MLB Playoff Wrap: Yankees Come From Behind, Add to Wild Card Drama
By Jason Burke
NL Playoff Races
Washington and Chicago are all but in at this point, while Los Angeles retains their four game lead after they beat Arizona and San Francisco figured out Coors Field (if a 3-2 win can be deemed “figuring it out”). If Rich Hill can continue to make starts down the stretch and Clayton Kershaw is anything close to the best pitcher on the planet, then you have to like their chances to win the West.
The wild card race largely stayed the same on Tuesday night, with the Giants, (+0.5) and Cardinals holding onto their spots with wins, and the Mets maintaining just a one game deficit to St. Louis. The Pirates lost a heartbreaking eighth straight at the hands of the Cardinals after St. Louis plated four in the ninth, dropping them to 5.5 back of the second wild card, while the Marlins lost their fifth straight, dropping six back.
Colorado still has a glimmer of hope, but after losing 3-2 to the Giants on Tuesday, pushing for a .500 record (66-72) seems like a more attainable goal than a playoff berth.
Playoff Odds
The Dodgers have a 99.2 percent chance of making the playoffs one way or another, while the Giants gain half of a percent, going up to 79.8 (11.6 percent at the division). The Cardinals (63.3) and Mets (54.1) are the two teams with realistic aspirations, while the Pirates recent losing streak has dropped them all the way down to a 2.4 percent chance of even making their own darned wild card game. Miami (0.7) and Colorado (0.3) round out the rest of the hopefuls.
Elimination Numbers
From bottom to top, here we go: Atlanta (5), Padres (9), Reds (10), Diamondbacks (10), Brewers (13), Phillies (14), Rockies (18), Marlins (19), Pirates (21) and Mets (24).
There is a good chance that over the next week to week and a half we’ll see a number of these teams officially fall out of MLB playoff contention, which won’t be a big surprise for the Braves, Reds, Padres, Brewers and Rockies, but Arizona had high expectations heading into this year and still find themselves towards the bottom of the pile in the National League. Changes are likely coming to the desert, but whether or not that means success is another question entirely.
Author’s Hot Take
After spending most of the day saying that the Giants were done, they go ahead and pull out a win against a pretty decent pitcher in Tyler Anderson after being two-hit by the Rockies’ middle-of-the-roatation starter Chad Bettis. Baseball. The only reason the Giants make the playoffs this year would be because the Mets stopped winning, and San Francisco backs in. New York is seemingly the only team that can save us from more even year tomfoolery.
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The Dodgers will win the West and take on Washington in the NLDS, while the Cubs will face the wild card winner, which right now could end up being either the Cards or the Mets. With a healthy(-er) starting rotation, the Mets could even potentially give Chicago a run for their money if they can hit just a little bit. If not, we’re likely to see a Cubs/Dodgers NLCS. Los Angeles has been hot, even without contributions from Hill and Kershaw. With reinforcements on the way, they could become a force to be reckoned with if they can hide their bullpen enough in the postseason.