Game 1: The regular lineup was in there, but you wouldn't have known considering how listless the offense was in a 4-0 loss to the Jays at Publix Park. They were shut down by Toronto's David Gallegos and 2 relievers on 5 hits, but the main takeaway from this game is how much better Nate Thompson looked on the mound. His final line was 5.1 5 3 1 2 7 with the last two runs scoring off him in the 6th thanks to an error and a runner he left on whom Damani Cotton allowed to score. But the big thing was the 7 strikeouts after he only fanned 1 in his first start back. He looks to be rounding into form and will start either Game 2 or Game 3 of the ALDS as the top 3 for the series will be Josh Carsello, Kevin Kerstetter and Thompson. Depending on the opponent's primary handed-ness, Game 4 will go to Jeremy Curtis or Tim Gates. Jon Soranno need not apply.
Playoff race update: The wild, wacky NL West & Wild Card races raged on today with several of the contenders playing each other. St. Louis beat Atlanta 5-4 on a 9th-inning grand slam from Gunnar Henderson; the Padres beat the Dodgers 3-1 and the Cubs won while Arizona lost. So this is how it shakes out, with the Padres getting a leg up in the West:
There's still technically a race in the AL as the Royals won and the Tigers lost yesterday to allow KC within 2 with 2 games left. Their wild card avenue was closed off though when Seattle won and clinched the 2nd spot to play Houston for the right to play the Rays in the ALDS.
Game 2: The Rays overcame an 8-3 deficit in space of two innings to take a 10-8 win over Toronto as we mark the days until the playoffs start. Jon Jimenez had a huge day, driving in 5 with 4 of them coming on a 7th-inning grand slam (#24) that gave Tampa Bay the win. His one of four Rays homers as Omar Rodriguez (a 2-run shot, #33), Eric Titcombe (#47, a solo shot) and Mike McKee (#6, a 2-run blast) also went deep. Kevin Kerstetter started and thankfully didn't need to win today to get his 20th as he went 5 7 6 6 2 8 with his final line inflated by same bad relief work from Danny Medina, who gave up 4 hits and 2 runs of his own after coming on in the 6th. Chris Toombs got the win with a perfect 7th, his 3rd, and Kikuo Kawase nailed down save #39.
Playoff race update: Despite losing, the Tigers clinched the AL Central when Kansas City also lost, settling the AL. Over in the wild and wacky NL things got a bit clearer as St. Louis beat Atlanta again, Arizona lost again to Houston, the Padres once again beat the Dodgers and the Cubs lost once more. As a result, the Padres won the NL West and St. Louis clinched the first wild card, so it's down to the second wild card which has Chicago and Arizona tied for it with Atlanta and the Dodgers one game behind. So we can still have anywhere from a 2 to 4-way tie for it depending on how things go tomorrow.
Meet your next Rays star:
Alexander, the #25 prospect in baseball, was acquired last winter from Seattle in the trade that sent Ricky Loya to the Mariners and while Loya's had a fine rookie season with the Mariners (.300-23-65, 2.7 WAR) Alexander could be something special. He struggled with an aggressive promotion to Durham to start the year but after going to Montgomery in late April he tore up the league.
Game 3: The Rays closed out the home portion of the 2037 regular season with a 9-2 whipping of the Jays behind the hot bat of Jon Jimenez and the hot arm of Tim Gates. Jimenez, who homered and drove in 5 yesterday, hit 2 more homers and drove in 5 more to give him 26 and 122 respectively, a career-high in the latter category. Gates, meanwhile made the "Tim Gates start", going 6 5 2 2 2 5 to finish his excellent maiden Rays season at 13-1, 3.25 with 176 whiffs in 149.2 IP. Tony Rey, who's really pitched well in September after being the season-long whipping boy, went 3 shutout innings and fanned 4 for his 2nd save of the year. He's only allowed 4 ER in his last 18 2/3 IP over his last 12 appearances. Jim Gebers was 2-3 with a HR (#12) and 2 RBI.
Team record: 122-39. Next up: A makeup game in Boston to close the regular season out.
Playoff Race Update: The NL, which a couple of days ago could have seen a divisional tiebreaker and a wild card tiebreaker tournament, ends with just one conventional tiebreaker game as the Cubs and Diamondbacks both won to set up a head-to-head matchup tomorrow to determine the NL's 2nd wild card and who will face St. Louis in the wild card game.