Doug Fister striking out 9 in a row is pretty cool and must have been great to watch live. In a pennant race no less. I once saw Ron Guidry strike out 6 in a row (to start the game IIRC) live which was awesome.
Doug Fister is awesome. I’d say we miss him in Seattle, but with our current glut of quality pitching it’s hard to complain about his getting traded away. Though I can’t remember now who we got for him.
Oh wait, Google is my friend:
“outfielder Casper Wells, left-handed pitcher Charlie Furbush, Double-A third baseman Francisco Martinez and a player to be named later”
Wells and Furbush have performed well, though I think both have spent more time in Tacoma than in Seattle. I never heard who the “player to be named later” turned out to be.
The odds are still against them, but my God, here come the Rays again. Joe Maddon, Comeback Master. They won their eighth in a row today.
If the Rangers win tonight, they’d become the first AL team to clinch a spot in the postseason. On the last weekend of the regular season.
(Yeah, I know, ‘the last weekend of the regular season’ isn’t what it used to be, now that the regular season ends on a Wednesday. But still.)
And the Nats’ magic number is 3.
There are a number of folks in LA who are planning to be hardcore Nats fans this weekend. Here’s to a sweep!
Yeah, but then the Dodgers would have to actually take advantage of the opportunity. 
Oh, I get it. We’re all a little light-headed after the Dodgers managed to score eight runs each in two consecutive games. Granted, it was against the Padres, but for the past couple of months, it really hasn’t mattered who they were hitting against.
I got email today from the Dodgers with an offer to buy tickets to the potential tie-breaker game between the Cards and Dodgers. All we’d need is for the Cardinals to go 0-6, and for the Dodgers to go 3-3. Or the Cards to go 3-3, and for the Dodgers to win their next six games. Or some (very small) range in between those extremes.
Hey, it’s baseball – anything can happen, right? 
1-9 after two innings—doesn’t look good for that sweep.
He didn’t even know he had done it while it was going on. After his ninth, Prince Fielder walked off the field with his arm around him, smiling. Fister asked him what was going on. Prince said, “You don’t know? Ask the guys in the dugout.” Verlander told him.
Homer Bailey tosses the first no hitter for the Reds since Tom Browning’s perfecto.
Incredibly, the Pirates had not been no-hit since BOB GIBSON did them in in 1971.
On a less happy note it was Pittsburgh’s 81st loss, so they are but a loss away from the amazing “Feat” of 20 straight losing seasons.
Those of us at Dodger Stadium tonight who know each other because we have the same mini-plan were discussing what the odds were that the scoreboard operator had the teams’ scores reversed. No such luck, apparently.
Ah well, at least we got to see a great game tonight. Kershaw looked like his Cy Young winning self tonight. And, for the third consecutive night, the Dodgers scored eight runs. If only this offense had shown up a month ago…
Meanwhile, since the Rangers lost, even now nobody has clinched anything in the AL! And with only 5 games to go, the “suppose team X wins all of its games and team Y loses all of its games” scenarios are at the edge of possibility.
Especially since the Angels could keep themselves in contention the next two days by continuing to beat the Rangers.
And a St. Louis win today settles the entire NL, except for some home field advantage issues, and frankly you know the division champions would rather set up their rotations and freshen the bullpens than fight tooth and nail for a mild advantage.
The AL is insane. Five playoff spots, eight teams, and as of now, nobody is safe.
I am so bummed I did not watch this game. This is the kind of momentum the Reds need going into the playoffs! Now if Johnny Cueto can just get that 20th win out of the way…
In a weird move, Joe Girardi started Derek Jeter at DH today. Now in the sixth inning, he’s moved Jeter to short, replacing Ed Nunez, which means the Yankees cannot use the DH anymore in this game.
Seriously, there was nobody else to replace Nunez? With an expanded roster?
I don’t understand this one. I thought St. Louis’ magic number was still 3.
You’re right, my math was off.
It’s almost as crazy an AL finale as the last few days of the 1967 season.
The only things we know for sure about which combination of those 8 teams will make it is that (a) the Tigers and White Sox can’t both be in the playoffs, and (b) the Rangers will play a 163rd game in 2012, one way or another: even if they were to lose their last 5 games and everyone else in contention were to win their remaining games, the Rangers and the Angels would be tied at 92-70 for the second AL wildcard, and would play a 1-game playoff for that spot.
The Yankees lost this afternoon, so the O’s have a chance to pull into a tie for the AL East lead tonight. Go O’s!
Nats just beat the Cards in the 10th, clinching a tie for the NL East with 4 to go. One Nats win, or one Braves loss, and we’re in.
O’s add to their astronomical total of 1-run wins, and are tied with the Yankees.
A good evening!
It’s Sunday morning, the regular season ends Wednesday night, and still no AL team has clinched anything.
About the only mathematical possibility I’m ready to write off is the theoretical possibility of the Rays’ winning the AL East. They’re 4 games back of the Yanks and O’s with 4 games left for all concerned. So the Rays would have to win all 4 of their remaining games, both the Yanks and O’s would have to lose all of their remaining games, and then the Rays would have to triumph in a 3-way playoff. (Wonder how MLB would structure that, if it came to pass.) If it happens, I’ll let y’all vote on which charity I should donate $1000 to. (It would almost be worth paying a grand to see it happen :))
Speaking of which, I wonder what the chances are that someone winds up in an extra one-or-more game playoff to determine either who’s won a division, or who gets a wild card slot. With things on the AL side as close and crazy as they are, my guess is that it’s about an even bet.