As quite a few postseason races go all the way down to the wire within the closing week of the common season, listed here are three issues we’ll be keeping track of across the baseball world as we speak:
1. NL West race tightens additional:
The Padres punched their ticket to the postseason final evening on a game-ending triple play towards the Dodgers. Whereas each golf equipment are actually assured of a spot within the postseason, they each nonetheless have one thing to play for all through this closing week of the season. The Padres now sit simply two video games again within the NL West with two video games to go within the head-to-head collection. San Diego additionally holds the tiebreaker after beating L.A. within the season collection, which means that if they will full a sweep of their division rivals they’ll exit the collection tied within the standings however holding onto the NL West crown coming into their closing collection of the season in Arizona. Tonight’s recreation will function a battle of front-of-the-rotation arms for every membership, with right-hander Dylan Stop (3.42 ERA) taking the mound towards Jack Flaherty (3.40 ERA in 9 begins with L.A.) at 7:10pm native time.
2. Sale makes closing push for Triple Crown:
After their win over the Mets yesterday, the Braves are lined as much as ship their two finest pitchers to the mound for video games two and three of a pivotal collection. In tonight’s recreation (scheduled for 7:20pm native time), veteran lefty Chris Sale is not going to solely be pitching for his workforce’s playoff hopes but in addition to place the ending touches on a sensational marketing campaign that seems prone to earn him the primary Cy Younger Award of his profession.
That’s not the one plaudit inside attain for Sale, nonetheless, as he at the moment leads the majors by measure of ERA, has received 18 video games to place him in a tie for the MLB lead with Tigers southpaw Tarik Skubal, and has struck out 225 batters this yr, second solely to Skubal’s 228. A powerful begin towards the Mets wouldn’t solely vastly enhance Atlanta’s probabilities of returning to the postseason however may additionally wind up being what pushes him over the sting as he pursues a pitching Triple Crown. If he manages to overhaul Skubal by season’s finish and end first within the majors in all three classes, he’d be the primary pitcher to win an MLB-wide Triple Crown in a 162-game season since Johan Santana pulled off the feat in 2006.
3. Offseason managerial market taking form:
Over the weekend, the Reds turned the most recent workforce to half methods with their supervisor once they fired David Bell after six seasons on the helm of the membership. They be part of the White Sox and Mariners in having fired their managers this yr, whereas it’s been a poorly saved secret for months that Skip Schumaker is prone to depart the Marlins on the finish of the season after the membership voided their 2025 possibility on his providers to permit him to discover different choices this winter.
The Mariners appear unlikely to leap into the managerial market this winter, as Dan Wilson changed Servais with out the “interim” label being hooked up to his title. However the Sox, Reds, and Marlins may very well be joined by extra golf equipment on the lookout for new administration if different groups half methods with their managers because the common season involves an in depth. The Rockies have reportedly not but decided on Bud Black’s future together with his contract set to run out after the season, whereas there have been experiences of potential adjustments looming in St. Louis as nicely.
