It’s October, which means it’s playoff baseball time.
It’s a period in which the stakes are highest. Led by their coaches, teams are going to war with 25-man rosters full of players that are expected to be great.
Three former Gators — two players and one coach — are still standing, as five teams remain in the hunt.
Preston Tucker — Houston Astros: Tucker’s and the Astros’ run in the playoffs came to an end on Wednesday night with a 7-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals in Game 5 of the American League Division Series.
Tucker, 25, played sparingly this postseason.
Down 9-6 with one out in the ninth inning of Monday’s Game 4 against the Royals, Tucker pinch hit for outfielder Jake Marisnick.
The lefty would ultimately strike out looking, and an out later sealed the loss and sent the series to Game 5.
In Game 2 of the series Friday, Tucker was thrown into a similar position.
The rookie worked the count full before earning a walk down 5-4 with one out in the ninth inning off Wade Davis, one of the league’s best relief pitchers this season.
Tucker came on as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of Game 5, but struck out swinging for the first out.
David Ross — Chicago Cubs: Ross and the Chicago Cubs might still be celebrating Tuesday’s win over their division nemesis St. Louis Cardinals.
The win marked the first time in franchise history that Chicago clinched a playoff series at Wrigley Field.
Though Ross wasn’t a part of the game that made history, he did play a role in the first game of the series on Friday.
Ross got the nod to start game one behind the plate with pitcher Jon Lester on the mound.
Ross, a backup catcher, is known as Lester’s personal catcher because of their time together during the Red Sox 2013 World Series championship.
The 38-year-old was hitless in two at-bats in his lone start of the postseason.
With Ross catching, Lester surrendered three earned runs through 7.1 innings.
The Cubs gave up one more run in the game but couldn’t provide an ounce of run support in what would be Chicago’s sole series loss.
Dave Eiland — Kansas City Royals: As the Royals pitching coach, Dave Eiland has been instrumental in guiding the pitching staff during the regular season and the playoffs.
Eiland, who was a Gator for just one season in 1985 before transferring to South Florida, has a chance to help coach Kansas City back to the World Series.
Royals fans can thank Eiland for the success of their relief pitchers, who lead the American League with a 2.72 ERA during the regular season.
With the Royals advancing to the American League Championship Series, Eiland and the Royals will look to continue their postseason run when the team faces the Toronto Blue Jays.
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @Pinakk12
