After Saturday, Major League Baseball has all 10 Postseason teams clinched, but there are still some decisions to be made in the final day of the regular season. Starting in the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched a playoff berth for a sixth straight season with a 10-6 win over the San Francisco Giants, which officially eliminated the St. Louis Cardinals from playoff contention. They got off to a fast start with home runs from Yasiel Puig and Joc Pederson in the first two innings, as Alex Wood got the win in relief after 1.1 scoreless innings and two strikeouts. It was the ninth win of the season for the reliever turned starter, turned reliever on this day. Now it's just a matter of who and when they will play to kick off the Postseason.
This win was not only big for the Dodgers' playoff spot, but also for the NL West Division. The Colorado Rockies' eight-game win streak came to an end at home on Saturday night with a 12-2 loss to the Washington Nationals. Stephen Strasburg threw six impressive innings while striking out seven in his 10th victory of the year. Juan Soto also had a big blow with a home run, tying Bryce Harper for the second-most home runs by a teenager in MLB history. The loss for the Rockies drops them in to a tie for first with the Dodgers, as they look for their first division title in franchise history, which dates back to 1993. Both teams will end their season on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, another National League division that sits in a tie for the final day is the NL Central, thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers. Christian Yelich went deep twice, and now has three home runs in the first two games of the series, as Milwaukee took their second straight from the Detroit Tigers, 6-5. Yelich's second homer came off of reliever Daniel Stump, who suffered his fifth loss, as it broke a 5-5 tie in the seventh. He was serenaded by chants of "MVP, MVP" and enters the final day within striking distance of a possible Triple Crown. The Brew-Crew are entering their first Postseason since 2011, but still have close eyes on the Chicago Cubs.
The Brewers' win pulled them in to a tie for first in the NL Central with the Cubs falling to the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1. Matt Carpenter had the go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning, as the pitching duel favored the now eliminated Red-Birds. Miles Mikolas got the best of this one, pitching eight innings of one-run baseball and striking out six in his 18th win of the season. Those numbers out-shined Cole Hamels, who had seven innings of one-run baseball and eight strikeouts, but suffered his third loss with the Cubs. If either or both divisions finish in a tie on Sunday, they will play a Game 163 for the Division Title on Monday. The losers of those matchups will battle in the NL Wild Card Game on Wednesday.
This win was not only big for the Dodgers' playoff spot, but also for the NL West Division. The Colorado Rockies' eight-game win streak came to an end at home on Saturday night with a 12-2 loss to the Washington Nationals. Stephen Strasburg threw six impressive innings while striking out seven in his 10th victory of the year. Juan Soto also had a big blow with a home run, tying Bryce Harper for the second-most home runs by a teenager in MLB history. The loss for the Rockies drops them in to a tie for first with the Dodgers, as they look for their first division title in franchise history, which dates back to 1993. Both teams will end their season on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, another National League division that sits in a tie for the final day is the NL Central, thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers. Christian Yelich went deep twice, and now has three home runs in the first two games of the series, as Milwaukee took their second straight from the Detroit Tigers, 6-5. Yelich's second homer came off of reliever Daniel Stump, who suffered his fifth loss, as it broke a 5-5 tie in the seventh. He was serenaded by chants of "MVP, MVP" and enters the final day within striking distance of a possible Triple Crown. The Brew-Crew are entering their first Postseason since 2011, but still have close eyes on the Chicago Cubs.
The Brewers' win pulled them in to a tie for first in the NL Central with the Cubs falling to the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1. Matt Carpenter had the go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning, as the pitching duel favored the now eliminated Red-Birds. Miles Mikolas got the best of this one, pitching eight innings of one-run baseball and striking out six in his 18th win of the season. Those numbers out-shined Cole Hamels, who had seven innings of one-run baseball and eight strikeouts, but suffered his third loss with the Cubs. If either or both divisions finish in a tie on Sunday, they will play a Game 163 for the Division Title on Monday. The losers of those matchups will battle in the NL Wild Card Game on Wednesday.
