On Friday, I looked at the top 5 series for the weekend. Let’s see how they ended up:
-San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies. Rockies took 3 out of 4 and they look to be on a streak like they went on in 2007 which propelled them to the World Series. The best pitching matchup of the weekend was Sunday, but Ubaldo Jimenez outdueled Tim Lincecum to win a big one for the Rockies. The Rockies were 15.5 back of the LA Dodgers on June 3rd and were 12 games under .500 and they’re now 17 games over .500 and 3 back of LA. They also now have a 4 game lead over the Giants for the Wild Card. I listed Carlos Gonzalez as the key player for the Rockies which was probably the ultimate jinx as he’s now going to miss a week because of a knife snafu. They didn’t need him as Ryan Spilborghs hit a 14th inning grand slam last night to grab a huge win in the game and in the series for the Rockies. Meanwhile, on the Giants side, Tim Lincecum is winless in his last 4 starts. Huge series for the Rockies and now they face the Dodgers who they’re 2-10 against and have been outscored by 31 runs so far this season. These two teams then go at it again in San Francisco next weekend which could be the Giants’ last chance to make a run at the playoffs. Buster Olney goes further into another great Colorado run.
-New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox. I live blogged on Friday and Sunday and the Yankees won. I didn’t on Saturday and they got murdered. Coincidence? I think not. Some links post series: Behind The Moat has a roundup of what we learned. Mark Feinsand writes that after taking care of business, the Yankees are eyeing home-field advantage. Tyler Kepner says it’s a good time to be a Yankees fan. Baseball Musings pointed out that Red Sox pitching has been struggling mightily lately. Tyler Kepner also writes that Girardi came to the defense of his catcher after a ridiculous controversy arose. Steven Goldman points out—among other things—that if the Yankees play to their current pace the rest of the season, the Red Sox would have to go 33-6 to pass them (and 28-11 if the Yanks go .500, a 116-win pace).
-Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays. Texas lost 2 of 3 in Tampa…but didn’t lose any ground in the Wild Card race. The Rays gained some ground in the Wild Card race and now sit 3 back of the Red Sox. Tampa took the first two games and the Rangers were able to hold off a sweep behind Scott Feldman (13-4) who now has a 9-1 record on the road for them this season. Feldman was a 30th round draft pick and barely stayed in the majors the past two season with a 5.77 and 5.29 ERA, respectively. But he’s been one of the best pitchers in the American League all season. How did the key players perform? Ben Zobrist has a .400/.500/.960 line in the last 7 days, Matt Garza still hasn’t won in over a month, Andruw Jones reached base once in the last week, and Ivan Rodriguez loves being a Ranger again with a .500/.538/.700 line over the last week. The Rangers head to the Bronx for a big 3-game series starting tonight.
-Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs lost 2 out of 3 to the Dodgers and may be watching October from home. They sit 8 games back in the division and 7.5 back in the Wild Card. Barring a miracle finish, they’re sitting at home once the playoffs start. The Los Angeles Dodgers have spent 134 days in first and their biggest division lead was at 9.5 games on June 3rd. They are 18-19 in the second-half and 10-12 in August. They need to turn it around, and fast. This is a Joe Torre managed team, though, and that usually means they’re going to go through a tough stretch but pull it out in the end. Manny Ramirez is a better hitter than he’s been showing so once he starts mashing again, the Giants and Rockies are in big trouble.
-Florida Marlins at Atlanta Braves. Atlanta won 2 out of 3. Derek Lowe leads the Braves in wins, Jair Jurrjens leads the team in ERA, Javier Vazquez leads the team in strikeouts, and Tommy Hanson (9-2, 3.12 ERA) has a chance to become the first Braves pitcher to win the National League Rookie of the Year award. That’s a balanced pitching attack right there. Hanson was huge again for the Braves, and they are suddenly a very dangerous team. They won’t catch the Phillies in the division (7 games), but they’re 4.5 back of Colorado and 8 games over .500 for the first time all season. Atlanta’s schedule is very favorable to them as well playing San Diego, Cincinnati, Houston, the Mets (twice), and Washington (twice). Hanley Ramirez continues to be amazing for the Fish but I don’t think he’s going to be able to propel them into the playoffs, despite the fact he leads the league in hits, average, doubles, and has a .996 OPS.
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