⚾️ The Mets Advance to the NLCS, TNF Preview + More!

Morning Blitzers,

Hope you’re all staying safe from Hurricane Milton! Lots of action to get to today, so we’ll get right into it!

WTF Stat: 

Ángel Hernández retired in May of this year… So I’m going to assume that this stat needs to be updated.

⚾️ Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 storm, caused significant damage to the roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, with strong winds tearing off much of the fabric covering. The stadium in St. Petersburg has been repurposed as a staging area for first responders, capable of accommodating 10,000 people with cots on the field. The stadium's roof was designed to withstand winds up to 115 mph. The facility, which opened in 1990, is scheduled for replacement with a new $1.3 billion ballpark by the 2026 season.

🏈 A few football injury updates:

Texans WR Nico Collins is being placed on injured reserve due to his hamstring injury. He will be sidelined a minimum of four games.

Michael Pittman Jr., the Colts' No. 1 WR, has suffered a back injury that is expected to sideline him for multiple games.

Rookie QB Spencer Rattler will start in place of QB Derek Carr, who strained his oblique against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday. Carr's return is a "week-to-week" decision.

• 🔥 Take: I just wanted to take a chance to talk about how good/underrated Nico Collins has been. Last year he put up 1,297 yards and 8 TDs. He received no Pro Bowl invite, no accolades, really just went completely under the radar. This year he was considered by many to be the #3 option on his team behind newly acquired WR Stefon Diggs, and second year WR Tank Dell. But all he has done so far is lead the NFL in receiving yards. Here’s hoping he recovers quickly so we can see more of this.

MLB Playoffs

• Tigers 3, Guardians 0: Six Tigers pitchers combined for the shutout, helping put the Tigers up 2-1 in the series. The Guardians have now gone 20 consecutive innings without scoring after their initial strong performance in Game 1. The Guardians had their chances but ended up leaving 8 runners on base. The Tigers' fans made a significant impact, with a record crowd of 44,885 at Comerica Park for the team's first playoff game since 2014.

• Mets 4, Phillies 1: Francisco Lindor, aka Slam Francisco Lindor, 6th inning grand slam had Citi Field in a frenzy. The Mets would take their 4-1 lead into the 9th and manage to hold onto things despite an erratic performance from Edwin Díaz, which included walking the first 2 batters on 9 pitches. Some thought (I thought) the Mets were headed from more heart break and a blown save. But they survived and celebrated winning their spot in the NL Championship Series. This marks the Mets' first playoff series win at home in 24 years.

• Yankees 3, Royals 2: What a day for Giancarlo Stanton! He hit the go-ahead and eventual winning run in the eighth inning and finished the day 3/5 with 2 RBIs and a stolen base. The Yankees now have a 2-1 series lead and will look to clinch a spot in the AL Championship Series with ace Gerrit Cole starting in Game 4.

  P.S. for the love of God can TBS figure out their audio/production/crowd noise levels, this game did not feel like a playoff game at all. Watch the highlight above versus any of the other highlights… just brutal.

• Dodgers 8, Padres 0: No team was riding higher than the Padres going into last nights game. They were even World Series favorites before the game. Now… not so much. The Dodgers started the the fireworks early and often putting up 5 runs in the first three innings and knocking out starter Dylan Cease early. They put up another 3 runs up in the 7th for good measure. Slumping Dodgers Mookie Betts and Will Smith both homered, had multiple hits, and multiple RBIs. The Padres are expected to start Yu Darvish in Game 5, the Dodgers haven't named a starter and could be another bullpen game for them.

Thursday Night Football Preview

Game: 49ers (2-3) @ Seahawks (3-2) at 8:15 EST

Why we’re watching: The Seahawks and 49ers are playoff teams to me. ESPN has the Seahawks at a 28% chance to make the playoffs and 49ers at 51% chance which is a bit of a head scratcher. Both of these teams are super talented with possibly the deepest WR rooms in the NFL. Both are led by two QBs that are criminally underrated still, QB Geno Smith leads the NFL in passing yards, while QB Brock Purdy is 4th and leads NFL starters in yards/attempt. I’m still coming off the high from last Thursday Nights game, so here is hoping that the good times keep rolling.

Key Matchup: Geno Smith vs 49ers Pass Rush: Geno Smith has been sacked 18 times this season, 2nd most in the NFL. Must be because he’s holding on to the ball too long, right? Well, actually compared to other NFL starters he’s tied for the 3rd fastest time PKT time (time between snap and throw or pressure), Brock Purdy has the longest time. The 49ers have a bunch of pass rushing demons led by Nick Bosa, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Seahawks can do a better job protecting Geno and giving him time to find his playmaking WRs.

TNF Prop Bets: Jean (1-4) - Brandon Aiyuk under 66.5 yards receiving — Keith (2-3) - Deebo Samuel over 12.5 rushing yards.

D-Man’s Pick (2-3 TNF): 49ers -3.5 → Who has Seattle beat? (Well who has SF beat for that matter?) The Seahawks defense stinks, gimme the niners.

NHL Scores

• Calgary Flames 6, Vancouver Canucks 5: Best game of the night, as the Flames overcame a 4-1 deficit to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 6-5 in overtime. Connor Zary scored the game-winning goal just 1:33 into OT after J.T. Miller had tied the game for Vancouver with a slap shot in the final minutes.

• Montreal Canadiens 1, Toronto Maple Leafs 0: Sam Montembeault made an impressive 48 saves to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 1-0 victory. It was an NHL record for most saves in a season-opening shutout.

• Vegas Golden Knights 8, Colorado Avalanche 4: Mikko Rantanen scored a hat trick for Colorado, but the Golden Knights had 3 players score 2 goals a piece. Most importantly though, we had a record setting moment for the NHL:

• New York Rangers 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 0: Chris Kreider led the scoring with two goals, while Sam Carrick, Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, and Vincent Trocheck also found the net. Chytil's goal marked his first in over 18 months after recovering from a concussion.

• Winnipeg Jets 6, Edmonton Oilers 0: Despite outshooting the Jets 30-20, the Oilers struggled defensively, with starter Stuart Skinner allowing five goals on just 13 shots before being replaced. Winnipeg capitalized early, scoring four times on their first 10 shots and netting two goals within 20 seconds in the second period to take a commanding 4-0 lead.

On this day in 1994, the New York Giants retire Lawrence Taylor's #56. Bill Belichick called him the greatest defensive player in football and told this funny story about him:

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Which NHL defenseman has the most career goals scored?

B) Ray Bourque - Bourque has an NHL career best 410 goals and 1,579 points. interestingly enough, Bourque’s highest goals scored in a single season was 31 which is only 15th highest on the single season defensemen list (Paul Coffey’s 48 in 1985 is best). But Bourque played for 22 seasons and was the model of consistency.

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's trivia question and more info!