Phillies got a really good shot at it over this last series either way it works out tonight. Houston’s already locked the 1 seed in the AL and don’t have much to play for other than staving off rust. Dusty Baker’s probably going to pull regulars early in the next few games to get them a little extra rest.
The Brewers scored three runs in the bottom of the 9th, and two in the bottom of the 10th, to beat the Diamondbacks, but with Philadelphia up 3 runs going into the bottom of the 9th, it’s probably a moot point.
And the Phillies win 3-0 and clinch the last NL WC spot. They are a half game behind San Diego, pending the Padres late game tonight.
That’s an interesting race now. The #5 seed would play the Mets (assumedly), while the 6 seed would play the Cards. Mets are 6 games better than the Cards right now, so maybe playing St. Louis would be a better draw.
BTW, the Braves lost to Miami tonight, while the Mets were rained out against the Nats. So that race isn’t quite over.
Toronto clinched home field in the wild card round, so I clinched tickets to Game 2 with my daughter.
Cool, very cool.
I not planning on going to any games this year. Yankees of course in my case.
American League
Houston, NY Yankees, Cleveland, Toronto are set as the 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds respectively.
Seattle is +1.5 and play Detroit twice today and once Wed.
Tampa Bay is 0 and play BoSox today and tomorrow.
Seattle can finish at 5 with any one of 2 wins, 1 win and 1 TB loss, or 2 TB losses. The Rays hold the tie-breaker.
National League
Los Angeles and St. Louis are locked and are set as the 1 and 3 seeds respectively.
Atlanta and NY Mets are in, but still fighting for the Division.
Atlanta is +1.5 with Marlins today and tomorrow. Any Atlanta win or NY Mets loss works. The Braves hold the tie-breaker.
NY Mets is -1.5 with Washington twice today and once tomorrow
They are combo-locked as far as seeding. Division winner is 2, wildcard is 4
San Diego is +1 with San Francisco today and tomorrow.
Philadelphia is 0 with Houston today and tomorrow.
San Diego can finish at 5 with any one of 2 wins, 1 win and 1 Philadelphia loss, or 2 Philadelphia losses. The Phillies hold the tie-breaker.
So, in theory, the playoffs could get set today. More likely that at least one of the battles goes to tomorrow though…
I assume the teams that are set are pretty much gonna mail it in now.
This is interesting in the case of Seattle. Seattle has to travel to play this coming weekend, either to Toronto (likely) or Cleveland (less likely but still possible.) They can’t win home field. The bummer for them is they have to play a doubleheader today. If you’re managing Seattle, do you just select one of those games as a dump game and resolve not to blow any significant bullpen assets in it?
I’d rather face Cleveland than New York over facing Toronto then Houston. It seems to me that 6 seed is better in the AL this offseason than 5 seed.
Unless Seattle and Tampa Bay meet in the ALCS, in which case the higher seed will be better. But that seems so unlikely that it’s nearly impossible.
I mentioned the same thing regarding the NL this postseason (not offseason!).
I’d rather be #6 and face the Cardinals in the first round than be #5 and face the Mets.
Well, I’m sorry to have to tell you that you’ll be disappointed. I have game four of the ALCS if Seattle makes it that far.
I just happened to look up the wild card standings in the AL, with columns for their home and away records. For Toronto and Seattle, their home and away records are roughly the same. Tampa Bay, however, is 51-30 at home, and 35-44 on the road. Is there any reason they’re so much better at home?
The Houston broadcast team was saying something along these lines last night. They were thinking for both the AL and NL there was a case to be made that being the 6 seed might be better.
Also, they were saying it was a shame Seattle could potentially not have a post-season home game after waiting over 2 decades and that they hoped the powers that be decide at least one Seattle post-season game would warrant prime time coverage vs a mid-afternoon start.
They wouldn’t have had a home game under the old system either. They’d only be guaranteed the single wild-card came in Toronto. (And they get that only assuming they don’t collapse today and tomorrow and let Tampa Bay pass them.)
True, and I do get it, but with three games, you’d hope at least one would be at home. And failing that, at least a primetime slot. At least they have a decent shot at the second one, since neither the Yankees nor the Dodgers play this round.
So #62 for Judge. AL record and non-ped record.
Well, so far as we are presently aware.
He’s gonna lose the Triple Crown though. Arraez getting hurt may have helped him lock in. It’s a shame. Would have been fun to see someone win it.
The Mariners did not suck enough and clinched the 5 seed. 
Stolen from a website, but if Judge is going to win the Triple Crown, he’ll need some help:
If Arraez goes 1-4 today, Judge will have to go 4-4.
If Arraez goes 0-4 today, Judge will need at least 3-4 or 3-3.
If Arraez goes 2-4 (or better), then it’s over.
At least with 62 out of the way, they’re less likely to walk him every single time.
Reminder: All games today are early games - 4:05-4:20p EST. Blue Jays/Orioles have a double-header - 1st game is at 12:35p EST.
None of it matters, Arraez is apparently sitting out today. It makes sense but is disappointing.