MLB Playoffs have started and drama already

The baseball playoffs began on Friday with two wild card play in games. They were one game playoffs between the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles and the Cardinals won each upsetting the home team and advancing to play the number one seed. 
In the case of the Orioles they will be taking on their division rivals the New York Yankees and the Cardinals will be taking on the Washington Nationals.

In the Braves/Cardinals game there was some controversy as a infield fly was called in the eighth inning. When you first saw the play the thought is that the ball was in the outfield how could an infield fly be called?? The answer to that though is, it can be called anywhere in the field as long as an infielder has a reasonable chance to catch the ball. The call itself wasn’t wrong the more I have reviewed it and gone over the rule. The only thing that may have been wrong was that the umpire called it too late. He seemed to call it an infield fly as the ball was coming down. The display that the fans in Atlanta put on was despicable and that should never happen.

The other game was a close game for the most part and then the Orioles scored a couple of ninth inning runs to put the game away. The Orioles and Yankees split their 18 games this season and it will be the first time that divisional opponents will meet each other in the first round. I believe the Yankees are a better team and will win in four games. In the postseason though anything could happen. I think that the Nationals will also win and the Red/Giants matchup is very intriguing. I would say that the Reds would win but that is a very tough series to pick. The Oakland Athletics are a hot team but the Tigers have a triple crown winner and one of the best pitchers in baseball. I think the Tigers will probably win that series in five games.

It should be a fun and exciting postseason and I will keep it all covered here on the blog. I will have full Yankees coverage coming tomorrow. I also do want to do a Mets season in review article in the near future.

The New York Mets end the season with a win over the Miami Marlins

The New York Mets defeated the Miami Marlins by the score of 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon. The game took place at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. Jeremy Hefner started for the Mets and pitched well and the bullpen was good. Ruben Tejada led the Mets offense. Tom Koehler started for the Marlins and pitched ok and their bullpen was pretty good. The Marlins offense was led by Petersen and Murphy. 
Hefner won his fourth game of the season pitching 7 1/3 innings giving up five hits and two runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. Elvin Ramirez pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two walks, Manny Acosta retired the only batter that he faced and Bobby Parnell pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. Parnell saved his seventh game of the season. Koehler lost his first game of the season pitching five innings giving up six hits and three runs with three strikeouts. Chad Gaudin pitched two innings giving up three hits and a run with two strikeouts, Dan Jennings pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk and A.J. Ramos pitched 1 2/3 innings striking out two.

Tejada had three hits, Justin Turner had a hit and Ike Davis had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Scott Hairston had a hit and two RBI, Lucas Duda had a hit and Andres Torres had a hit and an RBI. Hefner had a hit, Tejada and Davis each hit a double. Turner hit a triple and Torres, Hairston and Davis each hit a homerun. The Mets were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Kelly Shoppach had a passed ball and Baxter had an outfield assist.

Petersen had two hits, Gorkys Hernandez had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Jose Reyes had a hit. Mike Stanton drew a walk, Carlos Lee drew a walk and Solano had a hit and drew a walk. Murphy had two hits, Petersen and Murphy each hit a double and the Marllins were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Reyes had a stolen base.

Torres hit a solo homerun in the third to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Hairston hit a two run homerun in the fourth to extend the lead to 3-0. In the sixth Davis hit a solo homerun to make it 4-0 and that would be the Mets final run of the game and season. Hernandez hit an RBI single in the sixth, a passed ball in the eighth scored the second and final run of the game. The final score was 4-2 Mets.

The Mets and Marlins were both disappointing this season. The Mets finished with a 74-88 record and the Marlins were at 69-93. The Mets at least for them didn’t finish in last place.

The New York Yankees clinch the best record in the AL with victory over the Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by the score of 14-2 on Wednesday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and pitched well, the bullpen finished it off well and Robinson Cano led the offense. Daisuki Matsuzaka started for the Red Sox and was bad, their bullpen didn’t do much better. The Red Sox offense was led by Cody Ross. 
Kuroda pitched seven innings giving up seven hits and two runs. He won his 16^th game of the year and walked two and struck out four. Cody Eppley pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Clay Rapada pitched to one batter and struck him out and Freddy Garcia pitched a perfect inning striking out the side. Matsuzaka lost his seventh game of the season pitching 2 1/3 innings giving up six hits and five runs with a walk and two strikeouts. Clayton Mortensen pitched two innings giving up three hits and two runs with two walks and two strikeouts, Pedro Beato pitched an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and a strikeout and Scott Atchison pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit. Chris Carpenter pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and five runs with two walks, Craig Breslow pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk and Junichi Tazawa pitched a perfect inning.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Brett Gardner had a hit and Ichiro Suzuki had a hit and two RBI. Alex Rodriguez had two hits and drew two walks, Robinson Cano had four hits, six RBI and drew a walk and Nick Swisher had two hits, an RBI and drew two walks. Mark Teixeira had an RBI and drew a walk, Curtis Granderson had two hits and four RBI and Raul Ibanez had a hit and drew a walk. Russell Martin had a hit including a double, Rodriguez and Suzuki each hit a double. Granderson and Cano each hit two homeruns and the Yankees were 5-13 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Suzuki had a stolen base.

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, Dustin Pedroia had a hit and drew a walk and Daniel Nava had a hit. Ross had two hits and an RBI, Ryan Lavarnway drew a walk and Pedro Ciriaco had two hits. Jose Iglesias had a hit and an RBI. Pedroia, Ciriaco and Nava each hit a double. The Red Sox were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Pedroia had a stolen base and Ross was caught stealing.

Ross hit an RBI single in the first to put the Red Sox up 1-0. In the second Granderson hit a three run homerun to make it 3-1 Yankees. Cano hit a two run homerun in the third to make it 5-1 Yankees. Cano hit a two run homerun in the fifth to make it 7-1 Yankees. In the sixth Cano hit a two run single making it 9-1 and the rout was on. Iglesias hit an RBI single in the seventh to make it 9-2. Granderson hit a solo homerun in the seventh to make it 10-2. That homerun set the Yankees single season franchise record for team homeruns with 245. Suzuki hit a two run double to make it 12-2. In the seventh still Swisher hit an RBI single and Teixeira hit a sacrifice fly making it 14-2 and that was the final score.
The Yankees finished the regular season with a record of 95-67 and the Red Sox are headed home finishing a terrible season. The Sox were 69-93. The Yankees will play their next game on Sunday on the road. They aren’t sure where they will play yet though. The Texas Rangers will host the Baltimore Orioles in a one game playoff on Friday and the winner will play the Yankees in their home ballpark for the first two games. The Yankees will have games 3-5 in their building. The Yankees finished the regular season with the best record in the AL and will have home field advantage through the ALCS.

The New York Yankees rally to tie and then beat the Boston Red Sox in 12 innings

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by the score of 4-3 in 12 innings on Tuesday night. The game was played at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. David Phelps started for the Yankees and pitched pretty well. The Yankees bullpen pitched well and Raul Ibanez led the Yankees offense. Jon Lester started for the Red Sox and was in trouble all night but limited the damage. The Red Sox bullpen was pretty good and their offense was led by Dustin Pedroia and James Loney. 
Phelps pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up three hits and two runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Boone Logan faced two hitters and struck out one, Joba Chamberlain pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Dave Robertson pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. Rafael Soriano pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with a walk and two strikeouts and Derek Lowe pitched two innings giving up two hits and a walk with a strikeout. Lowe picked up his ninth win of the season. Lester pitched five innings giving up eight hits and an unearned run with a walk and a strikeout. Rich Hill pitched an inning giving up two hits and two strikeouts, Junichi Tazawa pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Craig Breslow pitched an inning giving up a hit. Andrew Bailey pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs with two walks, Mark Melancon pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings with a strikeout and Vincente Padilla pitched an inning giving up a hit. Andrew Miller took his second loss of the season pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks and a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had two hits, Nick Swisher had two hits and drew two walks and Alex Rodriguez had two hits and drew a walk. Robinson Cano had two hits, Russell Martin had a hit and Francisco Cervelli drew a walk. Curtis Granderson had two hits and drew a walk, Eduardo Nunez had two hits and an RBI and Ibanez had two hits and three RBI in pinch hitting duty. Ichiro Suzuki had a hit, Swisher, Jeter and Nunez each hit a double. Ibanez hit a homerun, the Yankees were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on base. Granderson had a stolen base and Gardner was picked off.

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, Pedroia had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Daniel Nava drew a walk. Cody Ross had an RBI, Loney had two hits and an RBI and Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a hit and drew a walk. Pedro Ciriaco had two hits and drew a walk, Pedroia hit a double and Loney hit a homerun. The Red Sox were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Ciriaco had a stolen base and committed an error. Breslow had a pickoff.

In the first inning the Red Sox took a 2-0 lead. Pedroia hit an RBI double and Ross had a sacrifice fly. The Yankees cut the lead to 2-1 in the second on a Nunez RBI single. The score stayed that way until the ninth inning. Loney hit a solo homerun to make it 3-1. Ibanez hit a two run homerun in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at three. The Yankees won the game 4-3 in the 12^th inning when Ibanez hit an RBI walk-off single.

The Yankees have won the first two games of this three game series. The Yankees record improved to 94-67 and the Red Sox record dropped to 69-92. The Yankees and Red Sox will play the final game of the regular season on Wednesday night. If the Yankees win they will clinch the number one seed in the American League and not play until Sunday against the wild card team in their home ballpark. If they lose and the Orioles win then they have to play a one game playoff to determine the division winner.

The New York Mets lose a close one in Miami to the Marlins

The New York Mets were defeated by the Miami Marlins by the score of 3-2 on Monday night. The game took place at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. Jeurys Familia started for the Mets and was very wild but was able to limit the damage. The Mets bullpen wasn’t very good and their offense was led by David Wright. Wade LeBlanc pitched ok and their bullpen was pretty good. The Marlins offense was led by Gorkys Hernandez. 
Familia pitched four innings giving up one hit an no runs with six walks and three strikeouts. Elvin Ramirez pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk, Manny Acosta pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout and Jon Rauch pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and a strikeout. Ramon Ramirez lost his fourth game of the season pitching an inning giving up three hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout. LeBlanc pitched five innings giving up seven hits and an unearned run with two walks and two strikeouts. Tom Koehler pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and a run, Dan Jennings pitched to one batter and got him out and Ryan Webb pitched an inning giving up a hit. Heath Bell won his fourth game of the season pitching an inning giving up a walk and striking out one, Steve Cishek saved his 15^th game of the season pitching a perfect inning.

Daniel Murphy had two hits, Wright had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Lucas Duda had a hit. Ike Davis had a hit, Kelly Shoppach had a hit and drew a walk and Jason Bay had two hits. Andres Torres had a hit and drew a walk. Mike Baxter had a hit and an RBI, Shoppach and Baxter each hit a double. The Mets were 5-15 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.

Bryan Petersen drew two walks, Hernandez had three hits and drew a walk and Jose Reyes had an RBI and drew a walk. Mike Stanton had a hit and an RBI, Carlos Lee had a hit and drew two walks and Rob Brantly had a hit and an RBI. Donovan Solano drew a walk, Gil Velazquez had a hit and Scott Cousins drew a walk. Austin Kearns drew a walk, Gregg Dobbs had a hit. Brantly hit a double, Hernandez hit a triple and Stanton hit a homerun. The Marlins were 2-10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Petersen and Hernandez were caught stealing. Velazquez committed an error and Petersen had an outfield assist.

In the fifth Wright hit an RBI single giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Baxter hit an RBI double in the sixth to make it 2-0 Mets. Stanton hit a solo homerun in the sixth to make it a 2-1 game. Reyes hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to tie the game at two. The Marlins took a 3-2 lead in the eighth on a Brantly RBI double. 3-2 would be the final score of the game as the Marlins held on to the lead.

The Mets record fell to 73-87 and the Marlins record improved to 68-92. The Mets and Marlins are both playing out the string and will play two more games before they are off for the off-season.

The New York Yankees take care of the Boston Red sox and move into sole possession of first place

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by the score of 10-2 on Monday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and pitched well, Freddy Garcia finished the game off and the offense had a huge second inning. Robinson Cano led the offense. The Yankees hit four homeruns in the second including back-to-back homers. Clay Bucholz started for the Red Sox and did not pitch well, their bullpen wasn’t as bad. The Red Sox offense was led by Chin-Hsu Lin. 
Sabathia pitched eight innings giving up two runs on four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. Sabathia earned his 15^th win of the season and Freddy Garcia pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Bucholz suffered his eighth loss of the season pitching 1 2/3 innings giving up six hits and eight runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Alfredo Aceves pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up three hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout, Pedro Beato pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk with a couple of strikeouts and Andrew Miller pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and striking out two. Andrew Bailey pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter drew a walk, Eduardo Nunez had a hit and Ichiro Suzuki had a hit. Alex Rodriguez had an RBI, Melky Mesa collected his first career hit and RBI and Cano had three hits and three RBI. Mark Teixeira had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk, Nick Swisher had three hits and Curtis Granderson had two hits and two RBI. Russell Martin had a hit and an RBI and Eric Chavez drew a couple of walks. Cano hit two doubles and Swisher hit a double. Cano, Martin, Granderson and Teixeira each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 4-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.

Daniel Nava had a hit and an RBI, Mauro Gomez had a hit and drew a walk and Jarrod Saltalamacchia had an RBI. Lin had two hits and Gomez hit a double and Nava hit a homerun. The Red Sox were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base.

The Yankees scored nine runs in the second inning to take a 9-0 lead and never look back. They sent 13 men to the plate and hit four homeruns in the inning. Cano hit a solo homerun and then hit a two run double. Granderson and Martin hit back-to-back homeruns for three more runs. Rodriguez had a sacrifice fly and Teixeira hit a two run homerun. Nava hit a solo homerun in the fourth to make it 9-1 and in the seventh Saltalamacchia hit a sacrifice fly to make it 9-2. In the ninth Mesa had an RBI single to make it 10-2 Yankees and that was the final score.

The Yankees now have a one game lead in the AL East with two games to play. If the Yankees win their final two games against the Red Sox they will be the AL East Champions. The Yankees record improved to 93-67 which is their high water mark of the season. The Red Sox record dropped to 69-91. The Yankees still could end up with the best record in the league and get the number one seed. Texas has a one game lead over them but if they tie the Yankees own the tiebreaker.

Yankees Sunday night postgame notes

Here are the Yankees postgame notes courtesy of the Lohud Yankees blog from Sunday evening after a big comeback win in Toronto.  It was the last road game of the regular season and the Yankees made it memorable.  They now have three at home with the Red Sox to finish the season, if they win out they will at worst be in a first place tie and hopefully for them win the division outright. 

Derek Jeter just might be the most practical person in baseball. Even after a win like this, when the Yankees were three innings away from folding completely and instead made a come-from-behind statement, the Captain refused to acknowledge any sort of larger significance.

“I thought it was important that we continue to fight and came back,” he said. “But all the games are the same now. If you ask me tomorrow, I’ll say the same thing.”

Nick Swisher is not so practical.

“Tonight was a season-defining game for us,” he said.

The Yankees have to hope Swisher is right because, at this point, their season is being redefined every day. A week ago, they’d won seven straight and looked like one of the best teams in baseball again. They’ve since traded wins and losses day by day, going out with a whimper yesterday and showing a ton of fight this afternoon.

Amazingly enough, if the Rangers lose tonight’s second game of a doubleheader against the Angels, then the Yankees, Orioles and Rangers were be in a three-way tie for the best record in the American League, and not a single A.L. playoff spot will be guaranteed.

“It’s hard to avoid that (out-of-town scoreboard),” Robinson Cano said. “You’re going to see it no matter what. Sometimes, it’s good to see those things, so you see (the Orioles) win already, and you know we need to win this game.”

Yesterday the Yankees lost an infinitely winable game. Today they won a game that looked a sure loss. They won with bunts and sac flies and timely hits (and a couple of gift wild pitches). Eric Chavez homered in the third inning, but the comeback itself was nothing but small ball mixed with some fine relief pitching. It might not have meant any more than any other game, but in this situation, it certainly felt bigger. And a loss would have been about as deflating as they come.

If this game will define the Yankees season, they’ll be in good shape.

“For us to be in a spot that we are right now, we control our destiny,” Swisher said. “We win, we go on. We lose, we’re done. It’s exciting, man. I’m juiced up to go back home. I know the Bronx is going to be going crazy, and we’re excited to get there.”

I’m actually not sure the Yankees want to clinch a playoff spot tonight. They clinch if the Rangers beat the Angels, but surely they’d rather the Angels win and give the Yankees a shot at the best record in the American League. “It means we’re in the playoffs,” Jeter said. “But you celebrate for winning the division. That’s what you’re trying to do. Our goal going into the season isn’t to clinch a wild card, it’s to win a division, and we still haven’t done that.”

Up next for the Orioles, the third-place Rays. Up next for the Yankees, the last-place Red Sox. “They would like nothing better than to spoil our season,” Russell Martin said. “Us knowing that, I don’t think anybody is going to take them lightly.”

 Girardi called the Cano bunt single a “heads-up play” and Cano smiled when asked about it. “You’re up by two so you just want to get a (bigger) lead in the situation,” Cano said. “The third baseman was back, so I figured I get a sacrifice, move the runner, (or) we get first and second.”

Cano and Jeter each had three hits, including some big ones late. The biggest hit of the day might have been Cano’s RBI double off the lefty Delabar in the seventh. It was big for the situation, and also because Cano’s really struggled against lefties this season. “I know he’s a guy who has only two pitches,” Cano said. “So if he throws you a fastball, you hit a foul ball, and you just be ready to hit his splitter, because that’s how he gets guys out. … Those are where you want to get your hit. Doesn’t matter if you go 3-for-4 if you don’t get your hits in big situations.”

 On Jeter’s RBI single in the eighth, pinch runner Brett Gardner was trying to steal third on the play. He and Raul Ibanez both thought Gardner probably would have scored even without running on the pitch, but it certainly didn’t help.

The Yankees never got much going against Blue Jays starter Henderson Alvarez. “I thought he was a little more hyped up than he normally is,” Swisher said. “Throwing the ball extremely well and really working that two-seamer. When you’re working at 97-98 mph rather than your typical 92-93, it’s a little different. He did a great job for them, but we were able to get him out of the game early right there which is crucial. We just kind of started the rally from there.”

Eduardo Nunez continues to hit the ball hard for the Yankees, but it’s hard to imagine him being in the lineup against a right-handers, and the Yankees face just one more lefty this season.

Phil Hughes lasted just 4.2 innings, his shortest start since August 12 (also in Toronto). This was only his third no-decision in 32 starts this year. “I didn’t throw the ball well and this could have really been a disaster,” Hughes said. “But the other guys battled back, scored some runs and got a win, which is all that matters.”

Hughes said he wasn’t pitching inside enough in the first inning, and once he made that adjustment, he got on a little bit of a roll before things blew up on him in the fifth. “Some tough locations,” Girardi siad. “Missed some spots and they hit them.”

Know who didn’t miss his spots? Derek Lowe. This was another good outing for Lowe, and Girardi was praising him quite a bit postgame saying Lowe could get into some bigger situations. “He’s done a good job the last three or four outings,” Girardi said. “He had a really good outing when he first got here and then he kind of went through some up and down periods, but he’s been really good. You pick your hitters that you’re going to use him against. He’s a groundball pitcher for the most part, he has a slider for right handers, so I mean, there’s some value to that, sure.”

Rafael Soriano was the only Yankees reliever to allow a hit, but after loading the bases with no outs in the ninth, he got out of it with just one run scoring. “A little rusty today,” Girardi said. “We got him a hitter the other day just because he hadn’t worked in a week, but I think it was important and he got out of that with a big double play. He did an outstanding job after getting the bases loaded. He hasn’t pitched much in the last nine days, so I think it was important.”

 Final word goes to Jeter: “We’re trying to win games, we’re trying to win the division. That’s what we’re always trying to do. If we play our games and we win our games, we’ll be where we want to be. That’s the only thing we’re concerned with now.”

The New York Mets are swept in Atlanta as Kris Medlen sets a record

The New York Mets were defeated by the Atlanta Braves by the score of 6-2 on Sunday afternoon. The game took place at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia. Jennry Mejia started for the Mets and pitched ok, their bullpen was pretty good. The Mets offense was led by Andres Torres. Kris Medlen started for the Braves and pitched great, their bullpen was pretty good and their offense was led by Michael Bourn and Andrelton Simmons. 
Mejia pitched five innings giving up six hits and four runs. He walked two and struck out three and lost his second game of the season. Collin McHugh pitched an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a couple of strikeouts, Justin Hampson pitched an inning giving up a walk and Manny Acosta pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out two. Medlen won his 10^th game of the season pitching six innings giving up three hits and an unearned run. He walked one and struck out four, Luis Avilan pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts, Cory Gearrin pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk and Craig Kimbrel pitched to one batter and retired him. He picked up his 42^nd save of the season.

Ruben Tejada had a hit, Daniel Murphy had a hit and Ike Davis had a hit and drew a walk. Lucas Duda drew a walk, Mike Baxter had a hit and Torres had a hit and an RBI. Murphy and Davis each hit a double and the Mets were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Mejia committed an error.

Michael Bourn had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Jason Heyward had a hit and an RBI and Chipper Jones had a hit and drew two walks. Freddie Freeman had a hit, David Ross had a hit and three RBI and Simmons had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Freeman, Bourn and Heyward each hit a double. Simmons hit a triple and Ross hit a homerun. The Braves were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Bourn had a stolen base and Freeman committed an error.

In the second Ross hit a three run homerun to give the Braves a 3-0 lead. Turner reached on a throwing error and a run scored in the third to make it 3-1 Braves. In the fifth Heyward hit an RBI double to make it 4-1 Braves. In the sixth Simmons hit an RBI triple and Bourn hit an RBI single to make it 6-1 Braves. Torres hit an RBI single in the ninth to make it a 6-2 game and that was the final score.

The Mets record fell to 73-86 and the Braves record improved to 93-66. The Braves are headed to the playoffs and the Mets home. The Mets will begin their final series of the season in Miami on Monday night.

The New York Yankees comeback and defeat the Toronto Blue Jays to remain tied for first

The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 9-6 on Sunday afternoon. The game took place at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada. Phil Hughes started for the Yankees and didn’t have a good outing. The Yankees bullpen was good and their offense had a big comeback. Henderson Alvarez started for the Blue Jays and pitched pretty well. Their bullpen didn’t pitch so well and their offense was led by Brett Lawrie. 
Hughes pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and five runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Derek Lowe pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings, Boone Logan won his seventh game of the season pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and striking out one and Dave Robertson pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out two. Rafael Soriano pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk. Alvarez pitched six innings giving up seven hits and two runs with four strikeouts, Brett Cecil gave up a hit and a run and Steve Delabar pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a walk. Aaron Loup pitched 2/3 of an inning retiring both hitters, Darren Oliver lost his fourth game giving up a hit, two runs and a walk without recording an out and Brandon Lyon pitched an inning giving up a hit. Jason Frasor pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs with a walk and one strikeout and Chad Beck pitched 1/3 of an inning retiring the only batter he faced.

Derek Jeter had three hits and an RBI, Ichiro Suzuki had a hit and an RBI and Alex Rodriguez had two hits and drew a walk. Robinson Cano had three hits and an RBI, Nick Swisher had a hit and drew a walk and Curtis Granderson had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk. Raul Ibanez had two hits, Eric Chavez had a hit and an RBI and Eduardo Nunez had a hit and an RBI. Cano hit two doubles and Jeter hit a double. Chavez hit a homerun and the Yankees were 4-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.

Lawrie had three hits and two RBI, Rajai Davis had two hits and Edwin Encarnacion drew a walk. Colby Rasmus drew a walk, Yunel Escobar had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Adam Lind had a hit and an RBI. Moises Sierra had a hit and an RBI, J.P. Arencibia drew a walk and Anthony Gose had a hit and drew a walk. Escobar hit a double and Lawrie hit a homerun. The Blue Jays were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Lawrie committed an error.

The Blue Jays took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Escobar hit an RBI double and Lind hit a sacrifice fly. In the third inning Chavez hit a solo homerun to make it 2-1. The Blue Jays took a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning. Lawrie hit a two run homerun and Sierra hit an RBI single. In the sixth the Blue Jays threw a wild pitch allowing a Yankees run to score making it a 5-2 game. Suzuki hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh, Cano hit an RBI double and another Blue Jays wild pitch scored a run. It was 5-5 after the seventh. In the eighth Nunez hit a sacrifice fly and Jeter hit an RBI single to make it 7-5 Yankees. In the ninth Granderson hit a two run single to make it 9-5. The Blue Jays made it interesting in the ninth loading the bases with no outs but Soriano only gave up one run. It was a double play to score a run and the last out was a groundout also.

The Yankees record improved to 92-67 and the Blue Jays record dropped to 70-89. The Yankees will now head home to play the last three games of the regular season. They will take on the Boston Red Sox starting on Monday night. The Yankees and Baltimore Orioles are in a first place tie. The Orioles head to Tampa to take on the Rays for the final three games, the Rays are still alive and have to win all the games. The Yankees and Orioles have both clinched a playoff spot so now it is about positioning. The Yankees/Orioles division winner will most likely take on the Central winner in the first round with the loser playing a one game playoff for the right to face most likely the Texas Rangers.