One Game Closer:Two Ways--Peter

Well, Jenn, it's just like a traditional pennant race should be--lots of tension and margins between teams getting closer or expanding as one team suddenly finds itself or another starts to find its collar a bit tight. Today, our heroes jumped off from the start, giving the Diceman almost all the support he'd need in the 1st inning, and salting away the W by the 3d. Dice pitched his second consecutive victory, allowing three over five and change, but, again, giving up just a single free pass and ringing up five K's to get the victory. The offense was again a team effort. Martinez extended his personal best consecutive games hit streak to 19, and both Jake and Jason homered and picked up three RBI's. In Bay's case, it equalled his career best of 35 for a season and set a new personal career best in ribbies at 110. Martinez moved to within a pair of a century for the RBI's, Jake got his 63d swipe and the team as a whole was in triple digits again for hits.
The best of all, if you must look for one thing that is keying this late season surge, is the fact that the starting pitching is doing a fabulous job. You have to remember, Jenn, that when you can regularly get the starters to go deep into a game, you put less of a strain on the pen, so that when you do need to go there, the relief corps is fresh. The Hose hurlers during this surge have allowed no more than three runs in any game for thirteen straight. During that time, the starters are 8-1 with a difficult to beat ERA of 2.18.
So where exactly does that leave us with fourteen to play in the season? Well, we picked up a game in the race for the Card AND in the chase of Mr. Hankies Yankees.We are now just seven from clinching the Card, as Texas lost again, and have crept to within five of the Stripes for the Division. Again, in the latter case, it's a situation of having to almost win every game, including the three remaining with the Stripes, or combining enough wins with Yankee losses to accomplish the same result. But, as '04 proved, anything is possible. Also, another example, my favorite, of a pennant race surge/collapse I believe I've told you about. In 1964, the Phillies were leading by 6.5 with ten to play. Pretty solid lock, you'd figure, right, Jenn? Well, Philly lost all ten and the Cards won the pennant by a game, not to mention the Series. Like I said at 0-3 in the ALCS in '04, you have to play the game to make it official--no matter what the margin.