University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Cole, Crawford, Roberts to Compete in 2021 MLB Postseason
October 05, 2021 | Baseball
The UCLA baseball program will see three of its alumni โ right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees, shortstop Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants, and manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers โ compete in the 2021 MLB Playoffs, which open on Tuesday with the American League Wild Card Game.
Cole will be the first Bruin in action, drawing the start on Tuesday as the Yankees head to Fenway Park to take on the arch-rival Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card. The victor in that winner-takes-all game advances to the American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. ESPN will televise the AL Wild Card starting at 5:00 p.m. PT.
Roberts and the Dodgers thenย face the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Wild Card Game on Wednesday, starting at 5:00 p.m. PT on TBS.
The NL West-winning Giants get underway last, as they await the NL Wild Card victorย in the NLDS, which begins on Friday.
Crawford had the finest season yet of his 11-year MLB career in 2021, setting career highs in every slash category (.298/.373/.522) as well as home runs (24) and RBIs (90) while playing his usual gold glove-caliber defense up the middle. He produced the most WAR (6.1, T-6th among NL position players) of any player on the Giants, helping his club set a franchise record for wins (107-55) while capturing its first NL West crown since 2012. UCLA's shortstop from 2006-08, Crawford was named an MLB All-Star for the third time in his career, and will be making his fourth trip to the MLB Playoffs.
Cole had another dominant year atop the Yankees rotation, winning an American League-best 16 games and recording a 3.23 ERA with 243 strikeouts in 181 1/3 innings. Besides leading the league in wins, Cole also ranked second in the AL in WAR for pitchers and was top-five in the league in a slew of statistics including ERA (third), WHIP (1.06, second), hits per nine (7.5, fifth), strikeouts per nine (12.1, second), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.9, first). Cole outdueled 2020 AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber in last year's AL Wild Card series, and posted a 2-0 record with a 2.94 ERA over three starts in the 2020 Playoffs.
Roberts led Los Angeles to another historic season in 2021, as the Dodgers tied a franchise record for wins with a 106-56 record, and became the winningest club in Major League history to not win its division. Despite dealing with a barrage of injuries to key players, the Dodgers led the National League in both runs (830) and ERA (3.01). Roberts has steered Los Angeles to the playoffs in all six of his seasons as manager, including three National League pennants and the 2020 World Series Championship.
Follow @UCLABaseball on Twitter for all UCLA-related updates during the 2021 MLB Postseason.
2021 MLB Postseason Schedule (UCLA alumni)
Through Division Series round
All Times PT
Tuesday, Oct. 5 โ AL Wild Card
New York (Cole) at Boston, 5:08 p.m.ย (TV: ESPN)
Wednesday, Oct. 6 โ NL Wild Card
St. Louis at Los Angeles (Roberts), 5:10 p.m.ย (TV: TBS)
Friday, Oct. 8 โ NL Division Series Game 1
LA/STL at San Francisco (Crawford), 6:37 p.m. (TV: TBS)
Saturday, Oct. 9 โ NL Division Series Game 2
LA/STL at San Francisco (Crawford), 6:07 p.m.ย (TV: TBS)
Monday, Oct. 11 โ NL Division Series Game 3
San Francisco (Crawford) at LA/STL, Time TBD (TV: TBS)
Tuesday, Oct. 12 โ NL Division Series Game 4 (if necessary)
San Francisco (Crawford) at LA/STL, Time TBD (TV: TBS)
Thursday, Oct. 14 โ NL Division Series Game 5 (if necessary)
LA/STL at San Francisco (Crawford), Time TBD (TV: TBS)
