Postseason Gamethread: Astros at Yankees (ALCS Game 3), Padres at Phillies (NLCS Game 4)

The playoffs continue today, with the Yankees returning to the Bronx for Game 3 of the ALCS and the Phillies continuing their homestand for Game 4 of the NLCS.

The day will start with Gerrit Cole taking the mound for third start of the postseason. Cole was 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in two starts against the Cleveland Guardians. Over 13 ¹⁄₃ innings of work, the veteran righthander has struck out 16 batters and walked just two. While the Yankees look to Cole for another strong outing, they will also need their offense to pick up some steam. The New York ball club has recorded just nine hits and four runs in their last two games.

The Astros will send Cristian Javier to face off against Cole this afternoon. It has been 11 days since Javier has seen game action, and this is the young righthander’s first career postseason start. Javier came into Game 1 of the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners back on October 11 and worked 1 ¹⁄₃ innings, giving up a solo home run and striking out two. The Astros have been flashing power all postseason, with home runs from power hitters like Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Yuir Gurriel, and Jeremy Pena. Jose Altuve, who is 0-for-23, will be looking for his first hit of the 2022 postseason this afternoon.

First pitch in New York is at 4:07 p.m. CT. The game is being aired on TBS.

Over in Philadelphia, the Phillies are looking to turn Sunday’s matchup into an impossible hole for the Padres to crawl out of. The Phillies are sending lefthander Bailey Falter to the mound. This is the first time in his young career pitching in the postseason, after appearing in 20 games in the regular season and starting in 16 of those. Overall, Falter went 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA. The Philadelphia ball club is hoping the bats stay hot behind Falter. Kyle Schwarber already has two home runs in this series, while sluggers Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins have one homer apiece.

San Diego, on the other hand, is looking to even the series up, sending Mike Clevinger to the mound. Clevinger last pitched in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The righthander pitched 2 ²⁄₃ innings and gave up four runs before Bob Melvin pulled him from that game. This will be Clevinger’s first game action in 11 days. San Diego is looking to get their bats going against a strong Phillies pitching staff.

This game gets underway at 6:45 p.m. CT on Fox.