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| Orioles had some fun Monday night. (Getty Images) |
Abbreviated slate Monday night, with less than half the MLB teams in action. Still, there were playoff implications of some sort in all seven games -- including an absurdly-long rain delayed game in Wrigley Field. Time to get to it.
Full Monday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for every game
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Orioles' offense: The Seattle Mariners play in Safeco Field, which is pretty well regarded as a pitcher's park, but the Orioles made it an offensive haven Monday night. The final tally was 10 runs on 15 hits, but they scored nine runs in the first four innings before the game was well in hand. Five members of the Orioles' lineup -- Nate McLouth, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Mark Reynolds and Manny Machado -- collected at least two hits. We also have to give Chris Tillman credit for his performance on the hill, as he continues to own the team that traded him (along with Jones and some others) for Erik Bedard.
Cliff Lee, Phillies: The Phillies are still hanging around in the NL playoff race, despite coming off an awful series loss to the Astros (three of four!). Lee was huge for the Phillies Monday, working eight strong innings and only allowing seven hits, one run and one walk while striking out 10. In the process, he's kept them alive and well, though it's still gonna be tough.
The White Sox's hold on the AL Central: It's now a three-game lead for Chicago in the division, after a 5-4 win Monday in a make-up game. The most significant takeaway here is these two teams won't meet again this season.
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Chicago's weather: The Cubs and Pirates were scheduled to begin at 8:10 p.m. ET. Instead, it wasn't until 11:40 p.m. ET that the game was finally started, due to storms throughout the night. With the Pirates still in the thick of the NL wild-card race and the lack of a mutual off-day on the remaining schedule, though, this one had to be played. Then again, I have no idea why it couldn't have been a scheduled day game, with it being getaway day and coming off a few days games. The Pirates still have to travel home and play an important game Tuesday night, too.
Alex Cobb's unraveling: The Rays' starter had a no-no through 5 2/3 innings. He would only record one more out and took the loss in a 5-2 Rays defeat. The Rays are now five games behind the Orioles for the final AL playoff spot, too.
Doug Fister, Tigers: He lasted only four innings, coughing up eight hits and five runs (four earned). The Tigers lost and fell to three back, as we've already mentioned. 
Who woulda thought, Part I: The Brewers and the Pirates have the exact same record right now. They are both 74-72 heading into Tuesday's series kicking off in Pittsburgh. Not only would this scenario have been shocking a month ago, but it probably would have been at the start of the season, for a different reason. But here they are. It'll be Yovani Gallardo (15-8, 3.72) against A.J. Burnett (15-7, 3.66). Take note of the Pirates having little rest. They won't arrive until Tuesday morning due to the aforementioned weather issue in Wrigley Field, while the Brewers have been waiting in Pittsburgh. 7:05 p.m. ET
Who woulda thought, Part II: Go back to March, mentally. Now imagine someone told you that a series pitting the Tigers against the A's in mid-September would contain the team with the second-best record in the American League. What are the chances you would have said it would be the A's? And yet here they are. Also, the Tigers can't afford to mess around. Every game is a playoff-caliber game from here on out if they want to make the playoffs. A.J. Griffin (6-0, 1.94) will start for the A's while Max Scherzer (16-6, 3.77) gets the ball for Detroit. 7:05 p.m. ET
Rangers look to bury Angels: Obviously the Rangers have far better things to worry about, but a sweep in this three-game series -- which kicks off Tuesday in Los Angeles -- could effectively end the Angels' chances at making the postseason, as the Angels are three games out of the last AL playoff spot. Surely there's at least a small part of the Rangers' locker room that would take a little pleasure in burying their AL West rivals. Tuesday will be a tall order, though, as Jered Weaver (17-4, 2.74) starts for the home team. Ryan Dempster (6-1, 4.11 with Texas) gets the ball for the Rangers.
Tuesday's probable pitchers
• Start the closer? Here's a fun idea that no manager will ever try. Over at Fangraphs.com, Dave Cameron makes a very compelling case for some teams competing in the wild-card game -- considering it's one-and-done -- using their closer first. That is, assuming the team doesn't have an ace like Justin Verlander. Take the Braves for example, as Craig Kimbrel could be pretty awesome for two innings. There's a lot more rationale behind it from the Braves' point of view, and it's well worth the read.
• Examining unearned runs: High Heat Stats has noticed that many of the pitchers who allow a high percentage of unearned runs -- compared to total runs -- are really good pitchers. Among the top 10 in unearned run ratio this season, for example, are James Shields, C.J. Wilson, CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander. Why is this? High Heat Stats attempts to answer.
• MVP analogy: Here's a good MVP argument for those who support the best player winning the award, regardless of how good said player's teammates are:
@joe_sheehan My MVP analogy. Wallet with most money in it is most valuable regardless of how much other money the owner (team) has.
— Richie Rich (@MrRedlegs11) September 17, 2012
• More rookie hazing: This time it's the Dodgers, with their rookies dressed as women. (Instagram)
• Bang for buck: Based upon the current standings and payroll levels, which teams are getting the most -- and least -- bang for their buck? Bizball on Baseball Prospectus takes a look (subscription needed).
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