In Short Order: Kenta Maeda is this year's overshadowed bullpen ace

Kenta Maeda has been a criminally overlooked member of the Dodgers pitching staff this postseason. With Kenley Jansen arguably the best reliever in the game and Brandon Morrow having stepped into the setup role, Maeda's contribution has been obscured by the fact that, Wednesday night's Game 2 notwithstanding, Dodgers relievers have been lights-out in the postseason.
In any other year, though, Maeda may have become the star attraction as the shutdown starter-turned-bullpen ace, like Andrew Miller in 2016. The righty has struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings so far this October, and he hadn't allowed a single baserunner until Carlos Correa's hit in Game 2.
Moving from the rotation to the pitching staff, Maeda's gone max-effort: His fastball has jumped from just under 92 mph to almost 95, and that extra determination has led to some excellent pitch-faces.

His motion is one of pure, endlessly watchable momentum -- he first rocks back before launching forward into a delivery that's so fluid it seems preordained. But then you see photos like this one and realize his body is contorting in ways that not many can pull off: 

He boasts so many pitches that he can completely freeze the free-swinging Javier Baez with a two-strike fastball over the plate: 

While some have debated whether Rich Hill was pulled too soon in Game 2, the the bigger question may be if Maeda should be given a little more length going forward.
Is Charlie Culberson trying to 'Talented Mr. Ripley' Clayton Kershaw? 
Culberson was the surprise of the NLCS. Replacing the injured Corey Seager on the roster, the utility man with a career .595 OPS erupted, going 5-for-11 against the Cubs with two doubles and a triple. He followed that up with an 11th-inning home run in Game 2 that briefly gave the Dodgers hope of another comeback. 
But that's not the only reason to watch Culberson. Below is a photo of him just before Spring Training: 

And here is what he looks like now, side-by-side with Clayton Kershaw for comparison: 

Sure, Culberson's hair is darker and a bit curlier, but just look at the two of them when they're near each other in the dugout.

Admit it, for a brief second you thought the leaper was Kershaw.
I'm not saying the Dodgers are training Culberson to be a decoy Kershaw to confuse the Astros -- he throws right-handed, for one thing -- nor am I saying that the infielder is planning to assume Kershaw's identity. I'm just saying: Keep an eye out, Clayton.
Bunt of this week of the postseason
We're cheating a little bit, because it's not an actual bunt but the desire to bunt. Before Justin Verlander made his Game 2 start, the American League lifer was asked about his strategy at the plate: "I hope I'm 0-for-0 with four sac bunts," he said. "That's the ideal plan." Beyond four sacrifices being the exciting non-stop bunting action you've come here for, it turns out that Verlander also had his eyes on a record.
As pointed out by @BravesStats, only once since 1904 has a pitcher successfully dropped down four sacrifice bunts without recording a single at-bat. And just who is this famous pitcher? Kris Benson, who pulled it off in a mid-June game against the Mets in 2004. And if you thought Benson wouldn't celebrate after giving himself up for the fourth time that day ... you would be right: He was almost comically stoic. 

You should know about the time when ...
Roy Halladay was spooked by ghosts in his hotel.
As Halloween closes in, it's important to fill our lives with spooky stories. And the Lackawanna Station Hotel in Scranton, Pa. -- a favorite spot for visiting Minor League teams in town to play the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders -- seems to be a hotbed for baseball-related terror. Even future Cy Young winners aren't immune from its effects. 
As detailed in "Field of Screams" by Mickey Bradley and Dan Gordon, Halladay, at the time a young Blue Jays prospect, checked in after a nine-hour road trip and quickly went to bed. He was awakened by the "sound of water gushing full force from the bathroom-sink faucet. At the same time, he noticed the television -- turned off when he fell asleep -- was now inexplicably turned on. And, he says, a 'putrid smell' filled the room."
After turning both off and going back to bed, his toilet flushed on its own and the lights turned on. "I don't know what it was," Halladay said, "but I called the front desk to change rooms."