Nationals 7, @Phillies 3: “Nat Gio” set a franchise record with his 21st win, and
only a party pooper would dwell on Dickey’s NL-best numbers in IP, SO, QS and QS%, Game Score Average, CG, SHO, IP/GS, and being nice to kittens.
Attention early readers — there’s a bit of new stuff at the bottom.
Indians 4, @White Sox 3 / @Tigers 2, Royals 0: All you zombies, show your faces! The race that will not die staggers hungrily into the final week, seeking brains or anything else that can make sense of it all.
In another thread, longtime reader Topper wondered aloud: “Who is the all-time SABR whipping boy?”
In our first installment of Cannon Fodder: The Casualties of WAR, we look not at overrated players per se, but at those who managed the longest careers (since 1901) with a very poor WAR rate.
Indians 15, @Royals 4: Deja Vin all over again. The game was still close when Vin Mazzaro entered. Four batters and no outs later, the rout was on. It wasn’t quite a reprise of his last Tribal meeting, but you can’t expect to make history every time out.
In Saturday’s White Sox-Angels game, a balk was called on Jose Quintana. Here’s the clip; here’s the situation:
Too much going on for a full report, but I’ll just hang it up there and see how y’all whack it.
@Angels 6, White Sox 2: Chicago’s 3rd straight loss cut their division lead to 1 game in the loss column. In their last 4 games, they have 4 HRs and 8 runs. Angels gained a game on Oakland in the WC chase, but they’re 4 back in the loss column with no games left against the teams to need to catch.
Note: Information that came out after the original post reveals that your humble narrator’s judgment was hasty. See bottom of post for update.
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The Associated Press reports that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached an agreement that evades the possibility of drug-suspended Melky Cabrera being recognized as the National League batting champion:
Orioles 3, @Mariners 1 (11): Well, naturally.
Orioles 10, @Mariners 4: It’s the first time any team has scored 10+ runs at Safeco Field since 2011-08-30. The total of 14 runs is the 2nd-highest in Seattle this year, and is more than twice the season average of 6.32 R/G. That would be the lowest combined home scoring average for any MLB team that employed the designated hitter. In the live-ball era, just 23 teams have had lower averages at home, 6 of those in 1968.
I’m too glum about Detroit’s loss to cover the races, so here’s some stupid stuff instead: