Today's Action: Thursday, October 15 — Dodgers on the Brink, ALCS Swing Game + Champs Visit Mile High
Thursday in October doesn't get much better than this. Both League Championship Series are in action, the two-time defending champion Dodgers are one loss from going home, and the reigning Super Bowl champs walk into Mile High for Thursday Night Football. It starts with a rain-adjusted 1 PM first pitch in Cleveland and doesn't stop until the last snap in Denver. Plan your afternoon accordingly.
Today's Top Matchups
MLB | Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Guardians (ALCS Game 3) — 1:00 PM ET (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)
Originally set for 6 PM, MLB moved this one up to beat a bad Thursday-night forecast in Cleveland. The series is tied 1-1: Cleveland came from behind to take Game 1, 7-3, and then Freddy Peralta shut the Guardians down in a 3-1 Rays win in Game 2. Now it shifts to Progressive Field, where the crowd carried Cleveland through its ALDS comeback against the White Sox. Gavin Williams is in line to start for the Guardians. He has a 1.54 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 11.2 ALDS innings, including a franchise-record-tying 12 Ks on one day's rest to close out Chicago. Tampa Bay counters with Griffin Jax, who has allowed two runs over his last 20 innings and owns a 2.19 ERA in 13 career relief outings at Progressive Field.
The Edge: Cleveland is better positioned. Williams has been lights-out this October, the Guardians' bullpen is fully rested, and Jax has thrown just two innings since late September. But don't sleep on the Rays if they're ahead late: they're 89-0 this year when leading after eight innings.
MLB | Milwaukee Brewers vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (NLCS Game 4) — 8:00 PM ET (FS1)
This is the game of the day. The Brewers have outplayed the Dodgers all series, and Wednesday at Dodger Stadium was more of the same. Jackson Chourio hit Blake Snell's first pitch of the game for a home run, Jake Bauers broke it open with a two-run shot in the seventh, Garrett Mitchell went deep right behind him, and Trevor Megill got the last four outs. Milwaukee won 6-2 and leads the series 3-0. Tyler Glasnow gets the ball for Los Angeles with the season on the line. Milwaukee hadn't named a starter as of Wednesday night, and Pat Murphy has floated Dustin May. The Dodgers' lineup, Shohei Ohtani included, has gone quiet at the worst possible time.
The Edge: The numbers favor Milwaukee. It has the deeper bullpen, the hotter lineup and all the momentum. Still, only one team in MLB history has come back from 0-3, and this Dodgers roster has been in tight spots before. If Glasnow gets through six, Los Angeles can at least send this series back to Milwaukee.
NFL | Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos — 8:15 PM ET (Prime Video)
The defending Super Bowl champs and the Broncos are both 3-2, and the winner leaves Week 6 with real momentum heading into the middle of the season. Seattle's run game is in rough shape: Zach Charbonnet is out and rookie Jadarian Price is on IR, so Sam Darnold will have to carry the offense through the air. That's not a bad plan, because Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 583 receiving yards and seven touchdowns and has been cleared to play through an ankle issue. Denver's secondary is banged up. Patrick Surtain II and Talanoa Hufanga are both out, and Riley Moss is questionable with a rib injury on a short week. The Broncos beat the Chargers 23-17 last week, but they managed just 224 yards doing it.
The Edge: Seattle has the better setup. With Surtain out, Denver has no answer for JSN, and the Broncos' offense hasn't shown it can win a shootout. The crowd at altitude keeps it close, but the smart money looks toward Seattle.
The FadeThePublic Gear Call
On a day with both LCS games, an afternoon first pitch and a possible Dodgers elimination, baseball is the main event. If you're keeping score at the bar this afternoon or watching to see if Glasnow can keep L.A. alive, you'll want a hat that reads like a scorecard. Our Backwards K Baseball Snapback Hat is a nod to the strikeout looking, the best pitch of October. Fans who know the box score will get it right away.
One swing game, one elimination game and one champion on the road: get the scorecard ready, because Thursday doesn't come with a slow inning.
