News and notes from the playoff chase:
- I've almost run out of ways to say that the Phillies are sleepwalking through the end of the year: Philadelphia got swept in a four-game series by the Nationals, running the Phils' losing streak to six games overall.
- The Wild Card-leading Braves got their first good news in a long time when St. Louis gagged away a 6-2, ninth-inning lead to the Mets, slicing the Braves' magic number to five with six games to play. The collapse by the Cardinals was breathtaking, but perhaps it shouldn't have been unexpected, given St. Louis' recurrent problems with its shoddy bullpen throughout the year.
- Arizona had the day off yesterday, but the Snakes' magic number still fell to one when San Francisco got stomped by the Dodgers, 8-2. It's now do-or-die time for the Giants, who head to Phoenix for a crucial three-game series that they need to sweep to stay alive in the divisional race.
The Wild Card race looks like this right now:
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | Wild Card E # |
|
|
Braves |
88 | 68 | -- | 4-6 | L1 |
-- |
| Cardinals | 86 | 70 | 2.0 | 7-3 | L1 |
5 |
| Giants | 84 | 72 | 4.0 |
8-2 | L1 | 3 |
| Dodgers | 78 |
77 | 9.5 | 6-4 | W1 |
Done |
Note: If the Brewers were not leading the Central, they would have a three (3) game lead on the Braves for the Wild Card spot.
And here are the playoff participants, if the season ended today:
| W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak | Magic # |
|
| Phillies (East) | 98 | 58 | -- |
3-7 | L6 | -- |
| Brewers (Central) | 91 | 65 | 7.0 | 6-4 | L1 | 2 |
|
D-backs (West) |
90 | 66 | 8.0 | 5-5 | W1 |
1 |
|
Braves (Wild Card) |
88 | 68 | 10.0 |
4-6 | L1 | 5 |
On tap for today:
- Philadelphia @ New York: Hamels (14-9, 2.80) vs. Dickey (8-13, 3.35)
-
Milwaukee vs. Florida: Gallardo (17-10, 3.60) vs. Volstad (5-12, 5.13)
- Arizona vs. San Francisco: Saunders (12-12, 3.66) vs. Cain (12-10, 2.86)
-
Atlanta @ Washington: Hudson (15-10, 3.19) vs. Strasburg (0-0, 1.29)
- St. Louis vs. Chicago: Carpenter (10-9, 3.66) vs. Dempster (10-13, 4.63)