Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, there are only three playoff spots up for grabs – and they can all be decided today. The Dodgers wrapped up the NL West on Wednesday, while the Tigers clinched at least a Wild Card in the American League. The other playoff spots are essentially wrapped up. The Giants can clinch a Wild Card by taking just one game from the Padres or if the Brewers lose once to the Reds or Cubs over the next four days. The Royals and A’s need a little more help on Thursday – the Indians can be eliminated if both of those teams win today in either Chicago or Texas respectively, while the Mariners can only be eliminated if both teams win and Seattle falls in Toronto to the Blue Jays. But as we all know, it’s never that simple. We’ve only got one post-mortem to run today, and hopefully we can run two more tomorrow. Fingers crossed, you guys.
Game of the Night: Tigers 6, White Sox 1. Since there weren’t many great games last night, we have another winner by default here. The White Sox plated one run in the sixth off of Justin Verlander to make it 1-0, but Detroit tied the game in the bottom of the inning after a sac fly by Nick Castellanos off of Chris Sale. Then Sale left the game, and all hell broke loose. Rajai Davis singled with one out in the eighth and scored on an Ian Kinsler double to make it 2-1. After a Torii Hunter single, Miguel Cabrera hit a sac fly to make it 3-1. In the eighth, J.D. Martinez led off with a single against Matt Lindstrom, and Castellanos followed up with a walk. After Bryan Holaday bunted the pair over, Austin Romine made it 4-1 after a successful squeeze bunt. Davis made it 5-1 after a run-scoring infield single. He then stole second, and scored on a single by Kinsler to make it 6-1. Joakim Soria shut the door in the ninth, and the Tigers are playoff bound once again.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Kyle Lohse threw a complete game shutout in Milwaukee’s 5-0 win over Cincinnati, allowing two hits and striking out six without a walk. Mark Buehrle tossed eight shutout innings in Toronto’s 1-0 win over Seattle, allowing three hits, one walk, and punching out ten. Taijuan Walker nearly matched him pitch for pitch, allowing one run on four hits in eight innings, striking out six and walking one. In the Cubs’ 3-1 win over the Cardinals, Jake Arrieta gave up one unearned run on two hits in seven innings, punching out ten and walking one. In Minnesota’s 2-1 win over Arizona, Phil Hughes gave up one run on five hits in eight innings, striking out five without a walk. Clayton Kershaw sealed up his Cy Young (and possibly the NL MVP award) in the Dodgers’ clincher against the Giants, allowing one run on eight hits in eight innings, striking out 11 without a walk. Justin Verlander pitched the Tigers to a win over the White Sox, allowing one run on seven hits in eight innings, striking out six without a walk. In the loss for the White Sox, Chris Sale gave up one run on four hits in six innings, walking three and striking out ten. Lisalverto Bonilla tossed six shutout innings in the Rangers’ 5-1 win over the Astros, allowing four hits, walking a pair, and punching out seven.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In the Yankees’ 9-5 loss to the Orioles, Chase Headley went 3/4 with a solo homer and three runs scored, while Mark Teixeira went 2/4 with a double, a homer, and three RBI. Ryan Flaherty went 3/5 with a double, two runs, and two RBI in the win for Baltimore, while teammate Nelson Cruz went 4/5 with a run and an RBI. In the Padres’ 4-3 win over the Rockies, Tommy Medica went 2/3 with a double, a homer, three RBI, a walk, and a stolen base. Carl Crawford went 2/2 with a double, three runs, two RBI, and a stolen base in the Dodgers’ win over the Giants. Rougned Odor went 2/3 with a double and a solo homer for the Rangers in their victory over Houston. Justin Upton went 2/4 with a homer, two RBI, a walk, and a stolen base in Atlanta’s 6-2 win over Pittsburgh.
Other Games: The Angels beat the A’s 5-4. The Indians stayed alive, beating the Royals 6-4. The Phillies edged the Marlins 2-1. The Red Sox stomped the Rays 11-3. The Nationals and Mets were rained out.
Today’s Games: Yovani Gallardo and the Brewers take on the Reds. Kevin Gausman and Hiroki Kuroda will duel in the Bronx. In game two of the Mets-Nationals doubleheader, Zack Wheeler and Gio Gonzlez will duel. Max Scherzer and the Tigers host the Twins. Jose Quintana and the White Sox host the Royals. Andrew Cashner starts for the Padres in San Francisco.
National TV: Orioles-Yankees (7 PM, MLB Network), Twins-Tigers (7 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
