Yardwork: A Red Sox Collapse is Upon Us
By Tim Ryan
Tigers 3, A’s 0 — I don’t care if it was the lowly A’s he defeated, by a show of hands, who wants to face Justin Verlander in the playoffs? Or could this be one of those scenarios where a pitcher experiences a phenomenal regular season and then gets lit up in the postseason? He’s 24-5 and yesterday was his 12th straight win. If a “zone” actually exists, Verlander has it in headlock and is repeatedly whaling on it like Nolan Ryan on Robin Ventura. With each start, he’s gaining a vote or two for MVP, which is great because people will get annoyed by a pitcher receiving MVP votes.
Cards 5, Phils 0 — The Cards are still in the wildcard picture (3.5 games back) but time is running out. They have won 9 of 11, clearly inspired by the fact this could very well be Fat Albert’s final weeks in a Cardinals uniform.
Giants 12, Rockies 5 — The San Francisco bats have come alive about three weeks too late. With the pressure of a division title no longer there, a relaxed Carlos Beltran went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.
Mets 7, Braves 5 — The Mets took two of three in Atlanta to justify what a confusing team they can be. They went from an embarrassing sweep at home to the Nationals, showing all signs of being completely pathetic, to playing legitimately respectable, a word seldomly used when discussing this team. The Braves finish with the Marlins, Nats and Phillies.
Blue Jays 3, Yanks 0 — Brandon Morrow went eight innings and allowed four hits while striking out eight. Notorious opener, Frank Frank, amazingly closed the deal allowing just one hit.
Brewers 8, Reds 1 — Zack Greinke pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and struck out 10. This is a wonderful time for him to be pitching so well. Perhaps the Brewers can upset the Phillies in the NLCS?
Angels 11, O’s 2 — After winning four straight the Orioles got back to their lovable losing ways, which means a triumphant return to The Wire. Snoop and friends will never be forgiven for this one:
[Photo via Getty]