The Cardinals lost yesterday, 5-4 to the Cubs in 11 inning walkoff fashion. The Brewers came back to beat the Nationals 4-2, the Phillies beat the Braves 6-2, and the Dodgers beat the Reds 3-1 in ten. Where does that leave us? Well, the Cardinals are still leading the race for the second wild card, but have just a game and a half lead over the Brewers, are two up on the Dodgers, and are three up on the Phillies. The Brewers and Phillies have made moves this month in earnest, with Milwaukee playing 11 games over .500 in September and the Phillies at nine games over in comparison to the modest 9-10 stretch put together by the Cardinals. We are….live!
Game of the Night: Brewers 4, Nationals 2. After an emotional evening where the Nationals clinched the first playoff berth in team history, they faltered against Milwaukee. Leading 2-1 into the ninth, closer Tyler Clippard was shaky for Washington. Norichika Aoki instigated the ninth by reaching on a bunt single, stealing second, and moving to third on a Rickie Weeks flyout. Ryan Braun singled to score Aoki, and then Braun stole second before getting doubled in by Aramis Ramirez to make it a 3-2 game. Ramirez moved up to third on a wild pitch by Clippard, and scored on a Travis Ishikawa infield single (that really should have been an error on shortstop Ian Desmond). John Axford finished the game without much incident, and the Brewers continued to roll.
Pitching Lines of the Night: CC Sabathia and Jarrod Parker had a fantastic pitchers duel in New York, and of course, neither figured into the decision. Sabathia threw eight shutout innings, allowing just three hits, walking two, and striking out 11. Parker allowed one run on six hits over eight, striking out seven without a walk. New York won 2-1 after a Russell Martin walkoff homer. Ervin Santana carved up the White Sox in a 6-2 Angels win, allowing one run on two hits over seven, walking one and striking out 11. James Shields carved up the Blue Jays, not that he needed to in a 12-0 Rays win…Shields threw seven shutout innings, allowing six hits, walking one, and striking out nine.
Hitting Lines of the Night: On an evening where both Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre were on the bench, David Murphy went 3/4 with the Rangers, driving in three runs while doubling and a homering in Texas' 6-3 loss in Seattle. Chris Johnson had a great game in Arizona's 15-5 blowout win over Colorad, going 3/6 with two runs, three RBI, a double, and a homer, while Miguel Montero went 3/5 with three runs, three RBI, and a double. The Astros beat the Pirates 7-1, and Brett Wallace went 2/4 with two runs, two RBI, a triple, and a homer. The Mets beat the Marlins 7-3, and Scott Hairston went 2/4 with three RBI, a triple, and a homer. David DeJesus helped the Cubs get a big win over the Cardinals, giong 4/6 with two runs, an RBI, and a triple.
Other Games: The Orioles beat the Red Sox 4-2 to keep pace in the AL East. The Royals staved off elimination for yet another day, beating the Indians 6-3. The Giants beat the Padres 5-1, and their magic number is down to two. The Twins & Tigers were rained out.
Today's Games: Eight day games today! Adam Wainwright starts for the Cardinals in Chicago. Joel Peralta and the Brewers take on Gio Gonzalez and the Nationals, with Gonzalez looking for win 20. Doug Fister starts for the Tigers against the Twins. Mark Buerhle takes on RA Dickey at Citi Field. Mat Latos starts for the Reds against the Dodgers. Brandon Morrow takes on Matt Moore in Tampa. Mike Minor and Roy Halladay will duel in Philly. Dan Haren starts for the Angels against the White Sox. Matt Harrison starts for the Rangers against the Mariners. Madison Bumgarner can potentially clinch for the Giants, hosting the Padres.
Enjoy your day of baseabll, everyone.
