Reliving The Playoffs

David Rainey • November 9, 2022

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The Houston Astros. Congrats! No trash cans or buzzers needed this time around for them to bring another World Series home to Houston. All joking aside, we may have just witnessed the birth of a dynasty in baseball. The Astros earned a trip to the World Series for the fourth time in six years and won their second championship. Of course, we all know the asterisk that is next to their 2017 run, but they did win, nonetheless. Still, four World Series appearances in six years is one hell of an accomplishment. The scary part for the rest of the league is that I’m not sure it’s going to come to an end any time soon. With young stars like Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez, I think this Astros train keeps on rolling.

Side note, congrats to the Phillies as well! No one, outside of the city of Philly, expected them to make this run, but they gave the Astros all they could handle. They gave us some incredible playoff moments as well, and that’s what this article is about. Moments.

The World Series is great, of course. But baseball does such an incredible job of providing us with pictures, videos, and moments we’ll remember forever. So, what I’m going to do is give you my five favorite moments from the 2022 MLB Playoffs. Now, this isn’t going to be influenced or in line with a lot of the national media’s thoughts, because I believe I have a unique view on baseball. But I’ll give my reasoning behind each moment, so that you can get a feel for where I’m coming from. Without further ado, here they are. My top 5 moments from the 2022 MLB Playoffs!

5. The Astros (combined) No-No

A hot take right from the jump? Yup. You got that right. I’ll be honest. This moment BARELY cracked my top 5, but to leave it out would have been a bit outrageous. Most people would probably have this towards the top of their list, but I don’t have the love for a combined no-hitter that most people do.

Some contexts for what happened in case you missed it. Astros starting pitcher Christian Javier got things started with a wonderful six hitless innings in game four of the World Series. Then, after 97 pitches, he was relieved in the 7^th inning by Bryan Abreau. Abreau was then relieved in the 8^th by Rafael Montero. Ryan Pressly then came in to close things out in the 9^th. Combined, the four pitchers didn’t allow a hit to the Phillies who had five home runs just one game earlier. This was only the second time in history that a no-hitter was thrown in the World Series. The reason it barely comes in at number 5 for me is the fact that it was a combined no-hitter. Complete games by pitchers are becoming a thing of the past in baseball unless that pitcher is Sandy Alcantara. Combined no-hitters are the new thing in baseball that people celebrate, and while they are still wildly impressive, they don’t hold a candle to complete game no hitters. To sum up my thoughts on why I believe that is, I’ll say this: it is harder for a lineup to get hits when they are facing different pitchers with fresh arms versus facing the same worn-down pitcher over nine innings.

However, with that being said, this was still an unforgettable moment, and that’s why it’s leading off my top five moments!

4. Cardinals Collapse

While this moment was truly unbelievable in so many ways, it brought me personal pain. I may or may not have been pulling for a Cardinals win to add a little bit of weight to my wallet. But I digress. Looking past my misfortunes, I can concede that this moment was one for the history books and one that I’ll always remember where I was. Although, that could be because I was watching the game while driving (allegedly). Anyways.

What the Hell happened here? The answer? I have no idea. In the National League Wild Card series, the St. Louis Cardinals had a 2-run lead going into the 9^th inning. The Cardinals, when leading 2-0 in the 9^th inning in the postseason, were 93-0 in the team’s history, so a game one victory and series lead was all but certain. Until it wasn’t.

Cardinals All-Star closer Ryan Helsley absolutely collapsed in the 9^th inning. That’s putting it nicely. He gave up a single to start the inning. Then continued to walk the bases loaded. The Cardinals proceeded to inexplicably leave him in the game. Then Helsley hit the 4^th batter in the lineup to walk in a run and make it a one run game. Then he gets pulled from the game just for his relief to give up a single that drove in the go ahead run for the Phillies. It was all downhill from there. The Phillies forced the Cardinals fans to start to beat traffic as they poured on 6 total runs in the 9^th. While that was only game one, the series felt like a wrap from that moment on, and it was the beginning of the run for the Phillies.

3. Seattle Mariners: Comeback Kids

Holy S***! I’ve seen a lot of comebacks in baseball. But I’m not certain I’ve ever seen one like this. The Mariners were starting to feel like a team of destiny towards the end of the season propelled by young superstar Julio Rodriguez. They even stole game one of the American League Wild Card Series furthering the feeling that destiny may become reality. However, those feelings were tamed with the Mariners down 8-1 to the Blue Jays after five innings in game 2. Maybe the magic had finally run out. Then the 6^th inning happened.

The seal started to leak, and the magic started to trickle back in. The Mariners loaded the bases in the 6^th inning and scored a run off of a wild pitch and three more off a homer from Carlos Santana! HOPE. The Blue Jays gave the team of destiny hope. You never want to give the team of destiny hope.

On to the 7^th inning. The Blue Jays add on another run making it a 9-5 ball game. SURELY, the extra insurance run would be enough for them to hold on and make it to game three. Then the seal busted, and playoff magic filled the Toronto air, but not for the home team.

In the 8^th inning the Blue Jays came unglued. The Mariners tied the game on a popup to center that caused a nasty collision between George Springer and Bo Bichette. Destiny works in some crazy ways. A double for the Mariners in the top of the 9^th would seal the 2^nd largest comeback in playoff history for the Mariners and advance them on to the ALDS. Their magical run would come to an end as they ran into the eventual World Series Champions, but it was still a run for the ages. The Mariners and the J-Rod Show will be back in the postseason.

2. JT Realmuto’s Inside the Park Homer

Ever seen a catcher hit an inside the park home run before? Yeah, me neither. But that’s exactly what happened in game four of the NLDS between the Braves and Phillies. Inside the park home runs aren’t exactly commonplace in baseball, and inside the park home runs by catchers simply do not happen. However, JT Realmuto, arguably the best catcher in Major League Baseball, changed that when he hit a long bomb to center field in game four.

The ball went just over the Braves center fielder as he crashed into the wall. The ball then took a wonderful bounce off the wall in Realmuto’s favor, and he was off to the races. Just like that, we have the first ever inside the park home run by a catcher in postseason history. The Phillies would go on to win that game and advance to the NLCS.

1. Bryce Harper has His Moment

Sometimes a moment is so special that it gives you goosebumps. Sometimes a moment is so special that silence is the perfect response.

Let’s paint the scene. It’s a cold October night in the City of Brotherly Love. The Phillies are one win away from a trip to the World Series. It’s the bottom of the 8^th inning, and they are down 3-2 to the Padres. Bryce Harper steps up to the plate only two innings away from having to fly back across the country to California for game six. A few pitches go by, and Harper has worked into a 2-2 count.

A quick back story of how we got here with Harper. Bryce Harper was on the cover of Sports Illustrate at age 15 and was expected to be the next phenom in baseball. He was with the Nationals, and while he had an incredible career with them, he never had that MOMENT we expected him to have since he was on that cover. He left the Nationals for Philly. The Nationals won a World Series the next year without him. People started to question Bryce’s legacy. Is he really what we thought he was? Was the hype real?

Back to the 2-2 count. Now 30 years old on his second team, this was the chance for Bryce to become a legend. Legends are made in moments like this, and superstars are built for these moments. On the next pitch, Harper launched a hanging sinker over the left field wall to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead and ultimately send them to the World Series.

The Phillies may not have won the World Series, but Bryce Harper made himself a legend in the city of Philadelphia. Not only did he send them to the World Series with that home run, but he was also remarkable throughout the playoffs and showed up every time he was needed. Bryce Harper was built for October.

Well folks, that’ll do it. Those were my favorite moments from the 2022 playoffs. There were so many more that I couldn’t list, and if you missed out on any of the games, I suggest you go back and look them up. The World Series was a great series between two great teams, but the best moments of the playoffs came in the games prior. I love baseball for many reasons but none more than for the moments it provides! I hope you enjoyed reliving these moments with me. Until next year!

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Late Rally Sparks Another Tiger Comeback Over Vols

By David Billiot Jr • April 4, 2026

Friday Evening Recap For the third consecutive game, the LSU Tigers decided to be the Cardiac Cats. That’s nothing new for an LSU baseball team, but considering the struggles of this team in 2026, the mid-game deficits have seemed scarier than normal. Tennessee’s new Friday night ace Landon Mack was phenomenal and he had the Tiger offense in a pretzel. Through 7 innings, he struck out 10 and was mowing LSU hitters down. They only mustered together 3 hits, one of which was a Jake Brown solo homerun, representing the only damage Mack allowed. He finished his outing by retiring 14 straight hitters, which makes Josh Elander’s decision to not send him back out in the 8th inning with 96 pitches that much more confusing. He was showing no signs of slowing down. Hindsight is 20/20, though, and the Tigers went full-on attack mode with the Volunteer bullpen. A 5-run 8th inning flipped the game on it’s head and LSU never looked back. Coming off of his strange outing vs Kentucky, Casan Evans was pretty good from the very beginning. It was two pitches and two swings that resulted in the only damage that he sustained. Both were mistake pitches that were left in hittable spots and Tennessee hitters deserve credit for taking advantage of them. Aside from that, Evans was very good, despite not making it through the 6th inning. There was some shakiness in the 7th from the bullpen, but Santiago Garcia ended up receiving the win to bring his record to 1-0. Deven Sheerin’s second save of the season closed out a massive victory on the road in Knoxville, as the Tigers took game 1 by a final score of 7-5. Pitching Casan Evans got off to a great start in the 1st. Despite a 2-out single to the open part of the field due to the shift, he struck out two for a pretty easy inning. A leadoff single in the 2nd was quickly erased by a 6-4-3 double play turned by Steven Milam and Seth Dardar. Another groundout to Milam would retire the side in order. Tennessee made their first dent in the 3rd when Levi Clark hit a belly-high fastball out to left-center to tie the game at 1-1. Evans would retire the next two hitters to end the inning. The 4th is where he would find the most trouble. After a flyout to start the inning, the Vols would get a bloop single, followed by a Reese Chapman bomb to right-center field to give them their first lead of the game. Another deep flyout and a strikeout would end the inning there. Evans walked the leadoff hitter in the 5th, but then struck out three in a row to prevent any further damage. The Friday night ace would see the end of his night in the 6th after a walk and single put two runners on with 1 out in the 6th. He hung in to get a lineout, but with 2 outs, Jay Johnson would walk out to make the change. Final line: 5.2 IP / 6 hits / 3 runs / 6 Ks / 2 BBs / 90 pitches (62 strikes, 69%) Danny Lachenmayer was called upon for the third time in the last four SEC games, showing the inflated level of trust that the coaching staff has found in him. He came in to face a lefty Tyler Myatt and struck him out on 4 pitches to do his job. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 0 BBs / 4 pitches (3 strikes, 75%) Mavrick Rizy entered to start the 7th and was in the strike zone immediately, recording a 4-pitch strikeout, but then lost it and walked the next hitter on 5 pitches. A jam shot would roll right in to no man’s land with Dardar playing up the middle, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Omar Serna would get charged with an inexcusable passed ball to allow both runners to move up. Rizy came through with a massive strikeout with the infield drawn in, but then allowed another walk after a 2-2 count to load the bases. Final line: 0.2 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 2 Ks / 2 BBs / 24 pitches (11 strikes, 46%) Jay would call upon Santiago Garcia with 2 outs and bases loaded and left-handed hitting Blake Grimmer coming to the plate. Four straight balls would walk in a run to extend Tennessee’s lead to 4-1. Garcia was able to find the zone against Chapman, striking him out to prevent further damage. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 1 BB / 10 pitches (4 strikes, 40%) A 5-run 8th inning for LSU took them from down by 3 runs to up by 2, Jay turned to Deven Sheerin to try and get the final 6 outs of game. He recorded back to back flyouts to Chris Stanfield to start the inning, but even those were nerve=racking as he temporarily lost both in the sunsetting sky. A single and a walk put the tying run on base with 2 outs, but the junior got his first strikeout and let out a primal yell afterwards. After Stanfield added an insurance run in the top of the 9th, Sheerin returned in the 9th to close out the game. Despite a 2-out solo homerun to make it 7-5, he struck out the side with two of them looking to slam the door and record his second save of the season. Final line: 2.0 IP / 2 hits / 1 run / 4 Ks / 1 BB / 41 pitches (28 strikes, 68%) Hitting Derek Curiel’s 8th inning grand slam was, to no one’s surprise, was the Magic Moment of the game. Just when it looked as if LSU was going to waste a huge opportunity, the star sophomore did what stars do and changed the game with his one swing. He also singled earlier in the game and was the only Tiger to record multiple hits tonight. Curiel finished 2-4 with the 4 RBI and scored that one time. Chris Stanfield hit his second homerun of the game to add insurance in the 9th, but that was not his biggest at bat of the night. He was up second in the 8th and after Mason Braun drew a walk to lead off the inning, the senior outfielder laid off a few good breaking balls to draw the second walk of the inning, which eventually led the bases. Not many players could have held back from chasing all of those pitches and that game would have been completely different if he struck out in that moment. Stanfield finished 1-3 with the homerun, walk, RBI on the homerun, and also scored twice. Jake Brown and Seth Dardar both finished with identical lines. They went 1-4 with solo homeruns. Brown hit his in the 3rd inning to start the scoring for either team. Dardar’s came immediately following Curiel’s grand slam for back to back blasts. His actually ended up being the difference in the game, as it made the score 6-4, because Tennessee hit the solo homerun in the 9th for their fifth run. Although he went hitless, Mason Braun deserves to be noted for 2 walks. He finished 0-2 and also struck out twice, but one of the walks was the only one that Landon Mack allowed and the other was to lead off the big game-changing 8th inning. Up Next LSU and Tennessee will return tomorrow evening for game 2. First pitch is for 5 pm central, as the Tigers look to follow up their first SEC series win with their first road SEC series win of 2026. With today’s win, LSU is now 21-10 overall and back to .500 with a 5-5 conference record. Tennessee drops to 19-11 overall with a disappointing SEC record of 3-7. William Schmidt (4-1) will take the mound for the Tigers to make his second consecutive game 2 start. He is coming off of the win vs Kentucky in which he threw 5.1 scoreless innings. The Volunteers will answer with Tegan Kuhns, who had been their Friday night ace up until last weekend. The potential 1st round pick in this July’s draft has not had the season he expected, but is still very talented. He’s off to a 1-3 start in 2026 with his 4.08 ERA. Although he’s struck out 46 hitters in 35.1 innings pitched, he’s allowed 34 hits. LSU would love to strike first, as the trajectory of Tennessee’s early conference season is in a tailspin at this current moment. If the Tigers can come out hot, they will put a lot of pressure on the Volunteers. Follow me on X for much more @DCBilliotJr

An LSU Tigers baseball player in a yellow jersey yells and pumps his fist in celebration while wearing a purple helmet.

Massive Comeback Gives LSU First SEC Series

By David Billiot Jr • March 30, 2026

Sunday Afternoon Recap LSU had to have it. They had to have this series, which meant they had to have this game. Putting themselves directly behind the 8-ball with a loss on Friday night set up an uphill battle. An uphill battle that appeared to be too tall to climb after a disastrous start to the game on Sunday. Since the postgame on Friday night, we had been saying that the importance of Casan Evans battling through 6 innings in game 1 would truly have. In their first weekend without Cooper Moore, the Tiger pitching staff was going to be challenged. The performances of William Schmidt and Zac Cowan in game 2 put them in about as good of a position as they could have hoped for, which allowed Jay Johnson to call upon Gavin Guidry to start on Sunday. There is no one on the roster that is trusted more by Jay, so it was no surprise to see his name listed as starting pitcher about 90 minutes before first pitch. It was surprising just how much Guidry struggled, though. Control was an issue from the very first pitch. It wasn’t much better for a few guys that came after him, either, putting LSU in a deep hole. The pitching rapidly improved with Deven Sheerin and the stabilization on the mound allowed the offense to get to work and complete the comeback. Following a horrid game on Friday night, the Tiger lineup showed signs of life yesterday in game 2. Despite only scoring in 3 innings, they put up crooked numbers in each of them and that was a step in the right direction. Well, today was a gigantic leap in the right direction, because the offense went crazy. Jay described the performance of his team after the game as “zero quit”. After just one hit in the first time through the order, they picked things up in a hurry during the second trip through. Once they got going, there was no slowing them down. LSU scored in 5 of their final 6 at bats, with three of those times being 4+ runs. It was big swing after big swing, something we have rarely seen this year. Time will tell if this was truly the breakout game that they had been looking for or just an anomaly, but either way, they showed up when they were needed the most. Pitching It could not have been a worse start for Gavin Guidry. Needing as much length as you can possibly get from every pitcher that stepped on the mound today, a 39 pitch 1st inning was less than ideal. After an infield single to start the game, followed by a stolen base, he recorded a flyout for the first out. Guidry then issued three straight free passes to give Kentucky their first run since Friday night. A strikeout and an 0-2 pitch count would get him just one pitch away from escaping with minimal damage, but he’d lose him to give up his 3rd walk and bring in another run. A wild pitch would make it 3-0 before Guidry recorded a strikeout to finally get out of the 1st. Jay sent him back out for the 2nd, but it wasn’t much better. He recorded a flyout to start the inning, but then the hit barrage from the Wildcat bats got started. Guidry gave up a single, double, and then a walk, and was out of the game with the score 4-0. Final line: 1.1 IP / 3 hits / 6 runs / 2 Ks / 4 BBs / 48 pitches (24 strikes, 50%) Santiago Garcia took over after Guidry and immediately gave up a base-clearing double that made the score 6-0. He fought back for a flyout and a groundout, but the Tigers were already in deep trouble. Back for the 3rd, Garcia would walk the leadoff hitter and then LSU nearly turned a rare double play that doesn’t involve Steven Milam, but Zach Yorke was unable to scoop Seth Dardar’s low throw. A 4-pitch walk would be the end of the junior LHP’s day. Final line: 1.0 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 0 Ks / 1 BB / 20 pitches (7 strikes, 35%) Connor Benge entered with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out, coming off of a good outing on Tuesday where he put out a fire. His job got even tougher after a passed ball on Omar Serna allowed both runners to move up, which set up a sacrifice flyout to centerfield to make it 7-0 and that would be all for Benge. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 Ks / 0 BBs / 5 pitches (2 strikes, 40%) Cooper Williams took over and was able to end the inning with a lineout. He returned in the 4th for another good inning. Despite a 1-out walk, the lefty struck out Kentucky’s 3 and 5-hole hitters, along with a nice defensive play by John Pearson on a slow roller. Final line: 1.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 2 Ks / 1 BB / 23 pitches (13 strikes, 57%) After a fantastic outing by Mavrick Rizy on Friday where he threw 80% strikes, it was the opposite story today. He struggled from the very beginning and walked two of Kentucky’s worst hitters in their lineup, as per batting average. Their 7-hole hitter Will Marcy came in with a .200 average, while 9-hole hitter Carson Hansen was at .227 and Rizy walked them both with a strikeout between them. Following the second walk, his day was over. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 2 runs / 1 K / 2 BBs / 18 pitches (8 strikes, 44%) Jay had to call upon Deven Sheerin far earlier he would have liked, especially considering that was the last of his “top” arms that was completely fresh for the weekend. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and only 1 out, Sheerin was being asked to come through in a huge spot with the Tigers having closed their deficit to 7-6. With the infield drawn in, Steven Milam took a ground ball and fired home to nab a potential run for out number to. Sheerin then had the next hitter down 0-2, but was struggling to finish him off with four straight foul-offs. Luke Lawrence eventually slapped a ball the other way off of the left field wall to drive in both runs. Bell followed with an RBI single and just like that, LSU was back down 10-6. From that point on, the big righty was nails. Sheerin struck out three in a row going in to the 6th, which ended up being the first 1-2-3 inning of the day for the Wildcats. After recording two outs to start the 7th, which made for 6 retired in a row, he hit a batter and that would be the end of the day. His ability to battle past the early hiccups played a massive role in bridging the gap to the end of the game for the bullpen. Sheerin earned the win to extend his record to 3-0. Final line: 2.1 IP / 2 hits / 1 run / 3 Ks / 1 BB / 1 HBP / 50 pitches (35 strikes, 70%) Danny Lachenmayer entered with two outs in the 7th for what was his second appearance of the weekend. This one was the biggest spot he has been in as a Tiger, though, and he delivered. He recorded a flyout to end the threat and preserve the 11-10 lead that LSU had just taken. He returned for the 8th, but gave up a base hit with to the open part of the field with the infield shifted. Final line: 0.1 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 0 Ks / 0 BBs / 5 pitches (3 strikes, 60%) Grant Fontenot entered and despite his shaky performance on Tuesday, he has been pretty good for the past month. After recording a flyout, he initiated a 4-6-3 double play that was beautifully turned between Dardar and Milam. Back in the 9th and now pitching with a 7-run lead, Fontenot cruised. Despite a 1-out single, he struck out two, including the final hitter of the game to clinch the game and LSU’s first SEC series win of the season. Final line: 2.0 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 2 Ks / 0 BBs / 22 pitches (15 strikes, 68%) Hitting Set h Dardar was not only the offensive MVP of the day, but he was the best player at the plate for LSU all weekend. Today, his 6th inning 3-run homerun on to the roof of the Marucci hitting facility gave the Tigers their first lead after they fell behind 7-0 after the top of the 3rd. That wasn’t all for Dardar, as he also doubled and finished 3-5 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. His defense was impeccable all weekend. Jay has been searching for someone to take over the second base position and, as of now, the local kid has done just that. The other giant swing of the day belonged to John Pearson. A 2-out grand slam in the 3rd brought the Tiger back to within just 2 runs and brought both LSU and Alex Box Stadium back to life. Speaking of players taking control of positions, the sophomore has done just that at 3rd base. He has also shown big strides of improvement defensively, garnering praise from Jay after the game. Pearson finished 1-4 with the 4 RBI and a run scored, while also walking once. Derek Curiel had himself a huge day and was a part of every single big inning. He scored 3 runs and those came in the 3rd when LSU closed the deficit, in the 6th when they took the lead, and then in the 8th when they extended it way out of reach. He hit his second homerun of the year, a beautifully struck backside blast on a pitch that was on the outer half of the plate. Curiel finished 3-5 with 3 RBI, the 3 runs scored, and a walk. It wasn’t his first time leading off this season, but Chris Stanfield has not been in that position very much. Today, he may have shown why he should stay there. The senior went 4-5 and also drew a walk. He doubled and had two opposite field singles. One of those was immediately following when he fouled a ball right off of his knee and went down to the ground in major pain. Jay told us after the game that when he went out to check on his leader, Stanfield looked at him and said that he was ok and was going to come through. He did just that, lining a base hit to right field and driving in a run. He also walked and scored twice. Jake Brown didn’t drive in a single one of LSU’s 17 runs and the importance of that can not be overstated. I have mentioned multiple times in the past week that it is imperative that other players step up, because opposing teams are not going to allow Brown to beat them. Why would they? Pitchers have not given him much to hit and he’s had to work with what he’s given in many of these games. Despite the “quiet” day by his standards, Brown finished 2-5 with a couple of singles and scored 3 runs. Zach Yorke may not have driven in a ton of runs, either, but he was very active by getting on base four times. He finished 1-3, but he drew 3 walks and scored twice. Up Next LSU will stay home and welcome Southern for a midweek matchup on Tuesday. First pitch is for 6:30 pm central. The Tigers improved to 19-10 (4-5 SEC) with the win today. The Jaguars will come to Alex Box with a record of 10-16. They took 2 of 3 in a series with Prairie View A&M at home this weekend. Their common opponents with LSU include both Grambling, who Southern beat, and two games with McNeese, in which they split. Follow me on X for much more @DCBilliotJr