The final day of the season has more drama than we were expecting; the Monday after the season, however, will have far less than we were hoping. That, plus a number of players who hit significant milestones.
Last year, the Marlins finished the regular season with a no-hitter by Henderson Alvarez. This year, with Jordan Zimmermann and the Nationals doing the honors, the shoe was on the other foot.
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Derek Jeter manages a hell of a send-off at Yankee Stadium, the playoff races are winding to a close, and previews from the final weekend of regular-season action.
The Thursday Takeaway
A tie game in the bottom of the ninth inning. A fast runner on second base. The stage was set. For this:
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The Tigers and Royals play one of the games of the year, while the rest of the wild card races have exciting weekends.
From good pitching to timely hitting, questionable bunting to controversial umpiring—and on the heels of the early excitement, a dose of late-inning drama—Saturday’s American League Central battle between the Tigers and Royals had it all.
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The Angels get to celebrate, the Dodgers get Coors'd, the Giants and Royals close gaps, and Brandon McCarthy is immaculate.
One of the reasons Dodgers manager Don Mattingly chose Carlos Frias to take the place of the injured Hyun-jin Ryu for yesterday’s start at Coors Field is that the left-hander “has been a strike thrower.” True to form, Frias notched strikes with nearly two-thirds of his pitches on Wednesday and did not walk a batter. But the good news ended there.
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Jacob deGrom punctuates his ROY bid and ties a record in the process; the Rizzo/Cashner trade pays off in a big way, for both sides; the Royals and Tigers hold the line.
What’s a good way for a pitcher to try to wrap up his league’s Rookie of the Year award? How about starting a game with eight consecutive strikeouts to tie a record previously held by Jim Deshaies? That’s the route Jacob deGrom chose.
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The Dodgers, and Kershaw, put some space between them and their competition; the Cardinals are building a cushion; a Twin struck out more than 10 batters; and baseball happened in all other corners of this great nation of ours.
The Dodgers came to AT&T Park for a three-game showdown with a two-game lead in the West. A sweep would bump Los Angeles from the top of the standings. Any other outcome would keep the Giants in second place.
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The revised interpretation of Rule 7.13 gets tested immediately by the Yankees and Rays. The rest of yesterday's action is recapped and the best of today is previewed.
Sometime yesterday, Joe Torresent a memo to all 30 teams to clear up the mounting confusion over Rule 7.13, otherwise known as the ban on catchers blocking the plate and on runners bowling them over. A key point of the letter was to eliminate, or at least mitigate, the possibility that runners who looked dead to rights coming down the line could be deemed safe on a technicality. The wording of Rule 7.13 wasn’t changed, but no longer would the replay crew in New York side with a manager who argued that his runner, a good distance away from the plate when the ball arrived, had his path to the dish impeded by the catcher.
The change in interpretation was made effective immediately. Its consequences were evident just a few hours later.
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Winners (Angels, Mariners, Cardinals) win. Losers (A's, Brewers) lose. Plus what to watch today.
On Sunday, the Angels became the majors’ highest-scoring offense, taking the crown with a 14-4 romp over the Twins, their fourth win in a row and 10th in 12 games.
A rainout on June 18th threw a wrench into the Halos’ travel plans, forcing them to make a one-day stop in Cleveland on an already hellacious road trip that began in Texas and will end there, too. After taking Labor Day off, Mike Scioscia’s squad is in the midst of a grueling stretch of 23 games in as many days, but that daunting docket didn’t deter the Angels from padding their league-leading run total on Monday afternoon.
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Buster Posey goes for MVP consideration, the Angels pound their way to the top of one leaderboard, Nelson Cruz makes a run for a HR crown, and, in an Oakland ninth inning, the best fun fact of the month.
The Weekend Takeaway
After Friday’s game, Chris Carter now has 36 home runs on the year, putting him hot on the trails of Nelson Cruz and Giancarlo Stanton for the MLB lead. The A’s, who shipped Carter to the Astros on February 4, 2013, as part of a package to acquire Jed Lowrie, don’t mind that. They just kindly request that the 27-year-old Bay Area native stop going yard against them.
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The Brewers are in trouble, the Buehrle-Odorizzi matchup was as glamorous as advertised, Koji Uehara can't get it together, and more of yesterday's action. Plus what to watch this weekend.
When an eight-game losing streak sends you tumbling from first place in your division to the brink of the playoff picture, it’s easy to begin feeling helpless. When you hold a lead at the end of only one of your last 56 innings on the diamond, desperation surely starts to set in.
The Brewers, with Carlos Gomez nursing a wrist injury and Ryan Braun away for the birth of his daughter, could not have chosen a less opportune time for their collapse. They welcomed the Cardinals, the team they led less than a week ago but at which they’re now looking up, to Miller Park on Thursday for the opener of a four-game showdown. And their tailspin continued almost immediately.
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A whiff-tastic Cleveland-Detroit game, more Philadelphia pitching exploits, and your daily dose of Jose Altuve, plus what to watch today.
The Indians got trounced in their series opener versus the Tigers on Monday, when Corey Kluber took the hill without his best stuff. That’s never a good idea in a matchup with David Price, but it was merely one loss, and the Tribe had reason to believe that it might even the series on Tuesday.
Kluber has deservedly gotten most of the press for an outstanding breakout campaign, but Carlos Carrasco has quietly emerged as a fine second fiddle since returning to the rotation on August 10th. He’d racked up a 0.73 ERA in four starts to go with a 24:3 K:BB ratio in 24 2/3 innings. J.P. Breentook notice. And the Indians, 3-1 behind the 27-year-old during that span, were reaping the rewards.
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What You Need to Know: September 29, 2014
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