The Buzz — Sunday, October 18

Junior Caminero

The take Caminero redeems Ks via hard RBI double near-HR to even ALCS

Four strikeouts in Game 3 — only the second four-strikeout game of his career — would have buried a lesser young hitter. Instead Caminero came back in Game 4 and hit a ball 110.7 mph at 29 degrees that traveled 410 feet and was caught at the wall. That batted ball was the 265th Statcast has tracked at 110 mph with a 28-to-30-degree launch angle. The other 264 were home runs.

He was not done. A 110.2 mph line drive into the left-field corner drove in the run that put the Rays ahead 2-1 in a 7-3 win that evened the series. The redemption was not symbolic — it was the contact that changed the game.

Junior Caminero cards on eBay →(paid link)

Parker Messick

The take Messick named Guardians ALCS Game 5 starter after loss

Stephen Vogt is handing the rookie left-hander Sunday's Game 5 on normal rest, and the number that earned him the ball is 2.56 — his regular-season ERA across 32 starts, with 193 strikeouts in 186 1/3 innings. In Game 2, all three runs against him were unearned, and his 3.09 postseason ERA is inflated by what the defense let in. A loss Sunday sends Cleveland to Tampa needing two straight, and the rookie who gave them 2.56 all summer is the right arm to trust with that margin.

Parker Messick cards on eBay →(paid link)

Shohei Ohtani

The take Ohtani playoff slump, long HR drought, jersey record, 2027 pitch plans

The .192/.323/.308 line across 26 at-bats this October is the story, and the timeline confirms it. Ohtani's first extra-base hit of the playoffs was a three-run home run in NLCS Game 4 on October 15 — his first since August 18, ending a career-long 25-game drought and a 115-plate-appearance streak without one. The Dodgers lost 6-4 and were swept, and the homer arrived after the series was already lost.

That drought carried through an IL stint and into October, which means the crowd reading it as more than a slump has the timeline on its side. He last pitched July 3, sidelined by left knee and right biceps issues, and after the sweep he said he 'definitely' plans to pitch in 2027. That is a statement of ambition, and whether his knee and biceps cooperate is a question the offseason will answer.

Meanwhile, his game-used jersey from Japan's WBC win over Chinese Taipei sold for $1,500,010, the highest ever for an Ohtani jersey at auction. The market has not noticed the slump. The arm and the bat are what need attention, and the Dodgers' offseason begins with both uncertain.

Shohei Ohtani cards on eBay →(paid link)

Aaron Ashby

The take Ashby postseason hero after scoreless pennant clincher

Aaron Ashby closed out the Brewers' first National League pennant since 1982 by recording a three-inning save — nine outs to finish a 6-4 Game 4 win that swept the Dodgers and sent Milwaukee to its first World Series in 44 years.

The clincher was the capstone on a month of zeroes. Ashby has thrown 12 1/3 scoreless innings across six postseason appearances, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out 11. He posted a five-out save in Game 2 and the three-inning clincher in Game 4, joining Bumgarner in 2014 and McCullers Jr. in 2017 among pitchers with a three-plus-inning save in a postseason series clincher. A starter turned multi-inning weapon is now the arm Milwaukee trusts most when the season is on the line.

Aaron Ashby cards on eBay →(paid link)