SportsDystopia

A quick rundown of yesterday’s action and how the last 5 days of the season are shaping up…

In the NL, the Mets cruised to a 6-2 win over the Cubs, and mostly avoided the troubled bullpen with Johan Santana pitching 8 dominant innings, and Luis Ayala threw an uneventful 9th  They maintained their 1 game lead over Milwaukee in the Wild Card chase.  The Brewers were on the verge of yet another collapse, after they blew two leads against the Pirates.  Salomon Torres then allowed a walk and a hit in the top of the 9th with  the game tied 5-5, but managed to escape the inning unscathed, and Prince Fielder hit a 2 run walk-off home run.  It was one of those moments that can lift a struggling team, a lift the Brewers sorely needed.  They will throw CC Sabathia today on 3 days rest for a 2nd straight outing, as they are very short on options in the rotation.  Sabathia will face Paul Maholm tonight, who has very quietly been one of the best and most reliable starters in baseball over the last 3 months.  After last night, Milwaukee has the momentum, but this is a team that has a serious history of falling asleep at the wheel in just such moments, and if Sabathia shows wear from his heavy use tonight, Milwaukee’s season is all but over.

The Dodgers crushed the Padres, and Arizona was out of it early against the Cardinals when Randy Johnson gave up 4 first inning runs, ending any serious hopes of contention in the NL West race.  The Dodgers remain a serious threat to make a deep run in October, as no two hitters in baseball are as hot as Manny Ramirez and Andre Ethier have been this month. 

In the AL, the Twins jumped all over Javier Vazquez and cut the White Sox’s lead to 1 and a half games.  Ozzie Guillen called on his pitcher to step up, but Vazquez didn’t deliver, and the 2nd inning home run he gave up to Jason Kubel was one of the hardest hit balls of the season.  Tonight’s matchup will feature Mark Buehrle against rookie Nick Blackburn, who has looked very tired of late.  The Sox can still clinch the division by winning the last 2 games of the series, but Minnesota has been the toughest home team in the majors the last few years, which was why Guillen recognized the importance of winning the opener.  He didn’t get it, but you have to figure the Sox have the edge in tonight’s matchup, with Buehrle on the mound. 

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