Folks, it’s getting real bleak!
After dropping yet another game here in 2024 where the other team scored at least four runs, the Atlanta Braves were once again in the awful position of relying on other teams for help. One of these teams was the Chicago White Sox and another was the Philadelphia Phillies. Folks, this is a dire situation that we’re in as Braves fans right now. As frustrating as it might be, let’s get into these results.
Philadelphia Phillies (92-62) 12, New York Mets (85-69) 2
Box Score | Savant | Condensed Game
Let’s start with the small piece of good news from last night’s results, which is that the Phillies got themselves back into gear and ended up cruising to a huge win on their way to clinching a Postseason spot. The Mets got started on the right foot with a two-run first inning (including a solo homer from Jose Iglesias) but as you can see from the final score, that was as good as it got for the Mets tonight. Philadelphia tied up the series over the next two innings before blowing up for six runs in the fourth inning.
Philadelphia scored three runs with one out in the fourth and then added on three more with two outs on the board after that. It didn’t matter what David Peterson or Adam Ottavino did at this point in the game, it was just one of those situations where once the Phillies get rolling, it’s extremely hard to stop them. Once the smoke cleared, it was 8-2 Phillies at that point in the game and the Mets didn’t mount up much of a response after that. Alec Bohm’s three run homer was the big shot that essentially turned the game into a laugher and then the Phillies added two more runs in both the seventh and eighth inning to bring us to the eventual final score of 12-2.
The Phillies are now one win away from winning the NL East and ending Atlanta’s streak of divisional titles. They’ll have Ranger Suárez going against Sean Manaea this evening. I don’t know, man, just go ahead and get it over with since clearly the Braves are going to need all the help that they can get — no matter who it comes from.
Arizona Diamondbacks (86-68) 7, Milwaukee Brewers (88-66) 4
Box Score | Savant | Condensed Game
With the exception of a dramatic fifth-inning comeback, this was basically all-Arizona as they ensured themselves that they’ll be leaving Milwaukee with at least a split of this four game series. Ketel Marte got things going very quickly for Arizona in this one as he hit a solo homer with one out in order to put the Diamondbacks on the board. An RBI single from Geraldo Perdomo and then a sacrifice fly from Corbin Carroll made it 3-0 after two innings and then Ketel Marte continued his good day at the plate with an RBI double in the fifth inning to make it 4-0 Milwaukee.
Just when it seemed like the Diamondbacks were going to cruise to victory, the Brewers woke up from their divisional title hangover and had themselves a very loud fifth inning. The Brew Crew mashed three homers in this inning off of Zac Gallen — Joey Ortiz hit a solo shot to put them on the board, our old friend “Wild Bill” William Contreras hit one very deep to center field to bring the Brewers within one and then Garrett Mitchell made it back-to-back homers for Milwaukee to tie things up at four.
That was the peak of the night for Brewers fans, unfortunately. Arizona took the lead back on the very first chance that they got. I mean it — it only took three pitches for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to hit a go-ahead leadoff homer in the sixth inning off of DL Hall to put the Diamondbacks back in front. A productive out from Corbin Carroll made it 6-4 and then Jared Koenig’s third walk of the sixth inning (second unintentional) with the bases loaded brought us to the eventual final score of 7-4. It was academic from that point forward, as they Diamondbacks bullpen shut down the Brewers and gave them what turned out to be a very fruitful victory as far as their Playoff Odds are concerned.
San Diego Padres (88-66) 3, Chicago White Sox (36-118) 2
Box Score | Savant | Condensed Game
Boy, this definitely looked like it was going to be another ho-hum loss for the White Sox in a season that’s been filled with a bunch of them. Instead, this was another heartbreaking loss for the White Sox in a season that’s been filled with a bunch of them. Chicago hung tough with the Padres for six innings as Garrett Crochet struck out eight (but only went four innings). Chicago kept it scoreless until the sixth inning, which is when Jackson Merrill dropped one in the bermuda triangle in the outfield that just barely eluded the glove of Dominic Fletcher. The Padres were up by two and it sure seemed like this was going to end with Chicago floundering with a whimper.
Instead, the White Sox did something that they’ve very rarely done this season: They came up big in the clutch. With two outs and a man on in the top of the ninth against Robert Suarez, Lenyn Sosa hit his game-tying sixth homer of the season on a line drive that just about cleared the fence in left-center. The Padres didn’t respond in the ninth, so the game entered the Manfredball phase. Chicago’s 10th inning started with a double play and ended with old friend Nicky Lopez striking out. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the 10th for the Padres and San Diego’s superstar ended the game with a gapper. The White Sox fought hard but folks, they’re still the White Sox.
Here’s the Wild Card standings after last night’s action.
Padres 88-66, +3.0, 99.9% Playoff Odds (+0.6%)
Diamondbacks 85-68, +1.0, 91.9% Playoff Odds (+14.0%)
Mets 85-69, —, 67.2% Playoff Odds (-4.8%)
—————————————————————–
Braves 83-71, -2.0, 40.9% Playoff Odds (-10.0%)
While the Diamondbacks surely weren’t happy to see their divisional rivals in Southern California eke out a win over one of the worst teams in baseball history, they have to be thrilled with how the night went. Their playoff odds skyrocketed thanks to both the Mets and Braves losing. Meanwhile, Atlanta took a 10 percent hit thanks to their continued inability to win a game where the other team scores at least four runs and two other results going against them. Again, “dire” is the word that comes to mind at this point.