So, the Cubs lost again yesterday, and did so in spectacular fashion. If Jake Arrieta avoided serious injury, though, I’ll consider it an OK day overall.
That’s at least partly because the Brewers, who are chasing the Cubs in the NL Central, also lost yesterday – on a Billy Hamilton walk-off homer, no less (yes, that’s a thing that can happen apparently). That dropped the Cubs’ magic number to clinch the NL Central to 22, and preserved their NL Central lead at 3.5 games.
The Cardinals beat the Padres, bringing them to within 5.0 games of the Cubs, and 1.5 games of the Brewers, who are themselves 1.5 games behind the Rockies for the second Wild Card spot.
That first Wild Card spot is firmly in the grip of the Diamondbacks, who won their 11th in a row last night, beating the Dodgers again. How about this for incredible: despite winning 11 in a row while the Dodgers went 1-9 in their last 10, the DBacks are still 12.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. That lead was ridiculous.
Also, baseball itself is ridiculous:
The Los Angeles Dodgers, June 7 – August 19: 52-9.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, August 26 – September 4: 1-9.
— Rany Jazayerli (@jazayerli) September 5, 2017