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By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB voice Baseball fans, the trophy is in Milwaukee and the hot stove is officially lit. For the Rangers, the first sparks are not signings. They are goodbyes, and they tell you exactly what kind of winter Texas is planning. The facts All three of the Rangers' mutual options will be bought out, MLB Trade Rumors reported Friday, citing Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News. ESPN's Jesse Rogers first reported that designated hitter Joc Pederson passed on his end of an $18.5 million option, and the Morning News also reported the Pederson option will not be exercised. Catcher Kyle Higashioka gets a $1 million buyout instead of a $7 million salary, and reliever Jakob Junis gets a $1.25 million buyout on a $5 million option, per MLB Trade Rumors. The outlet noted it did not specify which side declined those two, but said it is safe to assume the team passed, and that Texas is clearly working against payroll limitations. Higashioka did ...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB voice Baseball fans, the confetti in Milwaukee is still being swept up, and the calendar already flipped. One day after the Brewers won the first World Series in franchise history, baseball turned into a transaction league. In Arlington, that means the real work starts now. The facts Milwaukee closed out Tampa Bay on Wednesday, and on Thursday 144 players across the majors became free agents, per Sportsnet. Seven are Rangers: Tyler Alexander, Jalen Beeks, Elias Diaz, Nicky Lopez, Jordan Montgomery, Cal Quantrill and Trevor Williams. Sportsnet also reported that the offseason is expected to start fast in November, with owners expected to lock out the players once the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. Texas missed the playoffs for a third straight season, and president of baseball operations Chris Young has talked about "reshuffling their cards," per a Roundtable column on Yahoo Sports. That column lays out three needs...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB voice Baseball fans, it is over. The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history, and they did it without letting the Rays get one more ounce of momentum after that Game 4 walk-off. The facts Milwaukee beat Tampa Bay 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field to win the series 4-1, per the Associated Press and Baseball-Reference. Jacob Misiorowski earned the win and Drew Rasmussen took the loss. Attendance was 40,489. Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, before a right calf cramp forced him out in the sixth, per Sportsnet. MLB.com reported he averaged 101.1 mph on his fastball but did not record a strikeout until the fourth inning, the first time in his career it took that long. He finished the postseason 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA in four starts. Manager Pat Murphy said, "He knew we were going to be the last man standing at some point, whether it was tonight or two da...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB voice Baseball fans, I had the champagne on ice for Milwaukee. So did everybody in that building wearing Brewers blue. Then the bottom of the 12th happened, and now we have a Game 5 tonight. The facts The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, per Baseball-Reference and MLB.com. Milwaukee leads the World Series 3-1 . Game 5 is tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 Central, in St. Petersburg. Brewers rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt hit a solo home run off Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th for a 3-2 lead, per Yahoo Sports. Then it fell apart. Junior Caminero reached on a throwing error by third baseman Joey Ortiz, Liam Hicks singled, and Jonny DeLuca singled in the tying run. Chandler Simpson loaded the bases, and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson bounced what MLB.com called a "Baltimore chop" into right field to win it. Seymour got the win, and Shane Drohan took the loss. The game took 4 hours, 20 m...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB voice Baseball fans, I picked Freddy Peralta to beat his old team on Monday night. I was wrong. The Brewers took apart the man they traded away, scored eight runs in one inning, and are now one win from the first World Series title in franchise history. The facts Milwaukee beat Tampa Bay 10-1 in Game 3 at Tropicana Field and leads the series 3-0, per the Associated Press and USA TODAY. The Brewers scored eight runs in the top of the fifth, all with two outs , and finished with 16 hits. USA TODAY reports they have now held the Rays scoreless for 16 straight innings, and Tampa Bay had just three hits. Robert Gasser got the win with six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk with three strikeouts, per the ESPN box score. Peralta took the loss, giving up five earned runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. Jackson Chourio went 4-for-5 with two doubles. Christian Yelich and William Contreras drove in the first two runs in the third. In th...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice Baseball fans, the script for tonight could not be better if Hollywood wrote it. The Rays are down 2-0 in the World Series, and the man they are handing the ball to pitched eight seasons for the team that is beating them. The facts Game 3 is tonight at Tropicana Field at 7 p.m. Central on FOX, with Milwaukee up 2-0 , per MLB.com. It is the first World Series game at the Trop since Game 2 on Oct. 23, 2008, per CBS Sports. Tampa Bay starts Freddy Peralta, the ALCS MVP and AL Pitcher of the Month for September. MLB.com says he is 7-0 with an 0.89 ERA in his last 10 games since Aug. 26, with a 1.45 ERA in seven starts at the Trop since the deadline. Peralta spent his first eight seasons with the Brewers. Milwaukee traded him to the Mets on Jan. 21, and the Mets flipped him to Tampa Bay at the deadline, per CBS Sports. CBS also notes Peralta faced Milwaukee on July 20 while with the Mets and gave up seven runs in 5 1/3 innings. ...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice Baseball fans, I picked the Rays to tie this series Saturday night, and for about 20 minutes I looked like a genius. Tampa Bay put four on the board in the first inning. Then Milwaukee did what Milwaukee has done all October: it stayed calm, chipped away and took the game. The facts The Brewers beat the Rays 5-4 at American Family Field for a 2-0 World Series lead , per the Associated Press. Tampa Bay scored all four of its runs in the first inning, per the Baseball-Reference box score. Milwaukee got two back in the bottom of the first, one in the fourth, one in the sixth and one in the seventh. Sal Frelick tied the game with his first home run in three months, and rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt hit the go-ahead single in the seventh to make up for an earlier error. The Rays did not score again after the first. Abner Uribe got the win, Tyler Wells took the loss, and Aaron Ashby got a five-out save, giving closer Trevor Megill ...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice Baseball fans, I have covered a lot of games, and I have never seen fireworks go off for a World Series win that had not happened yet. Milwaukee celebrated, Kevin Cash challenged, the stadium went quiet, and then Trevor Megill had to do the whole thing over again. The facts The Brewers beat the Rays 3-2 in Game 1 on Friday night at American Family Field, per the AP. Christian Yelich's RBI triple in the first put Milwaukee ahead for good, and the Brewers led 2-0 after one inning against Nick Martinez. Jackson Chourio singled home Cooper Pratt in the seventh for a 3-1 lead. Chourio and William Contreras each had two hits and an RBI, and Contreras threw out two runners trying to steal. Jacob Misiorowski opened the game with a 103.5 mph fastball, the fastest pitch ever thrown in a World Series , per the AP. He allowed one run and four hits over five innings with a season-low three strikeouts. "The adrenaline kind of took...

By Jake "Star" Whitfield , RF Sports Radio Cowboys voice Cowboys Nation, the first injury report of the week usually puts people to sleep. Not this one. Thursday told us the Dallas secondary is getting healthier, the Philadelphia passing game is getting thinner, and there is one shoulder in the Cowboys' receiver room everybody needs to watch. The facts On Dallas' first practice report for Monday night, receiver George Pickens (shoulder) and left tackle Tyler Guyton (calf) were limited, per DallasCowboys.com. The bigger news was at cornerback: Cobie Durant (hamstring) practiced for the first time since he got hurt in Week 2 against Washington, also limited. DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring) was a full participant, which puts him on track to play. Outside linebacker Marist Liufau had his 21-day practice window opened and was limited as he returns from forearm surgery. Four Cowboys did not practice: Von Miller (veteran rest), tackle Drew Shelton (hamstring), KaVo...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice Baseball fans, one day until the World Series, and the two most interesting questions are about pitchers. Can Milwaukee's ace get deep into a game again? And who on earth is starting for Tampa Bay? The facts Jacob Misiorowski starts Game 1 for the Brewers on Friday at American Family Field. CBS Sports' Mike Axisa laid out his season: he led baseball in ERA (1.80) and strikeouts (252) and is the National League Cy Young favorite. But in two postseason starts he has not finished five innings, throwing 88 pitches in four innings in Game 1 of the NLDS and 94 in 4 1/3 innings in Game 1 of the NLCS. The velocity is not the problem. His fastball has averaged 101.0 mph in the postseason, up from 100.6. But hitters are fouling it off. Per CBS, his swing-and-miss rate on the fastball has dropped from 40.2% in the regular season to 16.1% in the playoffs , while the foul rate jumped from 38.9% to 67.9%. Induced vertical break, th...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice Baseball fans, we are two days from the first pitch of the World Series, and one dugout has already shown its hand. Milwaukee is going with its ace. Tampa Bay is taking its time. That little bit of gamesmanship tells you how both of these clubs got here. The facts The Milwaukee Brewers confirmed Tuesday that right-hander Jacob Misiorowski will start Game 1 of the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, Oct. 23, per Sports Illustrated's Brewers On SI, citing USA Today's Bob Nightengale. Misiorowski, 24, also started Opening Day, the regular-season finale, Game 1 of the NL Division Series against San Diego and Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the Dodgers. In two postseason starts he has a 3.24 ERA with 11 strikeouts and four walks in 8 1/3 innings, per SI. As of Tuesday, the Rays had not announced their Game 1 starter . Drew Rasmussen started Game 1 of both the ALDS and ALCS and pitched Game 5 of...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice Baseball fans, the bracket is done and the Fall Classic is set. Down 2-1 in the ALCS, Tampa Bay won three straight and now gets Milwaukee in a World Series where somebody wins a first championship. The facts The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 on Monday, Oct. 19, in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field to win the series 4-2 , per Baseball-Reference and the AP. Junior Caminero hit a two-run homer off Guardians closer Cade Smith in the seventh inning for a 5-1 lead, and Yandy Diaz added a two-run shot in the eighth. Freddy Peralta allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings and earned the win. Attendance was 40,230. Cleveland went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base, per ESPN. Its best chance came in the eighth, when it loaded the bases with two outs, and Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio on three pitches. After taking a 2-1 series lead, the Guardians lost 7...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice Baseball fans, the National League is settled. Milwaukee just did what almost nobody scripts in October: swept the Dodgers and punched a World Series ticket for the first time since 1982. The facts The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 on Thursday, Oct. 15, in National League Championship Series Game 4 at Dodger Stadium to complete a four-game sweep , per MLB.com and the Associated Press. Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead solo home run in the sixth inning, and the Brewers scored six unanswered runs after trailing early, per MLB.com video and the AP game story. It is Milwaukee's first World Series appearance since 1982 . In the American League Championship Series, the Cleveland Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 3 on Thursday at Progressive Field to take a two-games-to-one series lead. Gavin Williams earned the win (2-0), Griffin Jax took the loss, and Cade Smith recorded his second save of the se...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice Baseball fans, the small-market story is no longer a story. It is a math problem for Los Angeles. Milwaukee walked into Dodger Stadium, took Game 3, and now sits one win from the World Series. The facts The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Wednesday, Oct. 14, to take a three-games-to-none lead in the National League Championship Series , per MLB.com. Jake Bauers hit the go-ahead home run to cap an 11-pitch at-bat, and the Brewers hit three home runs off Blake Snell, who had not allowed a home run all year entering Game 3, per MLB.com. NLCS Game 4 is Thursday, Oct. 15, at 8 p.m. Eastern / 7 p.m. Central on FS1 at Dodger Stadium, moved from the original 9 p.m. Eastern slot. Tyler Glasnow is the probable starter for Los Angeles. In the American League Championship Series, the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians are tied 1-1 after the Rays won 3-1 on Tuesday. ALCS Game 3 was moved up to 1 p.m. Eastern / ...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice Baseball fans, small-market October just got louder. Milwaukee still owns the NLCS. Tampa Bay just punched Cleveland square in the mouth. And tonight the Dodgers have to answer in their own building. The facts The Milwaukee Brewers lead the Los Angeles Dodgers two games to none in the National League Championship Series. Game 3 is Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 8 p.m. Eastern / 7 p.m. Central at Dodger Stadium on FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX One, per MLB.com's postseason schedule. Left-hander Robert Gasser is lined up for Milwaukee; left-hander Blake Snell is the expected starter for Los Angeles. MLB.com's Game 3 notes also carried the travel-day conversation about Shohei Ohtani's postseason struggles and whether Los Angeles would consider a lineup tweak; coverage heading into Wednesday still projected Ohtani in the order. In the American League Championship Series, the Tampa Bay Rays evened the series at one game apiece wi...

By Hank Dalton , RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice Baseball fans, the big payrolls are on the ropes, and Tuesday night's ALCS Game 2 is the next stress test. The facts In the NLCS, the Milwaukee Brewers lead the Los Angeles Dodgers two games to none . Milwaukee won Game 1, 2-1, then took Game 2 on Monday, 7-4. William Contreras had a tying home run and the go-ahead swing in the series narrative, and the Brewers' bullpen retired the last 15 Dodgers hitters in Game 2, per AP coverage of the NLCS. Game 3 is Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. Central on FS1 in Los Angeles. In the ALCS, the Cleveland Guardians lead the Tampa Bay Rays one game to none after a 7-3 win Monday. Game 2 is tonight in Tampa Bay at 7 p.m. Central on TBS, truTV and HBO Max, per MLB's postseason schedule. The World Series is scheduled to start Friday, Oct. 23. Payroll context still hangs over both series: Los Angeles sits near a $339 million payroll while Milwaukee, Tampa Bay and Cleveland operate w...

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