Neither the Tampa Bay Rays nor the St. Louis Cardinals control their wild card destinies, but here’s the equation both are contemplating as they chase the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves, respectively: One game back with three to play.
Who knew math could be so much fun, eh, baseball fans?
Albert Pujols and the Cardinals end the season with three games against the last-place Astros. (AP Photo)
The fun resumes Monday night, less than 24 hours after it ended late Sunday night in New York when the Red Sox survived extra innings against the New York Yankees. Boston won, 7-4, in 14 innings, thus keeping its lead over Tampa Bay at one game.
The cast of characters remains the same Monday as it has been in recent weeks, only the sites change: Boston is in Baltimore and New York plays at Tampa Bay.
“We've got to grind and shine,” Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon said. “That's what we've got to do from here on out.”
It’s easy to get caught up in scoreboard-watching, but Rays manager Joe Maddon thinks of it a bit differently: “If we stay in the present tense, we can do this. If you focus on what others are doing, you don't have a chance to do what you're doing.”
Meanwhile, in the NL, the Braves continue to stumble to the finish line. They were shut out Sunday by the Nationals, 3-0, to see their lead shrink to one game. The good news: They close the season at home. The bad news: The NL East champion Phillies are in Atlanta.
So, here’s today’s wild, wild wild-card schedule and pitching matchups:
• The Red Sox send Josh Beckett (13-6) to the mound against the Orioles’ Tommy Hunter (4-4) in a 7:05 p.m. ET game.
• The Rays have James Shields (15-12) facing the Yankees’ Hector Noesi (2-1), also at 7:05 ET.
• The Braves will start Randall Delgado (1-1) against the Phillies’ Cliff Lee (16-8) at 7:10 p.m.
• The Cardinals counter with Jaime Garcia (13-7) against the Astros’ best starter, lefthander Wandy Rodriguez (11-11).
St. Louis players chanted “Happy flight! Happy flight!” in the clubhouse Sunday, after a 3-2 win over the longtime rival Cubs, a reference to the Cardinals’ charter to Houston.
“One game down with three to play,” manager Tony La Russa said. “That's our perspective right now. Enjoy the moment.”
One game out, three to play? Math is one thing, notes the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Reality is another. Consider the pitching match-ups for the Braves’ series against the Phillies.
After the Delgado-Lee head-to-head Monday, it’s struggling Derek Lowe against Roy Oswalt on Tuesday. In the series finale, it’s Tim Hudson against the Phils’ Kyle Kendrick or perhaps Joe Blanton.
What had been a Braves strength—starting pitching—now appears to be a weakness with Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson injured.
The Braves are 10-17 since opening a 10½-game lead over the Cardinals on Aug. 25. Worse, in the past month, they’re 10-11 against four non-playoff teams (Mets, Marlins, Nationals, Dodgers) and 0-6 against the Phillies and Cardinals.
“We’ve got to somehow put it behind us and come out and try to beat Cliff Lee,” first baseman Freddie Freeman told the Journal-Constitution. “Hopefully it clicks for us (Monday) and we get a good pitching performance like we had (Sunday) and score more than zero.”
Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2011-09-26/wild-card-races-come-down-to-wire#ixzz1Z5VhXj5f
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