Last night the Reds clinched the division by defeating the Houston Astros 3-2 on a walk-off home run in the 9th by Jay Bruce. Bruce took the literal first pitch and cracked it over the center field wall. For good measure, the St. Louis Cardinals also lost, firmly cementing the Reds as NL Central Division Champions.
As of right now, the playoffs are nearly set. All four AL teams are decided, although it's not yet clear as to who wins the division and who wins the wild card between the NY Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays (Tampa leads the division by a 1/2 game). The Rays are also 2 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins for home-field advantage. The Texas Rangers round out the AL field.
In the NL, the Phillies have won the East and have clinched home-field. The Reds have the Central. That leaves the West and the wild card. The SF Giants have a 2-game lead on the San Diego Padres for the West and the Atlanta Braves have a 1-1/2 game lead over the Padres for the wild card. All other teams have been eliminated from contention.
For the AL, the East winner will almost surely face off against the Rangers while the Twins take on the wild card winner.
In the NL, the Giants are a game ahead of the Reds for record. If the season ended today, the Phillies would play the Reds and the Giants would play the Braves. But this might change based on the last five games of the season.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment