Baseball

[GoCubsGo]

Amazingly, the Orioles are in the wildcard hunt with a losing record.

It's very possible that the last wildcard card team to make the playoffs in the AL could have a losing record.

Never happened in a normal year.

[Vrede too]

Amazingly, the Orioles are in the wildcard hunt with a losing record.

It's very possible that the last wildcard card team to make the playoffs in the AL could have a losing record.

Never happened in a normal year.

GoLoser BirdsGo

[Vrede too]

Amazingly, the Orioles are in the wildcard hunt with a losing record.

It's very possible that the last wildcard card team to make the playoffs in the AL could have a losing record.

Never happened in a normal year.

How to keep losing teams out of MLB playoffs

Might be moot this year.

Colton Cowser's leaping catch saves O's amid wild-card race (video)

Walkoff HR theft with a walkoff catch!
Orioles to .500 for first time since April. WC 4th, 1/2 game behind Cleveland.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/standings/_/view/wild-card
GoOsGO

Cubs add nine more HRs in rout of Brewers to cap record month (video)

The Cubs hit a franchise-record nine home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night in a fitting finish to a torrid August for the North Siders.

Monday's home run total included three by third baseman Alex Bregman; it was his second three-homer game of the month after going his entire career without that many in a single game.

"First two ever, so for sure, we'll definitely remember it," Bregman said after the Cubs' 17-3 drubbing of the division-leading Brewers.

Then, x 17.

The home run barrage also helped the Cubs set a franchise record for a calendar month. They hit 62 home runs in August, second only to the 2019 Yankees, who hit 74 in August of that year.

Damn Yankees.

... The Cubs took advantage on a day when MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong had a quiet game. He finished the month with 14 home runs while Bregman hit 12. They became the third different pair of teammates in MLB history to each hit 12 or more home runs in a calendar month, joining Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, who did it twice, and Rafael Palmeiro and Iván Rodríguez.

... The Cubs now have the distinction of hitting the most home runs in the majors while being tied for allowing the most.

And after a slow start to the season, while playing his first 1,342 career games without a three-homer night, Bregman has two in his last 18 games. He's the seventh player in history with multiple three-homer games in a month and the first since Adam Duvall in September 2020....

GoCubsGo
Still 7 games behind the Brewers?

Meanwhile the Padres are in WC 3rd, leading 4th by 1/2 game.
GoSDGo

[GoCubsGo]

Good article, seems like he covered all the bases.

Cubs nine homer game is a little tainted, three were hit off of position players pitching.

More importantly, I hope they didn't wake the Brewers bear after handing them their worst loss of the year. They've been drubbed a couple of other times this year and immediately went on a winning streak.

The division is lost, I just don't want them to lose the top wild card spot and the all home game series that goes with it.

It's been a weird year, they've been racked by injuries and have been both the hottest and coldest team in baseball. If they're hot and healthy going into the playoffs anything can happen. No predictions from me though.

The downside to a blowout victory...

The Milwaukee Brewers have an incredibly resilienty pattern this season. Whenever they suffer a massive blowout loss, they immediately flush it and go on a tear.Remarkably, after every single major blowout loss they’ve had, the Brewers have responded by winning exactly 7 of their next 10 games.The Blowout Bounce-Back PatternAfter the July 12 loss (14–5 vs. Pirates): They shook it off immediately over the All-Star break and went 7–3 over their next 10 games.After the July 29 loss (16–3 vs. Giants): They bounced back by winning a tight series against the Angels and went 7–3 over the next 10 games.After the August 11 loss (11–2 vs. Padres): They responded by taking series from postseason contenders like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves, going 7–3 yet again.They have used these temporary reality checks as fuel to maintain their first-place standing in the NL Central. Since tonight's August 31 game was a tough 17–3 blowout loss to the Chicago Cubs, history says the rest of this four-game series at Wrigley Field will see a heavy response from Milwaukee.