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**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:14 AM

Preview: Yankees (87-72) at Orioles (78-81)
Game: 1
Venue: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Date: October 02, 2015 7:05 PM EDT

The New York Yankees are back in the postseason, and Luis Severino is willing to start the AL wild-card game.

While the chances of that happening are slim, the 21-year-old rookie can make sure that game is played in the Bronx.

Severino will try to help the Yankees clinch home-field advantage for the winner-take-all matchup Friday night when he takes the mound against the Baltimore Orioles to open this season-ending three-game set.

New York (87-72) ended a two-year playoff absence by beating Boston 4-1 on Thursday to avoid being swept in the four-game home set.

"You're in the dance, anything can happen. I think any team that gets in is capable of winning a championship," third baseman Alex Rodriguez told MLB's official website. "The one thing about baseball is you play for eight months and there is no lucky breaks.

"You've got to prove that you've got be a postseason team. So, the fact that we have a good brotherhood, that we play together as a team, I like our chances."

The Yankees also like their chances of having Masahiro Tanaka start Tuesday's wild-card game against Houston, Los Angeles or Minnesota. The right-hander has been bothered by a hamstring injury that forced him to go 12 days between starts, allowing four runs in five innings of a 9-5 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday.

Severino (5-3, 2.77 ERA), however, made himself available if needed.

"I'd be happy to," Severino said. "I wouldn't be (overwhelmed). I'd be happy to (start) over there."

While that's unlikely, the right-hander has a chance to help make sure New York hosts the game, which would be accomplished with one more win.

Severino certainly seems capable of that heading into his first meeting with Baltimore (78-81). He's allowed two runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts, going 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA over his last three.

He tossed six scoreless innings in Sunday's 6-1 win over the Chicago White Sox.

"He can pitch," catcher Brian McCann said. "Everyone around here already knew that. He's very impressive. He's a professional. He works hard. He does a lot of things right. He's lights-out."

New York will need that since it has a 5.60 ERA while losing 10 of its last 13 games at Camden Yards.

Manny Machado has played a part in that, hitting .386 with seven RBIs and 12 runs during a 12-game home hitting streak against the Yankees. The third baseman enters this series after homering on three of his four hits with four RBIs while Baltimore won back-to-back games over division champion Toronto, including Thursday's 6-4 victory.

Machado's 33 homers and 20 stolen bases make him the second Orioles to reach 30 and 20 in a single season, joining Bradley Anderson (1996).

"Manny, it's amazing to have ... It reminds me what it's like to be 23. Your legs actually feel that good after 158 games," manager Buck Showalter said.

Showalter hands the ball to Wei-Yin Chen (10-8, 3.35). The left-hander is 2-1 with a 2.29 ERA in three starts after giving up five runs and nine hits - two homers - in five innings while not figuring in the decision of an 8-6 loss to the Yankees on Sept. 7.

Chen is 1-1 with a 5.46 ERA in five career home starts against New York.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:15 AM

Preview: Marlins (69-90) at Phillies (62-97)
Game: 1
Venue: Citizens Bank Park
Date: October 02, 2015 7:05 PM EDT

If the Philadelphia Phillies can keep their win streak going, they'll also avoid a dubious distinction.

Aaron Harang will try to help take away any possibility of the Phillies reaching 100 losses with another respectable performance against the Miami Marlins on Friday night.

Philadelphia (62-97) needs one more win to avoid its first 100-loss season since 1961. It didn't seem like the Phillies would have a chance to do that until their current four-game win streak, which includes a three-game sweep of the NL East champion New York Mets.

Rookie Jerad Eickhoff fanned 10 over seven innings in Thursday's 3-0 win.

"It'll be nice if we can eliminate the 2015 team from that (100-loss) milestone," first baseman Darin Ruf said. "We're just trying to go out and play hard and win some games. The pitching staff did a great job this week, and if they can continue to do that, we'll keep under 100."

The Phillies have a 2.24 ERA in their last 12 games, with their starters posting a 2.21 mark, and Harang (6-15, 4.86 ERA) has contributed by going 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in his last two.

The first of those outings was a 6-2 victory in Miami on Sept. 22 in which he allowed two runs in seven innings while ending an eight-game winless stretch. Harang is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in his two matchups with the Marlins in 2015.

The veteran right-hander, though, also made those starts in Miami. He's 1-7 with a 6.75 ERA in his last 10 outings at Citizens Bank Park.

Harang will face a Marlins team that's dropped six straight on the road after enduring a three-game sweep to Tampa Bay this week. Miami (69-90) was also swept in three games in its most recent visit to Philadelphia from July 17-19.

Justin Nicolino (4-4, 4.16) will try to set the tone of this series by building on his strong performance in a 6-2 win over Atlanta on Saturday. The rookie left-hander yielded one run and two hits in seven innings after going 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA in his prior three starts.

"Just a tremendous effort by that young man to give us seven strong like he did. He made quality pitch after quality pitch," manager Dan Jennings told MLB's official website.

Nicolino gave up seven runs in 5 2-3 innings in his latest road outing, a 13-3 drubbing to Washington on Sept. 20. He fared better in his only start against Philadelphia on Aug. 22, giving up two runs in 7 2-3 innings in a 4-2 loss.

Miami's Dee Gordon, hitting .329, trails Washington's Bryce Harper by two points in the NL batting race heading into this weekend. The outfielder is also two hits shy of becoming the first Marlins player with 200 in a season since Hanley Ramirez in 2007.

Gordon is batting .211 in his last five games against the Phillies after hitting .448 in his first seven this season. He's 2 for 13 (.154) lifetime against Harang and 0 for 4 in 2015.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:17 AM

Preview: Reds (63-96) at Pirates (96-63)
Game: 1
Venue: PNC Park
Date: October 02, 2015 7:05 PM EDT

Any disappointment the Pittsburgh Pirates felt after watching another team celebrate winning the NL Central title at their own park quickly dissipated, as they instead focused their attention on the upcoming postseason.

Pittsburgh's next goal is to secure home-field advantage in the wild-card game for a third straight year as they open a three-game series with the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.

The Pirates (96-63) have the second-best record in baseball, but unfortunately the only team with a better mark is St. Louis, which clinched the Central with Wednesday's 11-1 win in the second game of a doubleheader in Pittsburgh.

They'll make yet another appearance in the wild-card game and are guaranteed to face the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati in the one-game playoff in 2013 and lost to eventual World Series champion San Francisco last year.

'You've got to man up,' outfielder Andrew McCutchen said. '(The Cardinals) played better '

Where the wild-card game will be played still hasn't been decided. The Pirates' magic number to host remained at two after the Cubs beat the Reds 5-3 on Thursday.

'The ultimate goal hasn't changed - to win a world championship,' manager Clint Hurdle said. 'We're just going to have go about it in a different method now.'

Pittsburgh can guarantee a home playoff game by winning two of three from Cincinnati (63-96), which has lost 12 straight for the first time in 22 years and is on the verge of its first 13-game skid since August 1945.

Francisco Liriano (12-7, 3.27 ERA) gets the ball as the Pirates look to win for the 16th time in his last 17 starts. Liriano struck out nine in 7 2-3 innings of Saturday's 4-0 win over the Cubs, giving him 200 to put him one short of his career high set in 2010 with Minnesota.

The left-hander has a 1.38 ERA in two starts against the Reds this season and struck out 10 in six innings of a 7-3 victory when he last faced them Sept. 8.

Todd Frazier is hitless in six at-bats with three strikeouts this season against Liriano. He went 0 for 4 on Thursday as the last-place Reds completed an 0-7 homestand.

'We anticipated having a competitive season. It lasted a third of the way through the year," manager Bryan Price said. "We had to move some pieces. We know where we're headed, but the won-loss situation is hard to work through.'

The Reds, though, are a surprising 10-6 against the Pirates. Joey Votto had two hits Thursday to extend his on-base streak to 47, the longest in the majors since Kevin Millar's 52-gamer in 2007 and one short of Pete Rose's franchise mark set in 1978.

Votto, though, is 2 for 15 with nine strikeouts in his last five against Pittsburgh and 4 for 21 lifetime off Liriano.

Cincinnati sends Keyvius Sampson (2-6, 6.46) to the hill looking to end its skid. Sampson had the shortest start of his rookie season Sunday, when he allowed five runs - two earned - and eight hits in 2 2-3 innings of an 8-1 loss to the New York Mets. He's gone fewer than five innings in six of his 11 starts.

'My fastball isn't there,' the 24-year-old right-hander said. 'This is the first time I've pitched into September. I threw some good pitches with my curve, but when I did the ball seemed to find a hole.'

Sampson made his major league debut in relief against the Pirates on July 30 and has a 6.97 ERA while losing both of his starts against them.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:18 AM

Preview: Red Sox (78-81) at Indians (78-80)
Game: 1
Venue: Progressive Field
Date: October 02, 2015 7:10 PM EDT

The Boston Red Sox enter their final series of the season with reason for optimism for the future. Henry Owens will try to give them another glimpse of what they can expect Friday night against the Cleveland Indians.

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Tied with Baltimore and Tampa Bay, Boston (78-81) only has third place in the AL East to play for heading into the final three games of the season.

The Red Sox, however, have an array of promising young players that have them looking forward to 2016.

Owens (4-3, 3.84 ERA) is certainly among them, and he looks to cap his year with another strong performance in his first meeting with Cleveland. The 23-year-old rookie left-hander is 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA over his last four starts, reaching the eighth inning in each of the last three.

He was 2-2 with a 5.87 ERA over his first six starts after being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket two months ago.

"I am a lot more comfortable than I was at the start of the season," Owens told MLB's official website. "Even last year, I got in a groove where I was comfortable towards the end of the at-bat. This year early on, I was struggling with my mechanics. I was just trying to take it outing to outing."

Owens has been very comfortable on the road, going 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA over his last three starts.

Second-year shortstop Xander Bogaerts leads Boston with a .322 average while his 82 runs and 81 RBIs rank second in both categories. He is hitting .353 while scoring 19 times over the past 20 games, but he's batting just .233 in eight career meetings with Cleveland (78-80).

Bogaerts turned 23 on Thursday and Mookie Betts celebrates his 23rd birthday next week. The center fielder is already proving to have a bright future in the leadoff spot, scoring a team-best 92 runs. He's hitting .413 with three homers and 12 runs in the past 11 games.

Betts has two hits in five of his last six games, including Thursday's 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees that ended the Red Sox's six-game winning streak.

David Ortiz, however, may be shut down for the final series after being out of the lineup for the third time in six games Thursday. His 36 homers are the most he's hit since a career-high 54 in 2006.

"Some general soreness, the body is tired," interim manager Torey Lovullo said. "He's had a really, really good season. And I don't want to put him in a situation where he's going to run up against an injury, out of fairness to him."

The Indians have dropped four of their last five games after falling 4-2 to Minnesota on Thursday.

They're turning to Josh Tomlin (6-2, 3.03), who is trying to bounce back from his shortest of nine starts since returning from shoulder surgery. The right-hander allowed five runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings of Saturday's 9-5 win at Kansas City.

Tomlin was 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA over his previous five starts with two complete games.

He's 1-2 with a 6.67 ERA in five games - four starts - against the Red Sox with the most recent matchup coming in a road loss on June 12, 2014.

Cleveland swept the last series with Boston at Progressive Field from June 2-4, 2014.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:19 AM

Preview: Nationals (81-78) at Mets (89-70)
Game: 1
Venue: Citi Field
Date: October 02, 2015 7:10 PM EDT

A season-ending three-game series between the New York Mets and Washington Nationals was supposed to have the NL East title at stake.

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Instead, the Mets are vying for home-field advantage in next week's NL division series while the Nationals play out the string in what has been a disappointing season.

The division-winning Mets look to extend their longest winning streak over the Washington franchise in 24 years Friday night.

New York (89-70) and Washington (81-78) switched spots as the division leader eight times this year. The Mets, however, moved ahead for good following a 12-1 win at Miami on Aug. 3, a day after pulling level by completing a three-game sweep of Washington.

They swept the Nationals again from Sept. 7-9, taking control of the East with a seven-game lead before clinching it last weekend.

The only remaining race left for New York involves home-field advantage in the NLDS, which starts next Friday against Los Angeles. The teams have the same record but the Mets hold the tiebreaker.

They dropped into a tie with the Dodgers after falling 3-0 at Philadelphia on Thursday to get swept in the three-game set.

"It's easy to say, 'Let's just gear up for the playoffs,'" third baseman David Wright told MLB's official website. "But home-field advantage would be nice, so I think that's something that we really need to bear down these last three games and try to attain. And it would be nice to go into the playoffs with some sort of momentum."

Facing the Nationals, losers of seven of their last 10, should be just what the Mets are looking for. They're aiming for their first seven-game winning streak against Washington since taking nine straight when the franchise was the Montreal Expos in 1991.

Noah Syndergaard (9-7, 3.34 ERA) takes the ball, and he's 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 13 innings over two starts against the Nationals.

The rookie right-hander was outstanding last Friday, striking out 11 and allowing two runs in 7 2-3 innings of a 12-5 win at Cincinnati. He helped himself with a pair of hits, including an RBI single.

That was enough for manager Terry Collins to declare Syndergaard will be in the postseason rotation.

"He's going to start the game, whatever game it may be. I'm very impressed," Collins said. "This kid's really gotten better."

Syndergaard will try to be better at Citi Field, where he's 0-1 while surrendering nine runs and three homers in 12 2-3 innings of his last two starts after going 7-1 with a 1.82 ERA through his first nine.

New York is expected to have Yoenis Cespedes back in the lineup after getting a day off to rest a pair of bruised fingers. He was hit by a pitch and left Wednesday's 7-5 loss at Philadelphia.

He's 7 for 18 with two homers, three doubles and seven RBIs in his last four meetings with Washington.

The Nationals won 3-0 on Thursday to salvage a victory from a three-game set at Atlanta.

'Everybody in here is disappointed how the season turned out, but at the same time, it would be huge to go into New York and play our best baseball,' Thursday's starter Stephen Strasburg said. 'Hopefully we can get them into a little slump heading into the playoffs. That's all we can do.'

Gio Gonzalez (11-8, 3.93) is looking to conclude his season with another sterling effort against the Mets. The left-hander is 6-1 with a 1.68 ERA and 9.23 strikeouts per nine innings over 10 starts in Queens.

He's 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 24 2-3 innings during his last four overall matchups with New York.

Gonzalez allowed two runs in five-plus innings while not getting a decision in Sunday's 12-5 loss to the Phillies. The effort was overshadowed by a dugout fight between Jonathan Papelbon and Bryce Harper, highlighted by the closer choking the superstar right fielder.

Papelbon has been suspended for the rest of the season.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:20 AM

Preview: Blue Jays (92-67) at Rays (78-81)
Game: 1
Venue: Tropicana Field
Date: October 02, 2015 7:10 PM EDT

As Mark Buehrle prepares for his first postseason since 2008, the question remains whether he'll be a part of it.

The struggling veteran makes what could conceivably be his final career start as the Blue Jays continue their quest for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs Friday night against the host Tampa Bay Rays.

With one win and a 5.70 ERA over his last seven starts, Buehrle (14-7, 3.76 ERA) appears the odd man out in a playoff rotation likely consisting of David Price, Marcus Stroman, R.A. Dickey and Marco Estrada. The 36-year-old will be a free agent at season's end, leading to speculation that he is considering retirement.

"Still don't know what's gonna happen," Buehrle told MLB's official website after allowing four runs in six innings in Sunday's 5-4 comeback win over Tampa Bay. "I'll go home and think about it, and if it is my last start here, that's something maybe to be sentimental about on my couch in the offseason."

Buehrle enters this start 8 2-3 innings shy of reaching 200 for a 15th consecutive season, a feat only Hall of Famers Warren Spahn, Don Sutton and Gaylord Perry have previously accomplished.

He hasn't pitched beyond six innings during his current rough stretch, however, and is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in five road starts since yielding one run over seven innings in a 7-1 victory at Oakland on July 21.

Buehrle is 1-1 with a 6.11 ERA in three season starts against Tampa Bay (78-81), surrendering a season-high 13 hits and five runs of a 5-1 loss at Tropicana Field on April 26.

Toronto (92-67) begins this three-game set off two straight losses in Baltimore, during which manager John Gibbons rested his regulars upon clinching the AL East with a 15-2 rout of the Orioles in Wednesday's doubleheader opener. The decision helped Kansas City catch the Blue Jays for the league's top record, though Toronto owns the tiebreaker on a 4-3 season series edge.

'My job is to take care of these guys," Gibbons said. "Yes, we'd love to win it but I've got to do what's best for these guys - not what some bozo out there in fantasy land thinks.'

Price will not pitch at all this weekend to prepare for Thursday's Game 1 of the division series, slated instead to throw a simulated game Friday in which Troy Tulowitzki will participate as he nears a return from a fractured left shoulder blade that's sidelined him since Sept. 12. The All-Star shortstop plans to play Saturday.

The Rays, one loss away from their first back-to-back sub-.500 seasons since 2006 and '07, started this homestand with a three-game sweep of Miami capped by Thursday's 4-1 win. Grady Sizemore went 2 for 4 with an RBI single and is batting .476 with 10 RBIs during a seven-game hitting streak.

Evan Longoria homered with two RBIs and is 4 for 8 off Buehrle this season, while rookie Mikie Mahtook has two homers in three at-bats against him.

Erasmo Ramirez (11-6, 3.65) looks to continue his strong finish to a solid campaign in his first start since Sept. 24, when he held Boston to two runs in seven innings of a 4-2 win. The right-hander has allowed two runs or less while working at least seven innings in three consecutive outings.

Ramirez, 11-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 18 starts with two or more runs of support, is 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA in three 2015 meetings with Toronto.

Tampa Bay could have second baseman Logan Forsythe back in the lineup after missing two straight games with a bruised right foot.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:22 AM

Preview: Cardinals (100-59) at Braves (64-95)
Game: 1
Venue: Turner Field
Date: October 02, 2015 7:35 PM EDT

Winning the NL Central has almost become passe for the St. Louis Cardinals. Winning a second World Series title in five years would be far from it, though, and that's what they have their sights set on.

St. Louis can finish with baseball's best record in six seasons with a sweep of this three-game series against the Atlanta Braves beginning Friday night at Turner Field.

The Cardinals split Wednesday's doubleheader in Pittsburgh, clinching their third straight NL Central title with an 11-1 victory in the nightcap. It's their ninth division crown in 16 years, the second-most in that span behind only the New York Yankees, who haven't won since 2012.

St. Louis (100-59) became the majors' first 100-win club since Philadelphia in 2011. No club has won 103 since the 2009 Yankees. The Cardinals, who will face either the Chicago Cubs or the Pirates in next week's Division Series have reached at least the NLCS each of the last four years, but are looking for their first World Series crown since 2011.

"Obviously we have bigger plans," pitcher Tyler Lyons said. "This is exciting and hopefully we can ride this out for a little while longer."

Jaime Garcia (10-5, 2.36 ERA) has looked as good as ever in 2015 after undergoing thoracic outlet surgery last year, winning 10 games for the first time since 2011. He dropped his first start after returning from a strained groin July 28, but has gone 7-1 in 11 outings since. The left-hander limited Cincinnati and Milwaukee to a combined two runs over 15 innings, beating the Brewers on Saturday with eight innings of one-run ball.

"I think whenever we're done with this year, I'll have time to sit back and think about everything that's happened," he said. "For right now, I was preparing for this start, and now I've got to get ready for my next start."

Garcia is 1-0 in his last four starts against Atlanta despite a lackluster 5.11 ERA.

While the Cardinals are focused on reaching the sport's pinnacle, Atlanta (64-95) is looking to the future. The Braves promoted John Coppolella to general manager on Thursday after the 37-year-old served as assistant for three years.

Even with a sweep of the Cardinals, the Braves are assured of their worst finish since going 65-97 in 1990.

"When John Schuerholz took over as general manager 25 years ago, he won 14 straight (division) titles," Coppolella said. "It has been nearly 10 years since he has been out of the GM chair and we've won one title. We want to get back to where we can go to five World Series in nine years, which is what was done here in the 1990s."

Julio Teheran (10-8, 4.16) looks to finish his season on a strong note, having gone 1-1 with a 1.91 ERA in his last five outings. He hasn't faced St. Louis since a 6-2 loss Aug. 24, 2013, when he gave up four runs over six innings.

Atlanta's season-high five-game home winning streak was snapped in Thursday's 3-0 loss to Washington, though Michael Bourn is batting .364 over his last 10 games and is 7 for 12 versus Garcia.

Limited to pinch-hitting duties for the remainder of the season due to a wrist injury, Freddie Freeman is 4 for 7 against the left-hander.

St. Louis took two of three from Atlanta at Busch Stadium from July 24-26

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:23 AM

Preview: Angels (83-76) at Rangers (87-72)
Game: 2
Venue: Globe Life Park in Arlington
Date: October 02, 2015 8:05 PM EDT

The Texas Rangers are back in the postseason after a two-year absence, but there's still one goal left to reach.

After eliminating the Los Angeles Angels from the AL West race, the Rangers can clinch the division when this pivotal four-game series resumes Friday night.

Texas (87-72) earned a playoff spot and reduced its magic number to one with a 5-3 victory in Thursday's opener. The Rangers can complete a worst-to-first turnaround by winning one of the final three games or if Houston loses one of three at Arizona.

'We still have a mission to accomplish. And something that as a group of players we all talked about in spring training, when nobody else was talking about it but us," said Texas first-year manager Jeff Banister.

The Rangers captured back-to-back AL West titles and advanced to the World Series in 2010 and '11, then reached the wild-card game with a 93-win 2012 season. They slipped to 67-95 during an injury-riddled 2014 campaign that prompted the dismissal of Ron Washington and Banister's hiring.

Los Angeles (83-76) was denied a second straight AL West title and a chance to pull even with the Astros for the second wild card. The Angels and Minnesota trail Houston by one game.

"Your goal is still there," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. "It might be a little harder route right now, and as of this moment we're going to need a little help."

The Rangers surged past Houston by going 13-5 since Sept. 13, a run fueled by Adrian Beltre's torrid hitting. The veteran third baseman is batting .431 with 27 RBIs during the stretch and delivered again Thursday, snapping a 1-all tie with a three-run double off Andrew Heaney in the fifth inning.

Texas is 14-4 at home since Aug. 27, though the Angels are 14-3 in Arlington since the start of 2014.

The Angels, who climbed back into the race by winning seven straight prior to Wednesday's 8-7 loss to Oakland, hope Jered Weaver (7-12, 4.76 ERA) can solve his road struggles in a virtual must-win game.

Weaver is 1-7 with a 7.47 ERA in eight road starts since June, including consecutive defeats at Seattle and Houston on Sept. 16 and 21 in which he allowed eight runs and 15 hits over 10 1-3 innings. The right-hander bounced back with a gritty five-inning effort Sunday, limiting the Mariners to a run and four hits while battling a stiff shoulder in an eventual 3-2 Angels' win.

The three-time All-Star has pitched well in recent meetings with the Rangers, compiling a 2-0 record and 2.06 ERA in his last five starts and holding them to a run in six innings during the Angels' 2-1 home loss Sept. 5.

Beltre is hitting just .232 in 82 at-bats against Weaver, but Shin-Soo Choo (.385 in 39 at-bats), Mike Napoli (.344 with three homers in 32 at-bats) and Mitch Moreland (.324 with two homers in 34 at-bats) have all had success.

Martin Perez (3-6, 4.77) gets the call for Texas seeking to build on a solid start. The 24-year-old left-hander yielded two unearned runs over six innings in a 4-2 loss Sunday in Houston, capping an up-and-down September in which he went 1-3 with a 4.18 ERA in five outings.

The first of those starts came Sept. 4 in Anaheim, where Perez permitted three runs and walked four over six innings of a 5-2 defeat. He's 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA in three overall starts against the Angels and 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA in his last four at home.

SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Angels at Rangers
Thu, Oct 1 Final 3 to 5
Boxscores • Recaps

GAME 2
Angels at Rangers
Fri, Oct 2 - 8:05PM EDT

GAME 3
Angels at Rangers
Sat, Oct 3 - 1:05PM EDT

GAME 4
Angels at Rangers
Sun, Oct 4 - 3:05PM EDT

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:25 AM

B]Preview: Tigers (73-85) at White Sox (74-85)[/B]
Game: 1
Venue: U.S. Cellular Field
Date: October 02, 2015 8:10 PM EDT

This hasn't been Chris Sale's finest season, but the Chicago White Sox star left-hander has racked up what's easily his highest strikeout total.

Sale can break his franchise's single-season record in his final start Friday night against the Detroit Tigers.

Sale (12-11, 3.48 ERA) probably won't avoid the highest ERA of his career, and he's guaranteed to finish with at least four fewer wins than his career-high 17 in 2012. The four-time All-Star, though, has fanned 267 batters - 41 more than his previous best.

Sale is also on the verge of topping Ed Walsh's franchise-best 269 set in 1908.

"When you start thinking about, for us and the White Sox, of how long that record has been around, it has been around a long time," manager Robin Ventura told MLB's official website. "Any time you put him in the category with Ed Walsh, it's pretty impressive."

Sale had eight strikeouts in his latest outing Sept. 24 against the New York Yankees, but also took a 3-2 defeat - his fourth in a row - despite a respectable effort. He yielded three runs in seven innings and has gotten a combined five runs of support in his losing streak.

Sale has fanned six batters in each of his two starts against Detroit but gave up five runs in 5 1-3 innings in his latest matchup May 6. He avoided the loss when the White Sox rallied for a 7-6 home victory.

Chicago (74-85) enters this series having lost seven of nine, but Jose Abreu made history in a 6-4 defeat to Kansas City on Thursday. The White Sox slugger joined Albert Pujols as the only two players with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs in each of their first two major league seasons.

"It is a big honor to see my name along with Albert," Abreu said through a translator. "He's one of the greatest players in the history of baseball and now I have the opportunity to see my name next to his. It's a big honor for me."

Abreu has gone 2 for 9 this season against the Tigers' Alfredo Simon (13-11, 5.18), who is 0-2 with an 8.76 ERA in his last two starts. The right-hander gave up four runs in eight innings Saturday in a 6-2 loss to Minnesota.

Simon, a soon-to-be free agent, will likely make his last start with Detroit. He gave up five runs in 6 1-3 innings in his latest against the White Sox on June 25 but avoided a loss when the Tigers forced extra innings in an 8-7 defeat.

Miguel Cabrera will seek to finish off his fourth AL batting title in five years this weekend but could sit out one or two games. Cabrera's .334 average is 12 points ahead of second-place Xander Bogaerts, but that individual success has come during an underachieving season by Detroit (73-85).

"It's hard when you're losing games," he said. "It's hard to focus on what you want and what the team wants, because if the team's not doing good, you know you're not going to do good."

Cabrera is hitting .220 in his last 11 games against the White Sox but is 2 for 3 this season versus Sale. He's batting .242 (8 for 33) with two homers lifetime against the left-hander.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:26 AM

Preview: Cubs (94-65) at Brewers (68-91)
Game: 1
Venue: Miller Park
Date: October 02, 2015 8:10 PM EDT

Before starting the Chicago Cubs' first playoff game in seven years, Jake Arrieta will get to put his finishing touches on one of the finest seasons in franchise history.

Arrieta will seek to earn an 11th consecutive win in Friday night's series opener at the Milwaukee Brewers.

The right-hander was the easy pick to pitch in Wednesday's wild-card game against Pittsburgh, entering this game 21-6 with a 1.82 ERA in 32 starts. The NL Cy Young Award contender has a chance to finish with the Cubs' lowest ERA in a season among qualifying starters since Pete Alexander's 1.72 in 1919, and his MLB-best 21 wins are the most since Fergie Jenkins went 24-13 in 1971.

He's been virtually untouchable in his last 11 starts, going 10-0 with a 0.44 ERA, and putting his season ERA just behind Zack Greinke's 1.68 for the best in the majors. Greinke is scheduled to pitch Saturday night for the Los Angeles Dodgers against San Diego.

Greinke's teammate Clayton Kershaw had MLB's last 11-game winning streak from June 2-Aug. 10, 2014.

Arrieta tossed a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts in his latest matchup with Milwaukee, a 4-0 victory Sept. 22. He took a perfect game into the seventh inning in another 4-0 win Sunday against his upcoming playoff opponent, Pittsburgh, and hit his second career homer.

"He's from another planet. This guy, there's no doubt in my mind, he's the best right-handed pitcher in the game right now," catcher Miguel Montero told MLB's official website.

Arrieta can become the first Cubs pitcher to win 11 straight decisions since Rick Sutcliffe claimed 14 in a row to end 1984 and his first two in 1985. He also has 19 consecutive quality starts, going 15-1 with a 0.89 ERA.

The Cubs have won in each of Arrieta's 12 starts since they were no-hit by Philadelphia's Cole Hamels on July 25. His latest victory started a five-game win streak that's given the franchise its sixth 94-win season since 1910.

Chicago (94-65) finished off a three-game sweep Thursday in Cincinnati with a 5-3 win Thursday. Austin Jackson hit a three-run homer, giving him eight RBIs in his last two games.

"I think everybody would be a little surprised at (94 wins), but that's not to say it wasn't in the cards," pitcher Jason Hammel said. "We're good, and we know it. It was nice to see it come together so quickly."

The victory kept alive the Cubs' faint hopes of hosting the wild-card game. They trail Pittsburgh by two games with three to play for both teams, but the Pirates close their season versus Cincinnati, losers of 12 in a row, beginning Friday.

Chicago will try to do its part by claiming a seventh consecutive road win for the first time since an eight-game run Sept. 13-28, 2010. The Cubs swept a four-game set in their most recent visit to Milwaukee from July 30-Aug. 2, and have taken nine of the past 10 overall.

The Brewers (68-91), enduring their worst year since 2004, are returning home after being denied a fourth consecutive win with a 3-1 defeat to San Diego on Thursday that ended a 5-5 road trip. Shane Peterson's pinch-hit solo homer accounted for Milwaukee's run, and he's hit safely in his last five games.

Ariel Pena (2-0, 3.91) will make his fifth career start and first against the Cubs. He has pitched past the fifth inning just once, in a 3-1 loss to St. Louis on Sept. 15, and gave up three runs in five innings in a 4-3 win over the Cardinals last Friday.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:27 AM

Preview: Royals (92-67) at Twins (83-76)
Game: 1
Venue: Target Field
Date: October 02, 2015 8:10 PM EDT

The surging Minnesota Twins enter their final series with a playoff berth within reach.

Standing in their way is a Kansas City Royals team trying to lock down home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Trying to inch closer to their first playoff appearance in five years, the Twins turn to Ervin Santana - one of baseball's top pitchers over the last month who is also ineligible for the postseason - as they face the banged-up Royals on Friday night at Target Field.

A year after finishing with the AL's second-worst record, Minnesota (83-76) trails Houston by one game for the second wild card with three to play. Winners of five of six, the Twins have also caught the Los Angeles Angels as they try to chase down their first playoff berth since 2010.

'I love our chances,' said Torii Hunter, who hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning of Thursday's 4-2 comeback win in Cleveland. 'Being a game back with three to go, all we wanted was a chance to get into the postseason. We're giving ourselves a pretty good chance right now.'

The AL Central-champion Royals (92-67) have a good chance of opening each of their postseason series at home. They're tied with Toronto for the best record in the AL, though the Blue Jays - who finish their season in Tampa Bay - own the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series.

Kansas City's No. 1 priority at this point, however, is entering the playoffs healthy.

The Royals wrapped up a three-game set on Chicago's South Side on Thursday resting outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Alex Rios, and designated hitter Kendrys Morales and catcher Salvador Perez each departed during the 6-4 victory.

Cain was nursing a sore right knee sustained in Wednesday's win while Rios was scratched because of a stiff back. Morales was lifted with tightness in his left quadriceps and Perez came out due to swelling in his right thumb.

Ryan Madson pitched in the ninth because closer Wade Davis had a stiff back.

Manager Ned Yost said none of the injuries were serious.

'They're very trivial, day to day, probably overly cautious concerns,' he said. 'I mean just trying to do the smart thing.'

Yost gives the ball to Chris Young (11-6, 3.15 ERA), who looks to build on an encouraging and emotional outing.

In his first start since July 28 after a two-month stint in the bullpen, Young tossed five no-hit innings while walking one in Sunday's 3-0 win over Cleveland. The veteran right-hander was pitching a day after his father died and flew home before the game ended.

Young is 8-6 with a 3.30 ERA in 17 starts and starting a playoff game is not out of the question if he can deliver again. And that certainly seems possible considering he has a 0.77 ERA in two starts against Minnesota this season.

Hunter, Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe are a combined 1 for 22 against Young this year.

Santana is 5-0 with a 1.47 ERA in his last six starts, striking out 44 and surrendering just one homer over 43 innings.

The right-hander made his season debut against the Royals - his only matchup this season - on July 5 after being suspended 80 games for the use of performance-enhancing drugs which also bans him for the playoffs. Santana (7-4, 4.10), who pitched for Kansas City in 2013, gave up two runs and three hits in eight innings against his former team.

Mike Moustakas is 1 for 7 against Santana, but Eric Hosmer is 4 for 11 with a pair of homers and a double.

The Royals and Twins have alternated wins and losses in their last eight matchups, but Kansas City swept the last series at Target Field in June.

Joe Mauer is batting .328 with nine RBIs against the Royals this season and Miguel Sano is hitting .368 with a homer and two doubles in six matchups.

Dozier and Kurt Suzuki have not fared as well, however, with Dozier, who has a team-high 28 homers, batting .186 without a homer versus Kansas City. Suzuki is hitting .157 in the season series.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:28 AM

Preview: Astros (84-75) at Diamondbacks (78-81)
Game: 1
Venue: Chase Field
Date: October 02, 2015 9:40 PM EDT

A milestone win for Dallas Keuchel would mean even more for the Houston Astros.

Keuchel aims for his 20th victory while attempting to keep the Astros atop a tight race for the AL's second wild card Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Houston (85-75) is clinging to a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins as it enters Chase Field for the final three regular-season games. The Astros' hopes for an AL West title are faint after Texas' 5-3 win over the Angels on Thursday reduced the Rangers' magic number to one.

A five-game skid from Sept. 14-18 that included four losses to Texas damaged their division chances, but the Astros have won seven of 11 since and overcame a three-run deficit for a critical 7-6 victory Thursday in Seattle.

'We've had to be resilient. We've been questioned all year," manager A.J. Hinch said. "We've had a few streaks that have been less than our best and we've come out of it very well each time. I didn't doubt our character coming into this series and I don't doubt it now.'

Colby Rasmus' broken-bat single snapped a 6-all tie in the seventh inning and Chris Carter hit his fourth homer in five games, a key three-run shot in the fifth.

Keuchel (19-8, 2.47 ERA) also has bounced back from a rough 4 2-3-inning outing Sept. 16 at Texas in which he surrendered season highs of nine runs, 11 hits and three homers. The AL Cy Young Award candidate held the Angels to a run over 7 2-3 innings in a 6-3 home win five days later, then struck out 10 while yielding one run and two hits through seven Sunday against Texas for his AL-best 19th victory.

He can become the eighth Astro to reach 20 wins and first since Roy Oswalt did so in 2004 and '05.

Keuchel allowed two runs across six innings in a 9-2 win over Arizona on Aug. 1 at Minute Maid Park, where he's 15-0. He's 1-5 with a 4.62 ERA in his last six road starts, however, and was tagged for six runs in 3 1-3 innings in losing his lone start at Chase Field in 2012.

The Houston ace has held Paul Goldschmidt to one hit in 10 at-bats with six strikeouts.

Goldschmidt went 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored to help the surging Diamondbacks sweep a three-game set from Colorado with Thursday's 8-6 victory. Arizona (78-81) has won four straight and nine of 13, giving itself a chance to finish .500 after losing a MLB-high 98 games last season.

'It's a chance for us to sort of play our October baseball these three games. So we're going to give it everything we've got," manager Chip Hale said. "Our bullpen's rested. Our position players know how important this is for us to play at a high level like we've been playing."

Welington Castillo knocked in three runs Thursday, two on a go-ahead double during a four-run seventh.

Rubby De La Rosa (14-8, 4.56) has two wins during Arizona's hot stretch and bids for his 15th in his final start. After allowing one hit in 5 2-3 innings of a 2-0 victory at San Francisco Sept. 18, he allowed two earned runs over 5 2-3 at San Diego on Sept. 25.

The right-hander permitted four runs on homers by Jason Castro and Carlos Correa in six innings of a 6-4 defeat at Houston on July 31, and Carter is 2 for 2 with a homer against him.

De La Rosa likely won't have to face Evan Gattis, however, as the Astros' leader in homers (27) and RBIs (87) is expected to sit with the designated hitter not in use.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:30 AM

Preview: Athletics (66-93) at Mariners (75-84)
Game: 1
Venue: Safeco Field
Date: October 02, 2015 10:10 PM EDT

In what have been dismal ends to rough seasons for the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics, some relief will come for one of them in the final series.

The Mariners try to snap out of their funk by continuing their 2015 dominance over the A's at Safeco Field on Friday night.

Seattle (75-84) has lost seven of eight but is 12-4 against last-place Oakland (66-93), including wins in five of six at Safeco. Another victory would give the Mariners more against the A's than any other team while upping Oakland's highest loss total against an opponent.

Felix Hernandez is 3-1 with a 3.09 ERA against the A's this year, but Oakland catches a break as Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon announced Wednesday the ace would not pitch in the final series - ending his bid for seven straight seasons with 200 strikeouts and 200 innings.

"I was holding out some hope that we would get back in this thing but I'm just not going to stress him anymore this year," McClendon told MLB's official website. "The future of this organization is much bigger than one or two games."

Hisashi Iwakuma suffered Seattle's lone loss to Oakland at home, but earlier this month helped the Mariners to their second five-game winning streak against the A's this season. The right-hander will try to extend that to six, which would be the Mariners' longest in the series since 2009.

Iwakuma (9-5, 3.67 ERA) finished off a sweep in Oakland on Sept. 6 by holding the A's to one run in 6 1-3 innings of a 3-2 victory. Two weeks earlier, though, he was rocked by Oakland for seven runs in 4 2-3 innings of an 11-5 loss.

Billy Butler homered off Iwakuma in the second matchup while Danny Valencia hit a two-run shot off him in the earlier game, capping a seven-run fifth inning that flipped Iwakuma's 5-0 lead into a 7-5 deficit.

Josh Reddick is 6 for 18 with a triple against Iwakuma in his career. Butler is 4 for 13 with five strikeouts, Eric Sogard 5 for 17 with two doubles and Coco Crisp 4 for 19 with a double and two home runs in the matchup.

Iwakuma went 3-2 with a 2.18 ERA in five September starts, striking out 29 and walking three. He gets his final chance to hit double-digit wins for the third straight season.

Oakland has lost nine of 11 and has the highest ERA in baseball since Sept. 19 at 7.58. The starters have posted an 8.08 ERA in that span, a number Aaron Brooks will look to lower in his ninth start.

Brooks (2-4, 7.26), though, has a 10.00 ERA in his last six outings, including a six-run, 2 1-3-inning effort in an 11-8 loss to Seattle on Sept. 4. The right-hander is 1-2 with an 8.27 ERA in four road starts this year.

He'll try to shut down a Mariners team that ranks near the bottom of the major leagues with 3.9 runs per game at home. Seattle, however, has scored 5.7 there against the A's.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-02-2015, 11:33 AM

Preview: Padres (74-85) at Dodgers (89-70)
Game: 0
Venue:
Date: October 02, 2015 10:10 PM EDT

The Los Angeles Dodgers have already wrapped up their third straight division title, but they're not resting until they have home-field advantage, too.

And given the way they've played there this year, who could blame them?

Los Angeles looks to improve upon baseball's second-best home record Friday against the San Diego Padres.

The Dodgers (89-70) come off an unimpressive 2-5 trip, with Tuesday's 8-0 NL West-clinching victory over San Francisco the brightest among the few highlights. They're hoping to build momentum for next week's playoffs with this final regular-season series at Chavez Ravine, where they're 52-26, trailing only the 55-26 mark by St. Louis.

They need to finish ahead of the New York Mets (89-70), to secure home field in next week's NL Division Series because New York won the season series 4-3. While Los Angeles has lost nine of 13, New York is also slumping, having just been swept by major league-worst Philadelphia.

"These aren't games just to play games, we want home-field advantage," Brett Anderson said after an impressive 7 2-3 innings in Wednesday's 3-2 win against the Giants.

Anderson is making a strong case to be included in Los Angeles' postseason rotation behind Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and Alex Wood (11-12, 3.89 ERA) also appears a likely starter, but he'll have to shake off a rough outing. He surrendered a career-high eight runs and season-worst 11 hits over 5 1-3 innings in a 12-5 loss at Colorado on Sunday.

Wood, who had completed six innings while allowing two runs or fewer in four of his previous five outings, attributed some of his struggles to Coors Field, where hitters own an MLB-high .749 OPS.

"This is the only place where you can give up six or eight and feel you didn't throw that bad," he told MLB's official website. "They can get on you real quick."

Wood gave up four earned runs over five innings in a 5-2 loss to San Diego while with Atlanta on July 25, but was excellent for the Dodgers in a 2-0 road victory Sept. 5, limiting the Padres to three hits over seven innings.

San Diego (74-85) comes off a 3-1 win Thursday against Milwaukee but could be without three of its best hitters for this series. Justin Upton didn't play due a strained neck suffered in the first inning Wednesday, while Matt Kemp has already been shut down for the rest of the season due to a partially torn tendon.

Additionally, Wil Myers said he's day to day after leaving Thursday with a sore wrist.

Casey Kelly (0-1, 9.00) started off slowly last Friday against Arizona in his first start since Sept. 2012 after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery in April 2013. He surrendered six runs in the first two innings, though he recovered to allow no more while pitching through the fifth.

"After the first tough couple of innings I felt like I settled down and started to work the ball down and really started some offspeed pitches," he said. "Every outing you are going to have some tough things go on but try to take the positives out of it and try to keep moving forward."

Los Angeles has already clinched the season series with an 11-5 advantage. Adrian Gonzalez, batting just .160 over his last eight games with no extra-base hits - matching his second-longest drought of the season - could look to heat up. He has 16 RBIs and seven home runs while playing in all 16 meetings, matching his single-season high for homers against one opponent after also hitting seven against Arizona in 2010 and 2014.

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