The Oakland Athletics continued their hot streak with a 2-1 victory over Tampa Bay on Friday night. Oakland has now won ten of its last 13 games and they currently sit 2.5 games behind Houston for the AL West crown and they’re just a game-and-a-half back of the Yankees for the first Wild Card spot, which would give them home field advantage in the one-game playoff. Khris Davis clubbed his league-leading 42nd home run in the tenth inning to give Oakland a lead they wouldn’t squander. The American League playoff teams are mostly set in stone. All that is left to determine is who claims the AL West pennant and which two teams will play in the one-game playoff and where?

 

Around The League

  • There were three players last night to hit double dongs: Aaron Altherr , Yasiel Puig , and Trey Mancini .
  • Ian Kinsler was the only player last night to swipe a pair of bases. Trea Turner , however, swiped his league leading 39th bag on Friday night.
  • Travis Shaw and Christian Yelich both hit their 29th home runs of the season last night. For Yelich, it’s a career high. For Shaw, he would need to surpass last season’s 31 home runs to set a new career best. Yelich also scored his 100th run on the season, which now makes back-to-back seasons of 100 runs scored for him.
  • Giants pitcher Chris Stratton did the Dodgers and Diamondbacks a favor by shutting down the NL West leading Rockies with a nine-inning shutout. Stratton gave up just two walks and two hits while striking out seven. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks each won last night to pick up a game on Colorado.
  • Walker Buehler may not have pitched the entire game like Stratton, but he did throw eight innings of shutout baseball with two hits, two walks, and nine strikeouts in a winning effort to pull the Dodgers within a half-game of the Rockies and into a tie for the second Wild Card spot.

 

Who’s Hot?

  • Trevor Story has a .300/.340/.800 slash line over the last two weeks with seven home runs, 11 runs scored, and 17 RBI. He also has three stolen bases over that span.
  • Since August 19th, Alex Bregman is slashing .385/.477/.747 with seven home runs, 22 runs scored, and 25 RBI.
  • It’s not much, but Gary Sánchez does have a pair of three-hit games in his last four starts behind the plate. His health has been an issue this season as it’s obviously impacted his production. His batting average still sits six points below the Mendoza Line.
  • Jeff McNeil has quietly strung together a sold month of September so far. In 49 plate appearances for the Mets he boasts a slash line of .383/.408/.574.

 

Who’s Not?

  • Giancarlo Stanton has just one home run since August 19th and he’s slashing just .119/.208/.190 in the month of September with a 37.5% strikeout rate. He’s definitely book ending his season with terrible play.
  • Rick Porcello ’s hot start to the season has magically vanished. Over his last seven starts he touts a 5.82 ERA and a 2.33 HR/9. The strikeouts are still there as he’s averaging 10.94 K/9, but it’s no secret that he’s been getting tagged.
  • Brian Dozier has had a lackluster time with the Dodgers. Since joining Los Angeles on August 1st he’s slashing .183/.297/.333 with just four home runs.

 

What’s Going on Today?

  • German Marquez has three straight starts of double-digit strikeouts. He has a 13.81 K/9 over his last 28.2 innings of work. Can he keep it rolling today against the Giants?
  • The American League MVP race has never been better. J.D. Martínez , José Ramírez , Khris Davis , Mookie Betts , Francisco Lindor , and a few others are all making solid cases. Can any of them make a strong case on Saturday for why they should win?
  • The Milwaukee Brewers have a considerably easier schedule than the Cubs as the 2018 season comes to an end. Can the Brew Crew take advantage and take over the NL Central division lead?