There’s just one regular season game left on the 2014 docket…and there are still questions about the playoffs.
-The Tigers and Royals both lost on Saturday, meaning that a tiebreaker game to decide the AL Central is still in play.
-The Pirates and Cardinals also both lost on Saturday, meaning that a tiebreaker game for the NL Central is also still in play for them.
-The Mariners won and the A’s lost on Saturday, meaning that THEY still can be forced into a tiebreaker game to determine the second Wild Card.
And you thought this was going to be easy. Psh.
Game of the Day: Reds 10, Pirates 6 (ten innnings). Pittsburgh lost a chance at moving into a tie with the Cardinals at the top of the NL Central is heartwrenching fashion. Cincinnati jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but the Pirates roared back to take a 4-3 lead in the fifth. The Reds knotted the score at four in the bottom of that same inning, and the two teams traded a pair of runs each in the seventh. Neither team was able to come close to breaking through in the eighth or ninth inning, and we moved into extras. Dylan Axelrod threw a perfect top of the inning for the Reds, and John Axford attempted to dot he same for the Pirates. It didn’t go very well. He walked Todd Frazier to begin the inning, then allowed a single to Chris Heisey after a Devin Mesoraco line out. After Axford walked Ludwick, his day was done and Bobby LaFromboise replaced him. LaFromboise got Brayan Pena to fly out for the second out, but then allowed a walk off grand slam to (of all people) Ramon Santiago. Absolutely crushing for Pittsburgh.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Wily Peralta dominated the Cubs in Milwaukee’s 2-1 win, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings, striking out 13 and walking one. In Washington’s 5-1 win over Miami, Stephen Strasburg tossed six two-hit, shutout innings, walking one and punching out seven. Carlos Carrasco pitched very well in Cleveland’s 2-0 loss to Tampa Bay, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits in 7 2/3 innings, striking out ten and walking three. In the win for the Rays, Alex Colome threw 6 1/3 scoreless frames, giving up four hits, walking one, and striking out six.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Eduardo Escobar powered the Twins to a 12-3 win over the Tigers, going 4/5 with a homer, two runs, and six RBI. In Arizona’s 5-2 win over St. Louis, Mark Trumbo went 2/3 with two homers, four RBI and a walk. Josh Phegley helped the White Sox top the Rays 5-4, going 2/3 with a pair of solo homers. Ryan Howard went 3/4 with a homer and two RBI in the Phillies’ 4-2 loss to the Braves. In Oakland’s 5-4 loss to Texas, Josh Donaldson went 3/4 with a solo homer and two runs scored.
Other Games: The Red Sox creamed then Yankees 10-4. The Blue Jays doubled up the Orioles 4-2. The Giants beat the Padres 3-1. The Mets walked off on the Astros 2-1. The Mariners walked off on the Angels 2-1 in 11 innings. The Dodgers beat the Rockies 6-5 in 12 innings.
Today’s Games: We’re only going to discuss the six meaningful games today. Sorry, fans of the other teams in the league.
-Pirates vs Reds (1 PM, Gerrit Cole vs Johnny Cueto)
-Twins vs Tigers (1 PM, Kyle Gibson vs David Price)
-Royals vs White Sox (2 PM, Yordano Ventura vs Chris Bassitt)
-Athletics vs Rangers (3 PM, Sonny Gray vs Nick Martinez)
-Cardinals vs Diamondbacks (4 PM, Adam Wainwright vs Josh Collmenter)
-Angels vs Mariners (4 PM, Cory Rasmus vs Felix Hernandez)
National TV: Yankees-Red Sox (1:30 PM, TBS, mercifully for the last time this season)
Enjoy your (maybe) final day of regular season baseball, everyone.
