The Opener: ALDS, Brewers, Offseason Outlook

On the heels of a wild win by the Braves and a crushing defeat for the Dodgers in last night’s NLDS games, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. ALDS heads to Minnesota, Arlington:

Game 3 of the ALDS is scheduled today for both the Astros’ series against the Twins and the Orioles’ series against the Rangers. Baltimore is fighting for their playoff lives today in Arlington after the Rangers took the first two games of the series at Camden Yards. The Orioles figure to send right-hander Dean Kremer (4.12 ERA) to the mound while the Rangers counter with veteran hurler Nathan Eovaldi (3.63 ERA). While plenty of playoff games were played at Arlington’s Globe Life Field during the pandemic, including the 2020 World Series, tonight’s game will be the Rangers’ first ever postseason game at their new stadium. Baltimore’s last stand will begin at 7:03pm CT.

Meanwhile, the Astros and Twins head to Target Field in Minnesota after splitting two games in Houston. Houston will send right-hander Cristian Javier (4.56 ERA) to the mound opposite the veteran Sonny Gray (2.79 ERA). The matchup is sure to be an exciting one; Gray, of course, leads the majors with a sterling 2.83 FIP and is one of the top candidates for the AL Cy Young award this year. Javier, on the other hand, has had a difficult season on the mound but made history during his last postseason outing. He threw six shutout innings against the Phillies during Game 4 of the World Series last year, leading the Houston pitching staff to a combined no-hitter for just the third postseason no-no in baseball history. The teams will play at 3:07pm CT.

2. Brewers to hold press conference:

The Brewers saw their season cut short last week when the club was swept out of the Wild Card Series in Milwaukee at the hands of the Diamondbacks. With the end of the club’s season comes an end-of-season press conference, and Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays that Brewers GM Matt Arnold will hold the presser today at 11:30am CT. Plenty of questions face the Brewers this offseason, with co-aces Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff as well as shortstop Willy Adames all set to go through arbitration for the final time and manager Craig Counsell’s contract set to expire at the end of the month. A transitional year could be in the cards for Milwaukee in 2024, despite the club winning 92 games in 2023 en route to their third division title and fifth postseason appearance in the last six years.

3. Offseason Outlook Chat today:

As the postseason continues for the eight teams fortunate enough to have made it this far, our annual Offseason Outlook series is back to take a look ahead at what’s in store for all 30 clubs this winter. Last night, MLBTR published the Angels installment of the 2023-24 series, which you can read here. If you have any questions regarding what the future might hold in Anaheim, including those about the future of a certain two-way superstar poised to hit free agency next month, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco will be hosting an Angels-centric live chat at 2:00pm CT this afternoon. You can click here to leave a question in advance, and that same link will allow you to participate live or read the transcript of the chat after it’s completed.