MLB Day 181 2012

As you baseball fans know, this is the last day of the regular season. Unless the Yankees and Orioles end up tied when it's all over, I will be baseball free tomorrow, gearing up for the playoffs. Football is still on for tomorrow. Finally, I'd like to say that staring on November 1st, I will take my down time and turn it into KHL blogging. That's right, daily recaps of all Kontinental Hockey League games from November onward. I'm excited to take a shot at blogging European hockey as my first non-North American effort. Happy Game 162 Day, which begins in...

Pittsburgh, with the Pirates hosting the Atlanta Braves. Ben Sheets makes the last start of his career against A.J. Burnett. Atlanta began in the first inning as Martin Prado singled to knock in Michael Bourn. The Braves added on in the fourth inning on a Dan Uggla single to plate Jason Heyward. Atlanta extended the lead as J.C. Boscan singled Chipper Jones around for his final regular season run (congrats to one of the best third basemen of this generation), followed by Juan Francisco grounding out to get Heyward home. This stood for a 4-0 win, with the win belonging to Luis Avilan, while Burnett had no help in the loss. The Braves finished 94-68, good for a wild card game, while the Pirates ended at 79-83.

Over in Washington, the Nationals host the Philadelphia Phillies. Cliff Lee and Edwin Jackson take the mound. Philadelphia got going in the fourth inning as Darin Ruf hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Carlos Ruiz. Washington tied it in the bottom of the fourth as Ryan Zimmerman hit a solo home run, followed by Tyler Moore doubling to knock in Michael Morse. The Nationals got another in the sixth inning on a Moore solo shot. Washington extended the lead in the eighth inning as Morse hit a two-run home run, also scoring Bryce Harper. This made the final 5-1, with the win going to Jackson, while Lee was dinged for the loss. The Nationals finish at 98-64 with the playoffs on tap, while the Phillies end even at 81-81.

West to Chicago, for the last Wrigley Field matinee of the year, with the Cubs hosting the Houston Astros. Edgar Gonzalez and Travis Wood are the young starters. Houston started in the first inning as Carlos Corporan singled in Matt Dominguez. Chicago tied it in the second inning on a Bryan LaHair solo home run. The Cubs took the lead in the fourth inning as Anthony Recker walked with the bases loaded to force in Dave Sappelt, followed by Wood singling Josh Vitters and Brett Jackson around. The Astros tied it in the eighth inning on a three-run home run by Justin Maxwell, sweeping in Jed Lowrie and Dominguez. Chicago won 5-4 in the ninth inning as LaHair singled to drive in Darwin Barney. This set the win up for Carlos Marmol, while Hector Ambriz was stuck with the loss. The Cubs finish 61-101, and the Astros end at 55-107.

Out in California, the Oakland Athletics host the Texas Rangers for AL West supremacy. Ryan Dempster and A.J. Griffin are set to start. Oakland was first to score in the first inning on a Brandon Moss double, plating Stephen Drew. Texas rallied ahead in the third inning as Adrian Beltre singled in Ian Kinsler, Michael Young doubled to knock in Josh Hamilton, David Murphy singled both Nelson Cruz and Young home, and Geovany Soto singled to finish Murphy's trip around. The Athletics got them all back and then some in the fourth inning as Josh Reddick doubled to plate Moss before scoring on a Seth Smith single, followed by Coco Crisp doubling both Josh Donaldson and Smith across the dish, and Yoenis Cespedes reached on an error to allow both Crisp and Drew to come home. Oakland got another in the fifth inning as Derek Norris singled to drive in Donaldson. The Athletics padded the lead in the eighth inning as Norris hit a solo home run, followed by Moss singling both Crisp and Drew home, and also Cespedes after an error. This made the final 12-5, with the win belonging to Evan Scribner, while Derek Holland was dealt the loss. The Athletics secured the division with a 94-68 record, while the Rangers face a wild card fate at a 93-69 record.

Way southeast to Miami, as the Marlins host the New York Mets. Jeremy Hefner and Tom Koehler are the unknown pitchers. New York opened in the third inning on an Andres Torres solo home run. The Mets added on in the fourth inning as Scott Hairston hit a two-run home run, also scoring Ike Davis. New York struck again in the sixth inning as Davis hit a solo shot. Miami got on the board in their half of the inning when Gorkys Hernandez singled in Donnie Murphy. The Marlins pulled closer in the eighth inning with Bryan Petersen scoring on a passed ball. This wasn't enough to escape a 4-2 loss, with Hefner notching the win and Koehler taking the loss. The Mets end the season at 74-88, while the Marlins finish 69-93.

As far northwest as you can go, the Seattle Mariners host the Los Angeles Angels. Jered Weaver faces a lesser foe in Blake Beavan. Seattle began in the first inning with Kyle Seager doubling in Dustin Ackley, followed by Jesus Montero grounding into a fielder's choice to give Seager time to score. The Mariners added on in the third inning as Montero doubled both Casper Wells and Seager across the dish. Seattle padded the lead in the sixth inning with a Wells single to knock in Montero and Michael Saunders. The Mariners kept going in the seventh inning when Montero singled, which combined with an error to get John Jaso home, followed by Carlos Triunfel singling both Justin Smoak and Montero safely home, and a Wells three-run home run, sweeping in Trayvon Robinson and Triunfel. This ended the beatdown at 12-0, with Beavan pitching very well in the win and Weaver was on the hook for the loss. The Mariners finished with a 75-87 record, while the Angels ended the season at 89-73.

Back east, the Cleveland Indians host the Chicago White Sox. Gavin Floyd and David Huff are the back-of-the-rotation starters. Chicago led off in the second inning as Dan Johnson hit a two-run home run, also scoring Dayan Viciedo. The White Sox added on in the fourth inning as Hector Gimenez singled Viciedo around. Chicago padded the lead in the fifth inning on a two-run blast by Paul Konerko, sweeping in Ray Olmedo, followed by Johnson going yard on another two-run homer, bringing Viciedo with him again. The White Sox kept going in the ninth inning with solo shots by Viciedo and Johnson. This produced a 9-0 final, with the win going to a dominant Floyd, while Huff was dealt the loss. The White Sox end the year at 85-77, while the Indians are closing out at 68-94.

A little more east, the New York Yankees welcome the Boston Red Sox. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hiroki Kuroda are the Japanese pitchers. Boston was first to score with a first inning Cody Ross single to drive in Jacoby Ellsbury. New York took the lead in the second inning on a three-run home run by Curtis Granderson, sweeping in Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher. The Yankees padded the lead in the third inning as Cano hit a two-run home run, also scoring Alex Rodriguez. New York got some more in the fifth inning as Cano hit another two-run home run, again scoring Rodriguez. The Yankees extended the lead in the sixth inning with Cano singling to plate both Russell Martin and Ichiro Suzuki. The Red Sox took one back in the seventh inning on a Jose Iglesias single to score Pedro Ciriaco. New York shot back in their half of the inning as Granderson hit a solo home run, followed by Suzuki doubling in Raul Ibanez and Brett Gardner, Swisher singling to finish Suzuki's trip around, and Mark Teixeira hitting a sacrifice fly to bring in Eduardo Nunez. This concluded the 14-2 drubbing, with Kuroda earning the win and Matsuzaka getting pinned with the loss. The Yankees end the year with a playoff bound 95-67, while the Red Sox finish with a 69-93 record.

Up in Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays host the Minnesota Twins. Scott Diamond and Brandon Morrow are on the hill. Toronto established a lead in the third inning with Rajai Davis singling in Anthony Gose before scoring on an Adeiny Hechavarria single. Minnesota took one back in the fourth inning as Matt Carson grounded into a fielder's choice to bring in Ben Revere. This was as close as it got, with the final being 2-1. Morrow was dominant in the win, while Brandon Lyon picked up a spot save, and Diamond took a hard-luck loss. The Blue Jays finish at 73-89, while the Twins end the season with a 66-96 record.

Back stateside, the Tampa Bay Rays host the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Tillman and Jeremy Hellickson are the reliable starters. Tampa Bay got going in the first inning on an Evan Longoria solo home run. The Rays added on in the fourth inning with solo shots from Longoria and Ryan Roberts. Tampa Bay struck again in the sixth inning as Longoria went yard for his third solo home run of the game. Baltimore got on the board in the ninth inning as Adam Jones hit a sacrifice fly to bring in J.J. Hardy, but this only made it a 4-1 final. Hellickson notched a strong win, Fernando Rodney closed out for the save, and Tillman was given the loss. The Rays end the year at 90-72, while the Orioles will be designated to the wild card game against the Rangers with a record of 93-69.

Way to the west, the Arizona Diamondbacks host the Colorado Rockies. Jeff Francis and Ian Kennedy receive the starting nods. Arizona opened in the third inning as A.J. Pollock hit a solo home run. Colorado pulled ahead in the fourth inning with Wilin Rosario reaching on an error to bring in Charlie Blackmon, followed by DJ LeMahieu singling to knock in Jordan Pacheco. This stood for a 2-1 final, with the win going to Francis, the save finished off by Matt Belisle, and the loss pinned on Kennedy. The Rockies finish the year at 64-98, while the Diamondbacks end at an even 81-81.

Out in California again, the Los Angeles Dodgers welcome the San Francisco Giants. Ryan Vogelsong and Clayton Kershaw pace the game. San Francisco started in the fourth inning as Buster Posey grounded out to get Marco Scutaro home. Los Angeles tied it in the fifth inning with Kershaw singling home Luis Cruz. The Dodgers took the lead in the sixth inning on an Adrian Gonzalez single to plate Andre Ethier. Los Angeles extended the lead in the eighth inning on an Alex Castellanos solo home run, followed by Juan Rivera hitting a two-run home run, also scoring Elian Herrera. This produced a 5-1 final, with the win going to Kershaw, while Clay Hensley was handed the loss. The Dodgers end the year at 86-76 while the Giants are playoff bound on a 94-68 mark.

Northeast to Milwaukee, as the Brewers host the San Diego Padres. Andrew Werner and Josh Stinson are the unknown pitchers. Milwaukee led off in the first inning as Aramis Ramirez singled home Rickie Weeks. The Brewers added on in the second inning as Travis Ishikawa grounded out to give time for Carlos Gomez to dash home. Milwaukee padded the lead in the third inning as Jonathan Lucroy doubled in Norichika Aoki, followed by a 3-RBI Ishikawa double, sweeping in Ryan Braun, Lucroy, and Gomez. San Diego got on the board in the fourth inning on a Chris Denorfia solo home run. The Padres got another in the fifth inning as Alexi Amarista scored on an error as Everth Cabrera stole second base, and Cabrera was able to score on a ground rule double by Chase Headley. San Diego pulled closer in the sixth inning as Cameron Maybin hit a two-run home run, also scoring Denorfia. The Padres took the lead in the seventh inning as Headley tripled to force in Will Venable before coming the final 90 feet on a Yonder Alonso sacrifice fly. This was good for a 7-6 win, Tommy Layne in line for the win, Luke Gregerson finishing off for the save, and the loss was pinned on Jim Henderson. The Padres finish at 76-86, while the Brewers end at 83-79.

South to Kansas City, as the Royals host the Detroit Tigers. Max Scherzer and Luis Mendoza are the inconsistent starters. Detroit began in the fifth inning as Austin Jackson doubled home Omar Infante. This was the only run scored, with the final being 1-0. The win was handed to Luis Marte, the save was finished off by Luke Putkonen, and the loss was stuck on Mendoza. The Tigers end the year postseason bound with an 88-74 record, and the Royals head into the offseason at 72-90. Another big congratulations is in order for Miguel Cabrera, the first Triple Crown winner (batting average, home runs, and RBIs) since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

Across Missouri, we end with last year's World Series champions, the St. Louis Cardinals, hosting the Cincinnati Reds. Homer Bailey makes his follow up to a no-hitter pitching against Shelby Miller. St. Louis got going in the eighth inning on a Matt Carpenter single to bring in Shane Robinson. This was the only run, giving Victor Marte the win, Jason Motte the save, and Jonathan Broxton the loss. The Cardinals head to the wild card game with an 88-74 record, while the Reds get some time off before playoff ball, sitting on a 97-65 record.

Again, I'd like to thank everyone for sticking with me throughout the MLB regular season. It has been the most difficult season to complete, but here we are, over six months from the season opener in Japan. Keep an eye out for the playoff posts, as well as the usual for football, and starting on November 1st, the KHL to feed the hockey-hungry among us. As always, follow me on Twitter @KipperScorpion, and I wish you all a happy postseason.