Game 1: He did it! Shane McClanahan notched win #20 tonight in a 5-1 triumph over the Yankees. It was the last meaningful thing to accomplish in the regular season and Mac was up to the task, going 7 5 1 1 3 4 on only 88 pitches to end his season 20-5, 2.88 with 68 walks and 219 Ks in 215.2 innings. WAR doesn't like him as much as some other pitchers (the 20 HR against I suppose, not a ridiculous #), coming in at only 4.1, but by the traditional metrics he would seem to be the Cy Young favorite. The only question was whether the bats would support him as he trailed 1-0 after 4 when Joe Allen took him deep. But Triston Casas launched #21 in the top of the 5th to tie it up, and in the 6th two men reached ahead of Keibert Ruiz, and Mac's battery mate came through with a 3-run blast (#10) to make it 4-1. For good measure, Ruiz went deep again in the 8th to give us the final score. Daniel Espino and Jasseel De La Cruz each pitched scoreless innings to preserve the signature win. The next time we'll see McClanahan will be at the Trop either against these Yankees or the Orioles in Game 1 of the ALDS in about a week's time.
Playoff race update: In the AL, both the White Sox and Twins lost, which suits Chicago as they stay a game up with 2 to go. In the NL, things got tighter as Milwaukee lost while Washington and Arizona both won, leaving the Brewers 1 game up in the first wild card over the Nats and D-backs who are tied for the second.
Update to the update: Don't look now but the Red Sox, whom I buried a few days ago, beat Baltimore and are now within 2 games of both the Yankees and Orioles. They'll have to win both the games this weekend vs Baltimore of course to force a tie with them, but if the Rays sweep the Yanks we could have a 3-way tie for the 2 wild cards.
Game 2: The Rays had their biggest inning and biggest rout of the season, scoring 12 times in the 2nd inning on the way to a 17-1 annihilation of the Yankees. For the Rays the game meant nothing other than to pad several hitters' stat lines, but the Yankees still haven't clinched a wild card yet, and with Boston defeating Baltimore again later in the day they now sit tied with Baltimore and only one game ahead of the Red Sox going into the season's final day. But yeah, about those stat lines being padded. No point in going over what order they came in, just feast your eyes on these numbers:
On the pitching side, Jack Leiter stayed red-hot making it 7 wins in 7 starts by going an MLB career-long 8 1/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits, walking 0 and whiffing 3 as he ends his rookie season 11-3, 4.20. With the Christian Little injury he's now looking at starting Game 4 in the ALDS. Mike Bayley got the final 2 outs.
Playoff race update: Let's hear it for Team Entropy, a term coined by baseball writer (and JAWS creator) Jay Jaffe. In addition to the wild card muddle in the AL, the White Sox lost and Minnesota won, meaning they're tied for the AL Central lead with one day to go. And in the NL Milwaukee won to clinch a wild card, and Washington won to get within one game of clinching thanks to Arizona losing.
September 26: Placed P Christian Little on the 15-day IL with a herniated disc, recalled P Emerson Hancock from AAA Durham.
Going to finally give Hancock an MLB callup and a start today in the final game of the season. I'm sure the Orioles and Red Sox are thrilled, but that's their problem. Hancock is out of options after this year so unless something goes horribly wrong and he makes the team next year, this is probably his swan song in the Rays org as he'll be dealt somewhere in the offseason.
Game 3: Emerson Hancock's MLB debut did not go well, and the Yankees clinched a wild card by drubbing the Rays 10-3. Hancock gave up a 2-run HR in the 1st to Anthony Rizzo and 3 more in the 3rd. He did settle down to retire them in the 4th and 5th and ended 5 8 5 5 2 5. Blake Money came on and walked the bases loaded in his 2nd inning of relief and then surrendered a grand slam to Anthony Seigler. Triston Casas hit HR #22 and Yordan Alvarez and Hunter Bishop had RBI singles for the Rays' other 2 runs. The loss also means the Padres end up with the best record in MLB as they prevailed today for win #106.
Final team record: 105-57. Next up: the ALDS.
Playoff Race Update: High drama at Fenway as Baltimore jumped out to an early 4-0 lead off Tyler Glasnow but Boston came back and won it in the bottom of the 9th 5-4 to force a 1-game playoff between the two tomorrow for the second wild card. With the Twins and White Sox tied for the AL Central lead going into today, Minnesota hung on for a 4-3 win in Kansas City while the White Sox found themselves down 8-0 to Detroit in the 2nd inning. They rallied but fell short, losing 9-7 so Minnesota ends up winning the AL Central after all, having led for all but the final days of the season. The White Sox ended up getting swept in Detroit after entering the final weekend a game up. In the NL, Washington beat Philly 5-2 to clinch the second wild card where they'll play Milwaukee, eliminating Arizona in the process.