IBC

Matchups worth following this week in IBC:

AL EAST
While Boston stumbled last week going 1-5 against the Pirates and Orioles, the race for the AL East crown became a little more interesting with Toronto going 5-2 and Baltimore going 3-3. Only 4 losses separate the first place Red Sox from the third place Blue Jays with the Orioles sitting right in the middle. The Red Sox will have an opportunity to make up for a lackluster week by hosting the two bottom dwellers in the division in the Yankees and Rays for three games a piece. The Orioles will head to New York for 4 games against the Yankees while the Blue Jays host 4 games against the M's. After that the Blue Jays will host the Orioles for 3 games in a pivotal series that could determine who gets the first Wild Card seed, or perhaps even thrust a team into first place should the Red Sox fail to take care of business at home.

AL CENTRAL
The Tigers put the final nail in the coffin for the Royals by sweeping the Royals in Kansas City. They also dropped 2 of 3 against the Twins, but the week was overall a success as they appear to be cruising to the division crown. The Tigers will host the White Sox for 3 games, and then the Twins will travel to the Motor City for their last stand as playoff hopes dwindle away.

AL WEST
Texas kept a healthy pace over the week by splitting 6 games on the road against division rivals Angels and A's and clinching the West. They will head back to Arlington and attempt to move up to the 2nd seed in the AL by hosting the second place Astros for 3 games and then Oakland for 4.

NL EAST
The Phillies held onto their first place spot in the East with a 4-3 record on the week. They will head down to Miami as they will fight off the Marlins who are guaranteed a playoff spot and went 6-1 last week, but are 5 games back of first place. It's a long shot, for sure, but crazier things have happened. The Phillies will then return home to face Atlanta for 3 games while the Marlins will head to the Capitol for 3 games.

NL CENTRAL
The Pirates have clinched home field advantage through the playoffs by crushing the spirits of fans in Boston and Milwaukee by sweeping the Red Sox and Brewers. Milwaukee's 2-4 week allowed the Reds to edge ahead by 2 games with their 4-2 week, but the fight is far from over. The Brewers will get their chance to push ahead by heading to Cincinnati for 3 games and then returning home for 3 games against the Cubs while the Reds have to host the Pirates. Both the Reds and Brewers will be paying close attention to the Rockies who are 1 game ahead of the Reds for the second Wild Card spot.

NL WEST
The Dodgers split a 4 game series in Chicago against the Cubs and then dropped 2 of 3 in Colorado, but they don't really care as they have locked up their division and are guaranteed to be facing the winner of the East in the first round of the playoffs. Colorado is clinging to a 1 game lead in the race for the final Wild Card spot and will travel to San Diego and Dodger Stadium for their final 6 games.


IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY:
AL SELIG GAME: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles
Red Sox would host WC winner
Texas Rangers vs. Detroit Tigers

NL SELIG GAME: Colorado Rockies vs. Miami Marlins
Pittsburgh Pirates would host WC winner
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philladelphia Phillies

That NL wild card is going to come down to the final weekend. Don't bet on Pittsburgh to rest its starters, but Wainwright probably won't go on Sunday if that's his scheduled day. Not sure if it is or isn't, but he'll have to be ready to make his Game 1 start on Thursday or Friday.

Both NLDS start Friday assuming we follow MLB schedule (http://m.mlb.com/postseason/schedule).

Dodgers do care as they're trying to break the century mark for the first time in franchise history!

Dodgers wrote:Both NLDS start Friday assuming we follow MLB schedule (http://m.mlb.com/postseason/schedule).

Dodgers do care as they're trying to break the century mark for the first time in franchise history!

I think we've always had the ALDS/NLDS start on the same days for us, I'll have to look at past databases. So I think that would make Wild Cards Tuesday, LDS' Thursday. Fun times.

Mid-Week Update

The Reds and Brewers both had an off-day before starting their 3 game set in Cincinnati, and the Rockies took advantage with a win over San Diego on Monday. The Brewers then won the first game of their series while the Rockies kept pace with another win over the Padres. The Brewers are now just a game back of the Reds, but the Reds are now 2.5 games back of the Rockies.

Both the Orioles and Blue Jays started off the week the right way with a 2-0 start each while the Red Sox enjoyed an off-day followed by a win over the Rays. The division race is tightening up with the Orioles now 2 games back of the Red Sox and the Blue Jays 2 games back of the Orioles. The Orioles and Blue Jays will finish the season with a 3 game set in Toronto.

Twins were also eliminated last night, meaning 3 teams come out of the ALE again.

RedSox wrote:Twins were also eliminated last night, meaning 3 teams come out of the ALE again.

Representin'

Congrats Nick.

9/24

NLWC Race:

The Reds and Brewers continue to beat up on each other with the Reds taking a 5-4 win over the Brewers in 12 innings. The loss is a heartbreaker for the Brewers as they had cut down the potential winning run down at the plate for the 2nd out of the 12th inning just to have Dave Murphy drive in Mark Trumbo the very next at bat.

Meanwhile the Rockies lost 1-3 in San Diego with the Padres bullpen shutting out the Rockies for 5 innings.

The Reds are now 1.5 games back of the Rockies and the Brewers are 2 games back of the Reds.

ALE Race:

The Orioles beat the Yankees again to take the first 3 games of the 4 game series with a 5-3 victory. The O's jumped ahead when Carlos Gomez hit a 2 run home run in the 8th inning.

The Jays kept pace with a 5-1 victory over the Mariners with a Wei-Yin Chen throwing a complete game.

The Red Sox lost to the Rays 3-2 despite a strong performance from Blake Treinen.

The Orioles are now 1 game back of the first place Red Sox while the Jays remain 2 games back of the Orioles.