Brewers, Dodgers, Mets the 7 Teams Within a Game

With the top 2 teams in each division faving off next, our grid of Statis-pro results shows our tightest wild card race ever.

A minus signs under GB (games back) would indicate how many games out of the last wild card spot a team is, but no team currently is out of the playoffs - five teams are tied for the last wild card spot so have a "0" and the other teams have a + to indicate how many games ahead of the last spot they are.

Here are the next games with how many games ahead of the last playoff spot each team is as their No. 2 and No. 3 starters square off.

North and West Division:

Dodgers (+6) at Brewers (+7). If the Dodgers can win the series 4-2 then they have the inside track for the division because they would win the season series 7-5 over the Brewers to officially move into first. If the Brewers split 3-3 they would keep the 1-game lead. Both teams are a near lock for the playoffs, but whoever wins the division gets the crucial 1st round bye. Buhler (pb2-8) and Kershaw (2-7) at Burnes (2-9) and Peralta (2-7).

Giants (+1) at Padres (+0). Everyone scrambing for the final wild card spots. If teams end up tied for MAKING the playoffs then playin game(s) are played, but for winning the division or home advantage the tie-breakers are head-to-head, in division if same division, against qualifiers, and then against the top team in the whole league, 2nd best team etc. Wood (pb 4-7) and Cueto (4-7) at Lamet (2-8) and Musgrove (2-7).

Cubs (+0) done for this round so only 2 series, once through rotation, remaining.

South and East Division

Braves (+1) at Mets (+5). Perhaps last chance to threaten the Mets for the division. With Mets pitcher injuries, if the Braves won 5 games to 1 they would actually move into first by tying the Mets at 52-44 and wimning the season series to own the tie breaker. Mets stay in first if they gi at least 2 and 4. Morton (pb2-7) and Anderson (4-7) at Carrasco (2-7) and Lucchesi (2-7).

Cardinals (+0) at Nationals (+0). Cardinals need to dominate the Nats trade depleted pitching staff because the Braves and Reds srill get to play the Nats in the final two series. Kim (pb 4-7) and Mikolas (4-7) at Fedde (4-7) and Corbin (2-6).

Reds (+0) only 2 series left.

For those who dont know, the PB range by the pitchers are the numbers on which he controls the action and can allow no worse than a single on a roll of two dice from 2-12. A pb 2-9 is best (30 of 36 dice combinations), 2-8 (26 of 36), 2-7 (21 of 36), 4-7 (18 of 36 or a 50-50), 2-6 (15 of 36), 2-5 (10 of 36) and 2-4 (6 of 36).

Reds Split With Cards, Salvage 2 of 6 Vs. Braves

Votto exploded for 5 hits and reached 7 times in two games in hitter friendly Atlanta, but the Reds were shut down by two Cardinals result.

The incredible log jam continued as the Braves sweep for an 11-5 win gave them credit for 4 games to 2 over the Reds despite losing the nightcap 10-9. The moved the Braves into a tie for the second of 4 wildcard spots. The Reds dropped to a 5-way tie for the 6th and final spot.

The Cardinals split with the Reds to also be in the 5-way tie, as all 10 teams who advanced have had their rosters double checked and started divisional play.

We use a rotation that lets each team start either their No.1 and No.4 starter or their No.2 and No.3 starters so one team never has the advantage of their top two starters against the other team's 3rd and 4th.

Teams actually use 5- or even 6-man rotations in modern baseball, but we let extra starters come in and pitch up to 3 innings in one of every 2 game series. This was key when the Reds fell behind 7-3 to risk being swept for a 2nd straight game by the Braves, but Sims came in to pjtch the 5th through 7th innings, allowing only one run to not only avoid the sweep but help the Reds rally fir the win.

Nats, Mets Sweep Each Others Depleted Pitching Staffs

Just like real action tonight, a split. More to come.

The Nats pitching is decimated between the trade deadline - so their 12-6 loss counting as a sweep (5+ run lead after 8 innings without losing closer) is no surprise. Lindor hit a double and 2 homers in the nightcap to fuel the win, as opposed to the real double header between the same 2 teams last night where he and Baez were given the game off in a 4-3 loss. Hugh? Lindor scores 6 runs in the two games.

The Mets season of injuries has hit theor pitcjing the hardest,.so when their best remaining starter Stroman was beaten up in the first game the 10-5 sweep. Soto hit 2 homers.

Score this series a 3-3 tie due to both teams getting credited with 3-0 sweeps.

Final Statis-Pro Rosters and Transactions: Braves, Mets, Cardinals, Nationals and Reds

The following are the rosters of Statis-Pro baseball cards we are using for the divisional games in our "South & East" Division. During the season we keep up with big trades, to keep the rosters pretty close, but we don't move the players cards in and out with all the changes in modern Major League Baseball.

1. If a player is on the roster and we already had a Statis-Pro card (or temporary card) in our deck for the games we'd been playing, then obviously the remain in the game and under "Last Update" it simply says "Roster."

2. If a player we had on the team was injured but is at least rehabbing (including in the minors) to prepare to play again we keep him in the game and note the last transaction update below.

3. If a player was sent to the minors or injured within the last two months then we leave them in the game.

4. We ditch a player if they were released or traded, were not on the roster and are on 60-day DL and not yet rehabbing, or if they were sent to the minors more than 2 months ago and have not returned. Most if these players we ditch, but a key player like deGrom we keep in the stack and just mark them to check the tramsactions wires regularly to see if they start pitching again.

5. "Temporary Card" indicates the player did not actually have a projected 2021 card, but due to playing a good bit we added a temporary "fringe" card for the player. Fringe cards appear after these 5 rosters - and entail using a pitcher's projected ERA or a batter's projected OPS and the corresponding card at the end of this blog.

Padres Struggle to Split After Rosters Updated

Each team in our "North and West" division has now played, as the Padres bats continued to struggle amd waste great pitching. They traded 2-1 wins with the depleted cards.

We double checked rosters prior to starting divisional play with the rule if thumb that if the player is off the mlb roster for 60 days die to being sent to the minors, suspended or 60-day DL, then theur card is not used.

The Padres lost Pomeranz to 60-day DL, but luckily for them a second pb2-9 reliever, Austim Adams, came in with bases loaded in the 8th and retired Cubs cleanup hitter Contreras then pitched the 9th for the save.

A Cubs line-up with new cards based on ops or era, such as Matt Duffy's card in the ohoto that delivered the game-winning double in the 10th inning.

Best Real Team (Giants) Beat Best Statis-Pro Team (Brewers), Weakened Yelich

Earlier in the year Yelich Statis-Pro 2021 Projected Card would have hit a game-winning homer. However, he is one of a handful of batters to have cards adjusted, and his 25-28 HR range made a 32 a deep drive, which waa caught for a sac fly as the Giants held on for a 5-4 win.

The improved Giants' card for Brandon Crawford (27-33 though far fewer walks then Yelich) resulted in 3 homers in a 9-6 win in the nightcap, and Longoria's (27-34) had a single, double and triple and threw out two runners at home (CD5). LaStella did him one better with a cycle over the course of 2 games.

The Giants, who were initially dropped as a relegated team but played themselves back into the top 10 teams, move into 4th place for the second wild card team with home advantage based in games back. The win the tie breaker with the Reds due to a better record against qualified teams (Reds beefed up 21-9 against relegated teams to 18-12 for the Giants).

The losses drop the Brewers to 53-37, just one game ahead of the Dodgers for the best record in the NL. The Giants wins moved them past 5 teams tied for 6th place foe the last playoff spot.

The AL uses the same Staris-pro cards but does not use the adjustments, which are optional. The pitchers' card adjustments are here.

Dodgers Blast Cubs Out of Playoffs

The Cubs split their early season series with the Dodgers, but their depleted roster lost 7-1 and 4-1 against Scherzer and Buhler to officially lose this series 5 games to 1.

This was the first "divisional series' after each NL team played the other 14 in one series, then divided into 5 relegated teams and two 5-team divisions. Each team now plays only divisional foes in a 2nd game series. The series shot the Dodgers to the second best record in the league, ans dropped the Cubs to 10th of 10 remaining teams.