Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
Baseball playoffs are on now. On Tuesday there were two big games.
In one game, the Dodgers beat the Braves 3 to 1. The Dodgers lead the series 2 to 1.
The Dodgers pitcher was Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He pitched very well. He beat Chris Sale of the Braves.
In the other game, the Padres beat the Brewers 4 to 3. The Brewers still lead the series 2 to 1.
- baseball
- A sport where players hit a ball with a bat.
- playoffs
- Games after the season to find the best team.
- series
- A group of games between two teams.
- pitcher
- The player who throws the ball to the batter.
- lead
- To be ahead.
- beat
- To win against someone.
- game
- One match in a sport.
- team
- A group of players who play together.
Level 2 - Elementary
The Dodgers beat the Braves 3 to 1 in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. They now lead the series 2 games to 1. The winner of the series moves on.
Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto outpitched Atlanta's Chris Sale. Both are top pitchers, but Mr. Yamamoto gave up very few runs and kept the Braves quiet.
In the other series, the San Diego Padres stayed alive. They beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4 to 3 in another very close game.
Milwaukee still leads that series 2 to 1. The Padres would have been out of the playoffs with a loss.
- division series
- An early round of the baseball playoffs.
- starter
- The pitcher who begins the game.
- outpitch
- To pitch better than another pitcher.
- run
- A point in baseball.
- alive
- Still in the competition.
- close
- With a very small difference in score.
- move on
- To go to the next round.
- elimination
- Being forced out of a competition.
Level 3 - Intermediate
Yoshinobu Yamamoto outdueled Chris Sale as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 3 to 1 in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday. The Dodgers lead the best-of-five series 2 games to 1.
The pitching matchup lived up to its billing. Mr. Yamamoto, the Dodgers right-hander, and Mr. Sale, the veteran left-hander, traded zeros for long stretches, and the Dodgers' offense did just enough to separate them.
In the other National League series, the San Diego Padres staved off elimination with a 4 to 3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. It was another one-run thriller between the two teams, and Milwaukee still leads that series 2 to 1.
Both series now turn on Game 4. A Dodgers win would send them forward, while the Padres will need to win again to force a decisive fifth game.
- outdueled
- Won a close contest between two strong opponents.
- best-of-five
- A series won by the first team to win three games.
- matchup
- A pairing of two opponents or players.
- veteran
- A person with a lot of experience.
- traded zeros
- Both sides scored no runs for a while.
- offense
- The part of a team that tries to score.
- staved off
- Avoided something bad for now.
- decisive
- Settling a result for good.
Level 4 - Advanced
Yoshinobu Yamamoto outdueled Chris Sale as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 3 to 1 in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. The right-hander's command and the Dodgers' timely hitting were enough to blunt a lineup that had threatened all series.
The matchup of the Dodgers' Japanese ace and Atlanta's veteran left-hander was billed as a chess match, and it played out that way. Neither pitcher allowed much, and the game turned on a few well-placed runs rather than a barrage.
Elsewhere in the National League, the San Diego Padres stared down elimination and survived, edging the Milwaukee Brewers 4 to 3 in a game that was decided by a single run. Milwaukee still holds a 2-1 lead and can close out the series with one more win.
The math is simple. One more win would send either the Dodgers or the Brewers into the next round. The Padres, trailing 2-1, must now win two games in a row to survive, a tall order but one that October baseball has seen before.
- command
- Control of one's pitches.
- blunt
- To reduce the force or effectiveness of something.
- lineup
- The list of batters in a team's batting order.
- billed as
- Described in advance as.
- barrage
- A large number of things arriving quickly.
- edging
- Winning by a very small margin.
- close out
- To win a series and end it.
- calculus
- A way of weighing the factors in a decision.
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