9 days to play until the end of the season. Here’s how things shake out.
American League:
In:
New York (93-60, AL East champions). Their magic number to clinch home field throughout is 8, magic number for first round is 7. Tonight the Yankees are at Tampa Bay, Randy Johnson (17-10, 4.93) against J.P. Howell (0-3, 6.53).
Possibly in after today:
DETROIT (92-62, leads AL Central by 1 1/2 over Minnesota). A win today at Kansas City combined with a Chicago loss against the Mariners assures the Tigers at least a wild card. The game against the Royals has Kenny Rogers (16-6, 3.74) against Mark Redman (10-9, 5.33). For the division title, the Tigers’ magic number is 8.
Oakland (90-63, leads AL West by 8 over Los Angeles). Win today and they’re in, they host the Angels. Pitching matchup is John Lackey (11-11, 3.73) for Los Angeles against Joe Blanton (16-11, 4.74) for the Athletics.
Working on that magic number:
Minnesota (90-63, leads wild card by 5 1/2 over Chicago). They could by in by the end of the weekend, but can’t clinch today. The Twins square off against Baltimore at Camden Yards, Scott Baker (5-8, 6.33) takes the mound for Minnesota against the Orioles’ Eric Bedard (15-9, 3.62). Their magic number to clinch at least a playoff berth is 4.
Falling away:
Chicago (85-69). The White Sox could be eliminated from the division title today and a loss would all but doom their chances of a World Series repeat. Felix Hernandez (11-14, 4.68) takes the mound for visiting Seattle against Chicago’s Mark Buehrle (12-13, 4.79).
Could be gone today:
Boston (83-71). Last night they eliminated the Blue Jays, today the Jays could return the favor. Devern Hansack (8-7, 3.26 at AA Portland) makes his major league debut for Boston against the Blue Jays’ A.J. Burnett (8-8, 3.97).
Los Angeles (82-71). See Oakland above. A loss by the Angels and a Minnesota win would officially eliminate Los Angeles from the playoff picture.
National League:
In:
New York (92-61) is in and has home field throughout.
Possibly in after today:
No team can clinch a playoff spot in the NL today.
Working on that magic number:
San Diego (81-72, leads NL West by 1/2 game over Los Angeles). The Padres host Pittsburgh late tonight, Zach Duke (10-13, 4.49) goes for the Pirates against Jake Peavy (9-14, 4.25) for San Diego. Magic number for the Padres is 9 for both division title and wild card.
St. Louis (80-72, leads NL Central by 5 1/2 over Cincinnati and Houston). St. Louis continues a weekend series in Houston with Anthony Reyes (5-7, 4.92) on the hill for the Cards against the Astros’ Roy Oswalt (14-8, 3.05). St. Louis lost last night so their magic number to win yet another NL Central crown stayed at 5.
Los Angeles (81-73, leads wild card by 1/2 game over Philadelphia). In the final game of the evening, the Dodgers host Arizona. Pitching for the Diamondbacks will be Miguel Batista (10-7, 4.40) countered by the Dodgers’ Brad Penny (16-8, 4.13). Magic number to clinch a wild card is 9.
Falling away:
Philadelphia (80-73). Actually, they may be the team working on the magic number after tonight; certainly they’ll be scoreboard watching later. Hosting the Florida Marlins this afternoon, the Phillies will face Brian Moehler (7-9, 6.09) while they counter with Jon Lieber (8-10, 5.03).
Florida (76-78). See Philadelphia above. Two more losses to the Phillies this weekend and the Marlins’ improbable playoff run will be practically finished.
Cincinnati (75-78). The Reds host the lowly Cubs, but they also draw their best pitcher as Carlos Zambrano (15-6, 3.38) pitches for Chicago against Cincinnati’s Kyle Lohse (4-9, 5.81 overall between Minnesota and Cincinnati).
Houston (75-78). See St. Louis above. Tomorrow night the Astros could be driven to the brink of elimination on national TV.
San Francisco (75-78). The Giants lost a wild one in Milwaukee last night, tonight it’s Noah Lowry (7-10, 4.70) facing the Brewers’ Chris Capuano (11-11, 3.67).
Atlanta (75-79). Atlanta may have 2 days left in the “official” playoff picture, the National League playoffs without the Tomahawk Chop will be a bit strange. But the Braves press on in Colorado, who was eliminated last night. Atlanta sends Kyle Davies (3-5, 7.18) out against Jeff Francis (12-11, 3.88) of the Rockies.
Could be gone today:
Arizona (72-81). See Los Angeles above. They lost to the Dodgers last night to place themselves on the brink of elimination, now they need a 9-0 run just to make .500 for the season.
Tomorrow’s “could be gone today” column in the NL looks to be a lot fatter. It’s almost ridiculous that 11 teams out of 16 still have a shot. What’s really bad is that a team just a few games over .500 will sneak in while teams like the White Sox, Angels, or Red Sox will be left out. Another reason to hate interleague play.
