The Dodgers clinched the NL West Friday night. But even in the midst of the team’s extended losing streak (16 losses in 17 games, if you missed the cataclysmic blow up), the title always seemed like a foregone conclusion. The NL Central, on the other hand, isn’t, or wasn’t, the foregone conclusion that the NL West was.
The Cubs make strides toward the NL Central title and the Brewers do not
Saturday’s Say Hey, Baseball talks about the tough times the Brewers have fallen into.
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Before the Dodgers celebrated the title, the Milwaukee Brewers were put away by the Cubs in the tenth inning for the second night in a row — a third consecutive heartbreaker. And now, thanks to a comeback win against the Pirates, the Cardinals officially sit a half-game ahead of the Brewers in the NL Central standings, five games behind the Cubs and 1.5 games behind the Rockies for the second NL Wild Card. Coming into the four-game series on Thursday, the Cubs had a magic number of eight and a division lead of 3.5.
If Milwaukee can’t find a way to put the Cubs away Saturday and Sunday, they’ll officially be eliminated from NL Central contention. But the Brewers are only a half-game back of the Cardinals and after a series against the sub-.500 Reds, Milwaukee will play a final series against the Cards. In the meantime, the Rockies will be facing the sub-.500 Marlins and then the very-not-sub-.500 Dodgers in its two final series.
The odds are stacked against the Brewers pulling out a series tie. After two extra-innings heart-rending losses in succession, the team will face a hot Kyle Hendricks on Saturday, who has a 2.42 ERA in 67 innings since coming off the DL in July. The team’s win probability for Saturday’s game is 39 percent, according to FanGraphs. Sunday’s matchup might be the best chance the Brewers have, facing Jose Quintana. Quintana’s 4.27 ERA is not great, but it’s also a product of stumbling in August, giving up six runs in a few starts. The Brewers will throw Chase Anderson, who is having a career-best season with a 2.74 ERA.
The stars will have to align for the Brewers to find their way into the postseason. The team came into this series hoping to escape with the division lead. Now they’re in third place with a long road ahead.
- Cody Bellinger’s 39th home run didn’t just break the record for the most ever by a rookie in the National League. The dinger also secured the Dodgers’ win over the Giants and allowed his team to celebrate in front of its division rival. Bellinger’s swing was so majestic that it looks like it takes him completely off the ground, and it is now the only thing I ever want to watch for the rest of my life.
- As the weeks left in the MLB season dwindle to days, here’s where the playoff races stand .
- The Diamondbacks’ guest for first pitch was a dinosaur, which really when you think about it, is just a really large Very Good Baseball Dog. No word yet on whether the Mets will try to sign him.
- Scooter Gennett has put himself in good company as the first player since Lou Gehrig to hit four grand slams and have a four home run game in one season. He still chooses to go by Scooter, though, so how great can he really be?
- In a relatable turn of events, Derek Jeter is planning to run the Marlins by not running the Marlins. He’ll ask others to do the job instead. Extremely same.
- Capping off Todd Frazier’s tough week was this hidden ball trick that was extremely good but extremely obvious.
- The Tigers will not extend Brad Asmus’ contract to 2018, the team announced.
- Anibal Sanchez likely made his last start at Comerica Park. We’ll always have Paris.
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