Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – September 23, 2014

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Adam Wainwright has had a career worth noting, even if he will probably never win a Cy Young Award.

Plus the AL Cy Young race is more interesting with Corey Kluber pitching so well and Felix Hernandez losing.

It is a better late than never episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

Adam Wainwright, Michael Pineda, Gregor Blanco, Jose Bautista, Dan Haren, Victor Martinez, Freddie Freeman and Carlos Carrasco all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball?

Inching closer to a Bay Area October

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For a while it looked like neither the Dodgers nor the Giants were going to win the game tonight. The Giants stranded an absurd number of runners and the Dodgers grounded into double plays the few times they could get on base.

Henry Blanco led off the game with a homer and Jake Peavy kept the Dodgers hitless until the 10th.

And of course the Giants tried to score on Yasiel Puig’s arm in the 11th only to have Belt gunned down at the plate.

But in the end it was Andrew Susac of all people who drove in the go ahead run and later scored when Dee Gordon threw to the wrong base in the 12.

Then Hunter Strickland got his first big league save throwing gas and a nasty slider.

The Giants are in all probability not going to catch the Dodgers. And they may not finish ahead of the red hot Pirates (with whom they are currently tied.)

But if Johnny Cueto and the Reds beat the Brewers tomorrow, all the Giants will have to do is win the game (with Madison Bumgarner pitching) and they will be one of the two Wild Card teams.

Meanwhile in Oakland, the A’s gave Jeff Samardzija six runs of support and their bats could be coming to life.

THEIR number to clinch a playoff spot dropped to 3.

Both the A’s and Giants are super close to October. In 1971, 1989, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2012, both teams made the post season. Of course they only faced each other in 1989.

Baby steps first, though. Get into the dance. Both teams are almost there.

I guess I should update the Dodged Bullet/Teeth Grinder tally.

An explanation of what this is all about can be found HERE.

 

GIANTS DODGED BULLET – TEETH GRINDER Tally

Andrew Susac’s 12 inning pinch hit RBI single and alert base running gave the Giants a dramatic 5-2 victory against the Dodgers. DODGED BULLET

57 Dodged Bullets 50 Teeth Grinders

TOTAL: +7

 

A’S DODGED BULLET – TEETH GRINDER Tally

The A’s fell behind 1-0 in the first. C. J. Wilson’s incredible wildness put Oakland up 6-1. But the Angels threatened enough to get Sean Doolittle up in the bullpen. In the end, the A’s held on to the 8-4 win. DODGED BULLER

55 Dodged Bullets 57 Teeth Grinders

TOTAL: -2

 

 

RED SOX DODGED BULLET – TEETH GRINDER Tally

Dodged Bullets 64 Teeth Grinders 76

TOTAL: -12

 

The A’s bats are heating up. A few more nights like this and people will stop moaning about Cespedes being traded.