Do you know which AL team not currently leading their division has the best playoff odds? It's not the Rays, it's not the Rangers, and it's not the Orioles or the Yankees – it's the Cleveland Indians. CoolStandings gives Cleveland a 68.6% chance to make the postseason as of Wednesday morning, better than any team in the AL aside from the Red Sox, Tigers, or Athletics. Considering how up and down the Tribe's season has been, that's pretty amazing.
PIC OF THE DAY
Scary moment in Pittsburgh after Eric Stults gets plunked in the head (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Nationals 6, Braves 5. What a kick in the gut for Braves fans. Washington scored three runs in the first, but Atlanta slowly battled back. A Freddie Freeman sac fly made it 3-1 in the sixth. A Dan Uggla single in the seventh made it 3-2. And then in the eighth, BLAM. Evan Gattis launched a two-run homer to put the Braves ahead 4-3. The club made it 5-3 in the ninth, plating a run thanks to an Ian Desmond error. With Craig Kimbrel coming in, a two run lead is more than enough…well, except for today. Kimbrel walked Adam LaRoche to lead off the inning, and allowed an infield single to Wilson Ramos that Elliot Johnson couldn't handle. Kimbrel walked Anthony Rendon to load the bases, and Chad Tracy brought in one run to make it 5-4 by grounding out to first. Denard Span then smacked a ball up the middle that got through all-world shortstop Andrelton Simmons, scoring two runs to hand Washington a win. But that wasn't the low point of the day for the Braves…
Pitching Lines of the Night: In game two of that doubleheader in Washington, Nationals rookie Tanner Roark led the club to a 4-0 win over the Braves, allowing two runs over seven shutout innings, walking one and striking out six. Freddy Garcia pitched reasonably well for Atlanta, giving up one run on seven hits in seven innings, striking out six and walking two. Mike Leake helped the Reds to a 10-0 thrashing of the Astros, giving up five hits in eight scoreless frames, walking a pair and striking out six. He wasn't responsible for Jonathan Villar's butt slide, though. RA Dickey and the Blue Jays beat the Yankees 2-0, with Dickey allowing four hits in seven shutout frames, striking out eight and walking a pair. In game one of the Nationals-Braves doubleheader, Dan Haren gave up one run on three hits in six innings for Washington, striking out four and walking two. Marco Estrada and the Brewers beat the Cubs 4-3, with Estrada giving up three runs on four hits in seven innings, striking out seven without a walk, but the real story was Milwaukee's walk off suicide squeeze.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In the Cardinals' 11-4 smashing of the Rockies, Matt Holliday went 4/4 with two runs, three RBI, a walk, a double, and a homer. The Giants beat the Mets 8-5 thanks to former Met Angel Pagan going 3/3 with two runs, three RBI, two walks, a triple, and a homer. Chase Utley's Phillies beat the Marlins 6-4 as Utley went 3/4 with two runs, four RBI, and a homer. Leonys Martin and the Rangers topped the Rays 7-1, with Martin going 3/4 with three runs, a triple, and a solo homer. Jay Bruce provided the Reds all the offense they needed in Houston, going 2/4 with two runs, five RBI, and a homer. In Matt Kemp's return to the Dodgers' starting lineup, he went 4/4 with a run, three RBI, and two doubles in LA's 9-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
Other Games: The Tigers beat the Mariners 6-2, and Miguel Cabrera finally homered. Chris Davis belted #51 for the Orioles in their 3-2 win over the Red Sox. The White Sox edged the Twins 4-3. The Padres beat the Pirates 5-2. The Indians won again in Kansas City, rallying to beat the Royals 5-3. The A's walked off on the Angels, 2-1.
What You Missed: The post-mortem and hope for the hopeless series continued on with the Blue Jays.
Today's Games: Alex Wood starts for the Braves in Washington to try to help salvage the series for the Braves. Derek Holland and Chris Archer duel in Tampa. Tyson Ross will start for the Padres in Pittsburgh against Charlie Morton. Matt Cain gets the nod for the Giants in Flushing. Hisashi Iwakuma and Justin Verlander will battle in Detroit. Wei-Yin Chen starts for the Orioles in Boston against Jon Lester. Danny Salazar takes the hill for the Indians in Kansas City. Adam Wainwright gets the nod for the Cardinals in Denver.
National TV: Rangers-Rays (7 PM, ESPN), Dodgers-Diamondbacks (10 PM, ESPN)
MLB.tv Free Game: Padres-Pirates (7 PM)
Pitching Matchup of the Day: Derek Holland vs Chris Archer (Rangers vs Rays, 7 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
