The season ends on Sunday, September 27.
Including today, 6 weeks of play remain.
The postseason begins on Tuesday, September 29.
It is not too early to let you know that:
The magic number for the Rays to clinch the AL East is 34. The magic number for the White Sox to clinch the AL Central is 36. The magic number for the Astros to clinch the AL West is 37.
The magic number for the Braves to clinch the NL East is 37. The magic number for the Brewers to clinch the AL Central is 35. The magic number for the Dodgers to clinch the NL West is 31.
These are the three top teams in the National League. Arguably, when including the Rays, these are three of the top four teams in baseball. They are separated by 2.5 games.
Positioning in the league race determines home-field advantage in the postseason, but most importantly, the teams that finish first or second in the regular season standings receive a bye in the first round of the postseason.
Plain and simply stated: the division champ with the third-best record of the three division champions is a Wild Card team. The team that finishes third must play the best-of-three Wild Card Series, where anything can happen.
Yesterday, the Brewers beat the Dodgers, 4-2, to increase their lead in the NL to 2.0 games and two in the loss column. The Dodgers stayed in second place in the NL standings because the Braves dropped their second straight to the Diamondbacks, 10-3. The Braves are in third place in the NL standings, one-half game behind the Dodgers, but tied in the loss column.
All eyes should be on the Brewers/Dodgers four-game set that ends today. To recap; Thursday night, Edwin Diaz imploded allowing 3 9th inning runs enabling Milwaukee to comeback and defeat LA, 5-4. Over the last two nights, we saw the aces for each team step up and pitch to win: Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jacob Misiorowski. Neither had their best stuff; both were dominant. Friday night, Yoshi pitched 6.0 innings, allowing one run on 4 hits. He walked 2 and struck out 9. The Dodgers won 3-1, with Edwin Diaz loading the bases in the 9th and being saved by a sterling play at second base by Tommy Edman. Yesterday afternoon into evening (as we watched the shadows creep across the field), the Miz pitched 6.0 innings, allowing one run on 5 hits. He walked 1 and struck out 6.
Miz is now 12-5 on the season with a 1.75 ERA and a .151 BAA. He has struck out an MLB-leading 210 in 139.0 IP. He has a 0.748 WHIP. He has a .151 BAA.
Yoshi is now 12-7 on the season with a 2.60 ERA and a .186 BAA. He has struck out 136 in 145.1 IP. He has a 0.894 WHIP. He has a .186 BAA.
There were two keys to the Brewers’ 4-1 victory yesterday.
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