October 2, 2012 [LINK / comment]
Nationals are NL East champions!
It wasn't pretty, as they needed help from Pittsburgh, but the Washington Nationals clinched the National League Eastern Division title last night, in spite of losing 2-0 to the Philadelphia Phillies. The only runs scored came on a triple hit by the Phillies' Darin Ruf; they ball sailed into the corner to the left of the Red Porch, just barely out of reach of Bryce Harper, who crashed into the wall. (He's OK.) See MLB.com. So even if it wasn't the most dramatic way to cross the finish line, it was still very satisfying, a reward for a long season of consistent, top-notch playing by the Nationals.
Natitude!!!
The Nats are well-accustomed to playing the role of spoiler, in 2007 (against the New York Mets) and 2010 (against the Atlanta Braves). This year it was the Pittsburgh Pirates who played that role, to the Nationals' benefit. [They beat the visiting Atlanta Braves, 2-1.]
Bryce Harper has two more games to tie Tony Conigliaro's 1964 record for home runs hit by a rookie (24); since it doesn't much matter who wins or loses, he can feel free to swing away. It should be noted that Bryce has only played for five full months this year.
Tigers win AL Central Division
Who would have thought one month ago that the Detroit Tigers would [have] as big a lead in their division (3 games) as the Washington Nationals, and an even bigger lead than the Texas Rangers (2 games)? Well, they successfully finished their late-season push by beating the Royals in Kansas City last night, 6-3. The crushing 11-0 victory by the White Sox over the host Cleveland Indians did not even matter. What a disappointing September swoon for the Chicago south-siders.
In that Tigers-Royals game, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera hit his 44th home run of the year, retaking the league lead from Josh Hamilton. Cabrera has a slight edge in batting average over Joe Mauer of the Twins (.325 vs. .323) and a solid advantage over Josh Hamilton in the RBI department (137 vs. 127). Will he become the first player to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967? See the "Triple Crown Watch" at MLB.com.
In other races...
The Yankees clobbered the Red Sox, while the Rays beat the Orioles, who fell a game behind.
The surging Oakland A's beat the visiting Texas Rangers last night, pulling to within a single game in the AL West race. Texas better get busy quick, or they could lose the division race outright in the final two games.
The Reds fell to the Cardinals, so the Nationals are still tied with the best record in the majors, 96-64.