Major League Baseball is meant to be played at a leisurely pace that mirrors the attitude of summer, not to mention its six-month season arc. The adage “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” is never more appropriate than when used to describe its cadence.
But when the calendar turns to fall, and the season is down to its final week, the degree of urgency intensifies and labeling it a sprint becomes somewhat inappropriate. It’s a 100-meter dash, and every inning can provide drama, and every result can both keep a season alive, or see it buried. Rarely have we seen a single night where such was in play more than last night.
Witness the numerous clinchings and noose-tightening that we saw from midday until past midnight. Starting with MLB.com’s (on loan?) Mike Lupica:
The last surprise of the regular season in baseball, and one every bit as good as any of the others, is the way A.J. Hinch’s Tigers team has played in August and September, like a bunch of kids taking over the principal’s office, as they’ve made the kind of move they’ve made in the American League Wild Card race — tied with the Royals for the second spot, two games ahead of the Twins. In the process, they have lifted up a baseball city that has been down for too long, one that has waited through seven straight losing seasons for the Tigers to come back.
“It has been really incredible to see this group grow up fast,” Hinch told me late Wednesday afternoon. “Fun wins.” The latest fun win came against the Rays, with Hinch’s ace Tarik Skubal, who ought to win his league’s Cy Young Award, winning his 18th game — seven innings, seven strikeouts, two hits in a 2-1 victory
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman:
Michael Harris II seemed to get the message after Braves manager Brian Snitker said his team needed to treat each of its remaining regular-season games like it was Game 7 of a postseason series.
Harris enjoyed one of the best games of his young career while backing Spencer Schwellenbach and improving the Braves’ postseason hopes with a 5-1 win over the Mets on Tuesday night at Truist Park. The dynamic center fielder finished a triple shy of the cycle, energized the home crowd with a diving catch and etched his name in a rivalry he learned about growing up in suburban Atlanta.
THE BALTIMORE SUN’s Matt Weyrich:
After grinding through months of injury blows and inconsistent performance, the Baltimore Orioles clinched a playoff spot Tuesday with a 5-3 win over the Yankees and, minutes later, the Minnesota Twins’ 4-1 loss to the Miami Marlins. Dean Kremer, who started each of the Orioles’ two clinches in 2023, tossed five innings of one-run baseball against the club’s American League East division foes to put Baltimore in position to celebrate its second consecutive trip to the postseason on its rival’s home field.
THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE’s Michael Shapiro:
In an era of consistent turnover across Major League Baseball, one constant remains across the last near decade: the Houston Astros are kings of the American League West. They secured their crown once again Tuesday night.
Joe Espada’s club clinched the 2024 AL West title with a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners, a victory fueled by Jason Heyward’s heroics and shutdown relief pitching. Houston is now the AL West champion for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, with the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign standing as the lone exception in Houston’s golden era.
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE’s LaMond Pope:
The White Sox pulled a stunner Tuesday, scoring three runs in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Angels to hold off history with a 3-2 victory in front of 17,606 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Sox’s record remained at 120 losses, tied with the 1962 New York Mets (40-120) for the most defeats in a season during Major League Baseball’s modern era.
And last but certainly not least, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell:
These Padres specialize in the dramatic. They win games they shouldn’t win. They’ve taken the NL West race to the wire, when nobody expected them to.
But even by their standards, they turned that drama up a notch — or three — on Tuesday night:
They turned a game-ending triple play at Dodger Stadium to clinch a postseason spot, leaving Shohei Ohtani in the on-deck circle. “Couldn’t script that any better,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt.
Manny Machado started a brilliant around-the-horn triple play to end a 4-2 Padres victory at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, setting off raucous celebrations in the visiting clubhouse. San Diego became the first team in MLB history to clinch a postseason spot with a game-ending triple play.
And the beauty of it all is…we get a chance to experience all this and more today as well, once again from afternoon till late evening.
Courage…