#STATEtoTheShow Update - MLB Postseason Preview

by Austin Coats, Student Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Three of the seven former Mississippi State baseball players that finished the 2018 Major League Baseball regular season on active rosters will play in the MLB Postseason.

Mitch Moreland, Jonathan Holder and Brandon Woodruff will all have a chance to play on baseball's biggest stage as their teams look to be crowned World Series Champion.

The MLB Postseason begins Tuesday, October 2, with the National League Wild Card Game between the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago Cubs. The winner will face off against former Bulldog Brandon Woodruff in the National League Division Series, set to begin Thursday, October 4. Game one of the series is scheduled for a 4:07 CT first pitch on FS1.

Jonathan Holder and the New York Yankees will host the Oakland Athletics in the win-or-go-home American League Wild Card Game on Wednesday, October 3 for a chance to play Mitch Moreland and the Boston Red Sox in the America League Division Series. The Wild Card Game is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. CT and will be televised on TBS.

Every MLB Postseason game will be televised on one of five stations: ESPN, FOX, FS1, TBS or MLBNetwork.

A first-time All-Star in 2018, Mitch Moreland helped lead the Red Sox to a 108-54 record and best record in the MLB. The first baseman batted .245 with 23 doubles, 15 home runs and 68 RBIs over 124 games during the regular season. Moreland has played in 19 postseason games, eight of which came between two World Series appearances, while Holder and Woodruff will each make their postseason debuts.

Despite coming in second in the AL East behind Boston, the New York Yankees also won 100 games (100-62), due in large part to their dominant bullpen. Holder was a key piece to the Yankee pen, making 60 appearances while posting a 3.14 earned run average.

In a three-month span from April 21 (recall to MLB) through July 21, Holder had the lowest ERA (0.47) of any pitcher in MLB. Holder also pitched the second-longest streak of MLB games without an earned run allowed (minimum three batters face), lasting 23 games - one game better than Mariano Rivera's 22-game streak in 2005. In that span from April 21 through June 29, Holder pitched 27.1 innings and struck out 26 of the 97 batters he faced.

Woodruff was also a significant part of a top five bullpen as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, who clinched the NL Central with a 95-67 record and a tiebreaker win over the Chicago Cubs on Monday (Oct. 1). Woodruff owned a 3-0 record while maintaining a 3.61 ERA and striking out 47 batters over 42.1 innings pitched in 19 games (four starts).

On Sunday, the 2018 MLB season came to a close for four former Bulldogs.

Dakota Hudson and the St. Louis Cardinals finished 2.5 games shy of claiming a wild card spot. Hudson made his MLB debut on July 28 as the 60th former Diamond Dawg to reach MLB. In a perfect inning of relief against the Cubs, Hudson struck out two batters and force a ground out.

The former first-round draft pick continued to pitch well for the remainder of the 2018 campaign, and finished his season 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA over 27.1 innings pitched. He did not allow an earned run in his first six appearances.

In his second full season in the big leagues, Hunter Renfroe tied his career-high and the led the San Diego Padres with 26 home runs and set a new career high with 68 RBIs, the second-best mark on the team. Over 117 games, the outfield slugger batted .248.

Adam Frazier concluded his third season in MLB on a hot streak. Since being recall to the majors on July 25 (55 games), Frazier batted .306 with 20 doubles, seven homers and 27 RBIs. The Pittsburgh Pirates infielder batted a cool .277 for the season.

Chris Stratton started 26 of his 28 games for the San Francisco Giants, and won 10 of those contests. On September 14, Stratton threw his first complete game, a two-hit shutout of the playoff-bound Colorado Rockies.

#STATEtoTheShow MLB Wild Card/Division Series Schedule:

AL Wild Card Game
Wednesday, October 3 - 7:08 p.m. CT - TBS: Oakland Athletics @ New York Yankees (TBS)

AL Division Series
Game One - Friday, October 5 - 7:32 p.m. CT: AL Wild Card Winner @ Boston Red Sox (TBS)
Game Two - Saturday, October 6 - 8:15 p.m. CT: AL Wild Card Winner @ Boston Red Sox (TBS)
Game Three - Monday, October 8 - TBA: Boston Red Sox @ AL Wild Card Winner (TBS)
Game Four (If Necessary) - Tuesday, October 9: Boston Red Sox @ AL Wild Card Winner (TBS)
Game Five (If Necessary) - Thursday, October 11: AL Wild Card Winner @ Boston Red Sox (TBS)

NL Division Series (Games on FS1 or MLBNetwork)
Game One - Thursday, October 4 – 4:07 p.m. CT: NL Wild Card Winner @ Milwaukee Brewers (FS1)
Game Two - Friday, October 5 – 3:15 p.m. CT: NL Wild Card Winner @ Milwaukee Brewers (FS1)
Game Three - Sunday, October 7 – 4:37 p.m. CT: Milwaukee Brewers @ NL Wild Card Winner (MLBN)
Game Four (If Necessary) - Monday, October 8 - FS1: Milwaukee Brewers @ NL Wild Card Winner (FS1)
Game Five (If Necessary) - Wednesday, October 10 - FS1: NL Wild Card Winner @ Milwaukee Brewers (FS1)

Mississippi State University Athletics

#STATEtoTheShow Update - MLB Postseason Preview

Related News

Related Videos