Games of the Day

All games Sunday begin at 3:05 PM EDT.

The Blue Jays and the Red Sox play an extremely meaningful game. A win by the Blue Jays clinches the top wild card seed. A win by the Red Sox gives them a shot at the second seed in the AL playoffs. Aaron Sanchez takes on David Price. Sanchez pretty much blew away any innings limit that was in place, as the playoffs took precedence over protecting his career, basically making the opposite decision of the Nationals in 2012. Sanchez is 8-1 with a 2.56 ERA on the road, allowing just six home runs in 105 2/3 innings. The Red Sox, however, have scored 11 runs in 17 1/3 innings against him. Price is 9-3 at home, but with a 4.21 ERA. He allowed 16 home runs in 109 innings at Fenway this season, but has a 2.66 ERA against Toronto this year. Flip a coin.

The Orioles can clinch a wild card slot with a win against the Yankees. Kevin Gausman takes on Luis Cessa. Gausman dominated the Yankees this season with a 0.80 ERA in five starts. He struck out 32, walked five, and allowed one home run to New York in 33 2/3 innings. Despite that, his record is just 2-1. Cessa threw a lot of gopher balls this season, 15 in 64 2/3 innings. Nine of those came in 31 2/3 innings at Yankee Stadium. His OBP against is just .290, so the great majority of his 32 runs allowed came on homers.

The Giants can clinch the second NL Wild Card with a win against the Dodgers. Kenta Maeda takes on Matt Moore. Maeda finishes up a fine rookie season in which he pitched as well at Dodger Stadium as he did on the road. To the delight of Dodgers fans, he is 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA against the Giants in three starts. The move of Moore from the AL to the NL did not help his numbers, as his walks and home runs remained high.

Detroit needs to win to have a shot at a wild card, and they send their ace, Justin Verlander, against the Braves and Julio Teheran. Verlander leads the AL in Tom Tango Cy Young tracker points, and a big win in a big game might put him over the top with voters. It’s a great comeback season for Verlander. Teheran represents the best starter on the Braves. It’s good to see Atlanta is not lying down for the last game at Turner Field. Teheran holds a 3.15 ERA against the AL this season, but due to weak offense, he is 0-3 in those three starts.

A win for the Indians could clinch the second AL seed if it is combined with a Boston loss. Otherwise, the Indians may need to play on Monday to decide seeding, even if Detroit is out of the wild card race. Josh Tomlin takes the hill against the Royals and Ian Kennedy. Tomlin is a control artist, with just 20 walks in 166 2/3 innings, limiting the damage from his 35 home runs allowed. Kennedy owns a 5.76 ERA against the Indians in five starts this season, allowing eight home runs in 29 2/3 innings. This could be the slugfest of the day.

Finally, the Cardinals need to win to have a shot at tying the Giants for the second wild card slot in the NL and forcing a playoff game. They host Pittsburgh, with Ryan Vogelsong of the Bucs taking on Adam Wainwright. Vogelsong seems done, as he made five starts in September and posted an 8.72 ERA. Wainwright finished his worst season on a weak note, posting a 5.46 ERA in five September starts. Somehow, he managed a 4-1 record.

Enjoy!

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2dvLzT3