Will Salazar last 5 innings? Will Longo leave the park? Do you remember Cobb’s season debut? Our comment lines are open!
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Tampa advances to the ALDS on road wins against teams riding streaks of 7 and 10 wins.
Your thoughts? Here are a few of my disordered brainwaves:
Mets 1, @Reds 0 — Daisuke Matsuzaka bested Reds ace Mat Latos on both sides of the ball, leading the Mets to the first visiting 1-0 win since 2010 in Great American Ball Park. And before the day shift was over, events in the Gateway City knocked the Reds out of the division race.
@Cardinals 2, Nationals 0 — Michael Wacha was achingly close to a no-hitter. One out away, in just his 9th big-league start, the fastball he threw for his career-high 112th pitch had Ryan Zimmerman beaten, and all he could do was chop it back towards the mound. Wacha stands 6′ 6″ …
Didn’t have time to sand and polish, but maybe it can be a utility hook to hang some chat on.
Reds 11, @Pirates 3 — Cincinnati sucked the air out of the Pirates’ final scheduled home game, grabbing a 5-0 lead before the Buccos came to bat and going on to seize a tie for for 2nd place in the NL Central. About the only thing Jeff Locke did right in his brief outing was to keep Billy Hamilton off base.
@Rays 5, Orioles 1 — Alex Cobb had the tired Orioles eating from his hand, with 12 Ks over 8 innings, and Desmond Jennings broke up a double-shutout in the 5th with his first-ever 3-run homer.
@Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 3 — Jon Lester’s 9th straight quality start settled both ends of the AL East. The BoSox clinched the division, while the Jays, picked for first by some preseason polls, finished last, where Boston ended last year. Koji Uehara came on to face the tying run in the 8th and notched a 5-out save.
Dodgers 7, @D-backs 6 — L.A. overcame the Snakes’ 6-run 3rd inning and celebrated their NL West clincher, the first of the races to be formally settled. Hanley Ramirez drove in 4 with two HRs, tying the game in the 7th on a 2-strike hanger from Chaz Roe, and A.J. Ellis clocked the first pitch of the 8th for the deciding run.
On nights like this, it’s great to be a baseball fan with nothing at risk — even if I can’t keep up with everything.
@Rays 4, Rangers 3 (12 inn.) — In the fourth straight stanza of high drama, Jose Lobaton singled to start the home 12th, pinch-runner Sam Fuld moved up on a bunt, and he dashed home on Desmond Jennings’s line single into right, stealing a win that the Rangers had seemed sure to book.
Indians 5, @Royals 3 — Or, the night the lights went out on K.C.’s playoff hopes. Cleveland pulled even in the 7th with 2 runs, keyed on Michael Bourn’s triple after a hit batsman by Kelvin Herrera, and pulled ahead in the 8th when Asdrubal Cabrera doubled after Carlos Santana drew a leadoff walk from Wade Davis. Bourn tacked on a HR on the 9th, the first run off Luke Hochevar in 11 games, and the Tribe held on to stay a half-game off the wild-card pace, knocking the Royals 3.5 games back. Kansas City left 10 men on base.