcast measured the baseball at 393 feet, which is based on the launch angle and exit velocity and not the spot where the ball lands. Where the home run landed was to the left of a 368 sign on the wall. Nothing was traveling in the air last night, but the grand slam barely made it to the basket in right-center. It turned a 1-0 game into a 5-0 game and essentially sealed the win. That means we get Game 5 tonight.