HBT: Yanks, O's, A's, Rangers down to final day

We?ve played 161 games and still not everything is decided. What?s left?

American League

The Yankees hold a one-game lead over the Orioles. A New York win or an Orioles loss gives the division to the Yankees. ?If the Bombers lose and the O?s win, we have a one-game playoff?tomorrow, in Baltimore, to see who has to play in the wild card game. ?If the Yankees win today, they also clinch home field advantage in the AL playoffs.

The Rangers and A?s are all tied up. No tiebreaker scenarios here. Winner takes all, starting just after noon Pacific time today, in Oakland.

National League

The Dodgers loss to the Giants last night sealed the wild card for the St. Louis Cardinals. Everything is now decided in the National League. St. Louis heads to Atlanta on Friday for the wild card game. The winner of that one plays the Nationals in the NLDS.?If the Reds win tonight and the Nationals lose, the Reds will have the best record in the NL, forcing the Nats to travel to San Francisco for the NLDS while the Reds play the wild card playoff winner.

Triple Crown/MVP

Miguel Cabrera went 2 for 3 last night, pushing his average up to .331. He leads Mike Trout by .007 points now. ?Even if Cabrera takes an 0 for 4 today and Trout goes 4 for 4, they tie at .3285. ?You figure that, even if he plays, Cabrera would be yanked if he went, like, 0 for 2. And for what it?s worth, if Cabrera totally sits out today, Trout has to go 6 for 6, so yeah. In any event, the Angels game starts 90 minutes before the Tigers game does today. Jim Leyland and everyone else will know if Trout goes on a tear.

The real threat is Josh Hamilton, playing a big game in Oakland today. But let?s define ?real.? ?Hamilton would have to hit two homers and Cabrera none for Cabrera to lose out on the home run portion of the Triple Crown. ?He has the RBI title in the bag.

Skip out on the afternoon at work and watch the A?s-Rangers game, guys.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/03/whats-left-to-play-for-in-game-162/related/

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