Two pivotal third games are on tap for today

The Division Series portion of the baseball playoffs are some of the most fun days of the baseball season. These days are kinda like the first weekend of March Madness: there’s always a game happening for most of the day.

Unfortunately, last night’s games saw the two clear villains come away with big wins.

• The Yankees obliterated the Twins 8-2 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their series. Nelson Cruz had another good game — he went 1-for-3 with a walk — but it was for naught as the Yankees tagged the Twins for seven runs in the third inning. Twins infielder Miguel Sanó went 0-for-4 with a golden sombrero.
• Meanwhile, the Rays were shut down for the second straight game by an Astros ace. First, it was Justin Verlander. Last night, it was Gerrit Cole. A rotation of aces is the most traditionally clear path to playoff success, and that formula has been working so far for the Astros. The Astros have a 2-0 lead, and the Rays are going to win three straight games, two of which would be against Zack Greinke and (most likely) Verlander.

Today’s Games

Fortunately, both of the NLDS series are tied at 1-1, so we won’t be completely lacking for drama if the Astros and Yankees complete their sweeps.

Braves at Cardinals, 1:10 PM PST, TBS

Matt Carpenter will be getting the start in this one in favor of Harrison Bader. The Braves are starting 22-year-old phenom Mike Soroka, while the Cardinals are running out 38-old-year veteran Adam Wainwright. Soroka was just eight years old when Wainwright made his Cardinals debut in 2005.

Dodgers at Nationals, 4:45 PM PST, TBS

Here’s the Nationals’ lineup.

As WashPo beat writer Jesse Dougherty notes, Victor Robles will not be starting, as he has a tweaked hamstring. The Dodgers’ lineup has not yet been released, but Hyun-Jin Ryu is expected to start opposite Aníbal Sánchez.