A lot of emphasis has been placed on scoring first this postseason, and rightfully so; the teams that score first are 26–7 so far in the playoffs.
What’s interesting, though, is how frequently we’ve seen teams score early. In 26 of the 33 playoff games this year, at least one of the teams has scored in the first or second inning. The team that’s done so first in those games is 20–6.
But even beyond the postseason aggregate, the first two innings could tell you everything about how tonight’s game will play out. I’ve written the last two newsletters about how the Astros have the upper hand in the World Series because their pitching is in better shape and their hitters are so good at making adjustments the more often they see the same pitchers in a series.