The Yankees played an unusual game last night, though the pattern was not unfamiliar. They gave up 3 runs with 2 outs in the first, then several solo homers, as Atlanta built a 6-1 lead. Several homers of their own made it 6-4 in the seventh, with runners on the corners and one out, and A-Rod at the plate. As they have so many times with runners in scoring position this year, the Yankees failed to come through, as A-Rod grounded into an inning-ending DP. If he gets the ball in the air and ties the game, the Yankees super end-game bullpen comes into play, but instead they went with the second tier and Atlanta scored 4 more runs and won 10-5. Sigh.
The Dodgers also lost, 4-1 to Oakland (and posting only 3 hits). The combination of these two games means that Texas now has the best record in baseball. Actually the Rangers, Dodgers, Yankees and Nats have each lost exactly 27 games: the Rangers have won 43, the Dodgers 42, the Yankees 41 and the Nats 39, but they are even in the loss column.
The all-or-nothing Mets completed a sweep of the Orioles, in a game where they led 4-0 but held on to win 4-3 with the bases loaded in the ninth. This was the fourth straight sweep for the Mets, sort of: they swept two series and were swept in 2! They face the Yankees next, which previously was one of the down sweeps. Against all odds, though, the Mets have hung on the fringe of the race: they are 38-32, .543 (projected 88 wins) and trail the Nats by only 3 games. The Braves, however, are just 1/2 back, and I’m afraid the smart money is on Atlanta to pass them both and claim the division.
The Nats, though, are not going down without a fight: they scored 3 in the first for Strasburg, and he made it stand up as they took the rubber game from the Rays 3-2.
I love this game, usually.