Two postseason games turn on how each side gets from its first pitcher to the late innings. In Cleveland, the opener and the visiting starter face batting orders that have produced runs in different ways. At Koshien, two left-handed starters bring sharply different recent contact and walk patterns. In both games, the first runners matter most when the next hitter can bring them home.
Cleveland sends Shawn Armstrong through Tampa Bay's Díaz, Aranda and Caminero group before turning to bulk relief. His postseason first turns have been clean, and Cantillo has previously supplied long scoreless work behind an opener. At the plate, Kwan and Ramírez can set up DeLauter and Lowe, while Halpin has already delivered a decisive lower-order hit in this series.
The expected Cleveland hitters played in Game 3, and Tampa Bay's Caminero and DeLuca also played after their earlier collision. Martinez kept Cleveland scoreless in their regular-season meetings, but his recent postseason outing ended early enough to expose Tampa Bay's bridge. Cleveland's Smith-led relief held the final four innings of Game 3, giving its offense a route from early traffic to a defended finish. That's why I'm siding with Cleveland.
At Koshien, Yokohama's Watarai and Maki can put runners in front of Sano and Miyazaki, as they did before Sano's three-run swing in Game 3. Otake has shown control against Hiroshima, but DeNA reached him for steady contact across their meetings this season. Azuma enters after a seven-inning outing without a walk, a useful way to keep Hanshin's leadoff traffic from becoming a sustained rally.
Hanshin's middle order changed in Game 3 when Sato and Morishita did not start, and Maekawa's fractured finger removes another recent finishing bat. Azuma's length can carry Yokohama toward Ise, Ruiz and a Reynolds who sat out Game 3. The Watarai-to-Sano chain gives DeNA a specific way to take the first lead, and Azuma gives it a way to carry that lead deep. That's why I'm siding with Yokohama to win.
