Dugout Digest – our first elimination

Ladies and gentlemen, our first team has been eliminated from playoff contention: it's the Houston Astros, of course. You know what that means: the end of season post-mortem series and hope for the hopeless series will be back today! WOOOOHOOO!

PIC OF THE DAY

Marlon Byrd celebrates his first homer as a Pirate (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

Game of the Night: Braves 3, Indians 2. Atlanta led this one 2-1 going into the eighth, but Luis Avilan struggled in the penultimate inning, starting his inning by allowing a pair of singles, getting a pop up, and walking Asdrubal Cabrera to load the bases with one out. Mike Aviles hit a game-tying sac fly, and Cabrera was caught in a baserunning snafu to end the inning. Atlanta put men on the corners in the bottom of the inning, but couldn't come through. In the bottom of the ninth though, Jordan Schafer singled with one out, stole second, and scored on a walkoff single by Chris Johnson, giving the Braves their 80th win of the season.

Pitching Lines of the Night: Ricky Nolasco dominated the Cubs in a 4-0 Dodgers win, allowing three hits over eight scoreless innings, striking out 11 and walking one. Chris Sale torched the Astros in Chicago's 6-1 win, giving up one run on four hits in eight innings, punching out a dozen and walking a pair. Jhoulys Chacin had an odd line in Colorado's 5-4 win over the Giants, allowing one unearned run on one hit in seven innings, striking out nine and walking two. Homer Bailey pitched great for the Reds as they routed the Cardinals 10-0, giving up five hits in 7 1/3 shutout innings, walking two and striking out seven. Danny Duffy pitched great for the Royals in their 8-1 win in Minnesota, allowing five hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out seven without a walk.

Hitting Lines of the Night: Brandon Moss went off as the A's beat up the Tigers 14-4, going 4/5 with three runs, six RBI, a double, and two homers. In Kansas City's win over the Twins, Sal Perez went 4/5 with four RBI, a double, and two homers. Jay Bruce had a good game for the Reds in their win in St Louis, going 2/4 with two runs, five RBI, and a homer. Avisail Garcia played well for the White Sox as they topped the Astros, going 3/4 with a three-run homer. In San Diego's 5-1 win over Arizona, Will Venable went 2/4 with two runs, three RBI, a double, and a homer, while Jesus Guzman went 3/3 with a walk, a homer, and two RBI.

Other Games: The Rangers pounded the Mariners 12-4. The Red Sox slipped by the Orioles 4-3. The Nationals beat the Marlins 4-3. The Blue Jays beat up the Yankees 7-2. The Pirates smashed the Brewers 7-1. The Rays topped the Angels 4-1. The Phillies beat the Mets 6-2. 

What You Missed: Brandon Phillips got real angry at a reporter. ESPN has to advertise Sunday Night Baseball with…Eric Young Jr? Jason Kubel's time in Arizona is done. The longest homer in 2013 thusfar has been hit by…Hunter Pence?

Today's Games: Bartolo Colon and Max Scherzer will square off in Detroit. Bruce Chen gets the nod for the Royals in Minnesota. Kris Medlen and the Braves host Ubaldo Jimenez and the Indians. Gio Gonzalez and the Nationals host the Marlins. Chris Tillman and the Orioles take on Jon Lester and the Red Sox. Yovani Gallardo starts for the Brewers in Pittsburgh against Gerrit Cole. 

National TV: A's-Tigers (1 PM, MLB Network), Angels-Rays (1 PM, MLB Network), Orioles-Red Sox (7 PM, MLB Network), Indians-Braves (7 PM, MLB Network)

MLB.tv Free Game: Brewers-Pirates (7 PM)

Pitching Matchup of the Day: Bartolo Colon vs Max Scherzer (Athletics vs Tigers, 1 PM)

Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.

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