Phillies Claim Final Spot in Statis-Pro Championship Pool

Bryce Harper homered in the top of the 6th inning to break a 4-4 tie, and the Phillies added two insurance runs in the 9th to claim the final championship spot against Tampa and the LA Dodgers. 

Justin Crawford led off the inning and stole second before Trea Turner singled him home. Turner later scored on Luis Arraez's fourth hit of the game — and the Phillies' 14th hit — to secure the final spot in the Championship Pool.

Below you can find three things, in order. Play your own games with the free Statis-Pro baseball game by clicking here.

First, we list all Statis-Pro teams' records this season in our pool-play format, starting with the three teams advancing to the Championship round-robin pool. Next are the six other teams that made the semifinal pools before being eliminated, followed by the 19 teams that lost in initial pool play without making the semifinals, and finally the two teams we left out because they ranked 29th and 30th in the power rankings.

We actually initially left the Chicago White Sox out as one of the bottom three, but they were so much improved that we added a single wild-card pool. This required the Mariners to win a second pool since their original pool was the weakest, with no team above .500 in real MLB play. We also gave Atlanta a second chance since they were the highest power-ranked team not to make the semifinals and their original pool was so tough, particularly because the Red Sox unexpectedly emerged as a top team.

Second, we list the results of all 67 games it took us to get to the Championship Pool, along with the starting pitchers in each game. Each pool features every team throwing its top four Statis-Pro starting pitcher cards, with either its ace and No. 4 starter or its No. 2 and No. 3 starters facing the other two teams in the pool.

Third is a picture of the game-winning semifinal finale. Jesús Luzardo fell behind 4-1 after two innings against the Diamondbacks but managed to fight back with three scoreless innings after that. He lasted through five innings, giving the Phillies time to catch up and then take the lead on Harper's homer so Luzardo could grab the win.

Corbin Carroll would have been the hero if the Diamondbacks had won and advanced. He reached on an error to start the bottom of the 1st inning, stole second and scored. Then, in the 2nd inning, he hit a homer to make it 4-1 D-backs.

The Diamondbacks had beaten Seattle 1-0 in the game before to eliminate the Mariners, making the final Championship Pool spot come down to the winner of the Phillies-Diamondbacks game.

In the title pool, if any team goes 4-0, or is the only team to go 3-1, it will be the 2026 Statis-Pro Champion. We will not eliminate teams in this round based on run differential, but we will use it for seeding additional games if we need a tiebreaker.

If two of the final three championship teams finish 3-1, they will play a one-game tiebreaker for the title. If all three teams finish 2-2, the team with the best run differential gets a bye while the other two teams play a one-game playoff. The winner of that game then plays the team with the bye for the 2026 Statis-Pro Championship.

 

Champ Pool	Wins	Losses	Win%	Runs	Allowed
LA Dodgers	8	0	1.000	6.8	2.4
Philadelphia	7	1	0.875	4.8	2.5
Tampa	6	2	0.750	6.0	3.4
Semi Final Pool	Wins	Losses	Win%	Runs	Allowed
Seattle	8	4	0.667	4.3	2.5
Milwaukee	5	3	0.625	3.9	3.1
NY Mets	3	2	0.600	4.8	4.6
Arizona	4	3	0.571	3.1	2.6
Chicago Cubs	3	5	0.375	2.9	3.8
Boston	2	4	0.333	3.0	2.5
Eliminated	Wins	Losses	Win%	Runs	Allowed
Cincinnati	3	1	0.750	4.3	2.3
Minnesota	3	1	0.750	4.8	3.5
Atlanta	5	3	0.625	4.4	4.3
Texas	2	2	0.500	3.8	3.3
Kansas City	2	2	0.500	4.0	4.3
St. Louis	2	2	0.500	4.0	5.3
Detroit	1	2	0.333	5.7	4.3
Toronto	1	2	0.333	3.7	3.0
Miami	1	2	0.333	2.7	4.7
San Francisco	1	2	0.333	0.3	2.0
Baltimore	0	2	0.000	3.0	6.5
NY Yankees	0	2	0.000	1.5	3.5
Pittsburgh	0	4	0.000	2.3	5.5
Athletics	0	2	0.000	3.5	9.5
Houston	0	4	0.000	2.5	7.3
Chicago White Sox	0	4	0.000	2.3	7.3
Washington	0	2	0.000	2.0	8.0
San Diego	0	2	0.000	0.5	4.5
Cleveland	0	2	0.000	0.5	6.5
Relegated	Wins	Losses	Win%	Runs	Allowed
LA Angels	0	0	0.000	0.0	0.0
Colorado	0	0	0.000	0.0	0.0
Total Record	67	67

 

Championship Pools (3 teams)	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
LA Dodgers Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Tarik Skubal	2'-9	TB
Shohei Ohtani	2'-9	Phi
Yoshinobu Yamamoto	2'-8	Phi
Tyler Glasnow	2'-8	TB
Team Total Wins & Runs			0	0
Tampa Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Shane McClanahan	2'-8	LA
Drew Rasmussen	2'-8	Phi
Freddy Peralta	2'-7	Phi
Ryan Pepiot	4'-7	LA
Team Total Wins & Runs			0	0
Philadelphia Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Cristopher Sánchez	2'-9	LAD
Zack Wheeler	2'-8	Phi
Jesús Luzardo	2'-7	Phi
Aaron Nola	4'-7	LAD
Team Total Wins & Runs			0	0
Semifinal Pools (9 teams, 3 pools)
LA Dodgers Win Pool J Semi
LA Dodgers Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Tarik Skubal	2'-9	NYM	5	1	1	0
Shohei Ohtani	2'-9	Bos	2	1	1	0
Yoshinobu Yamamoto	2'-8	Bos	4	3	1	0
Tyler Glasnow	2'-8	NYM	8	3	1	0
Team Total Wins & Runs			19	8	4	0
Boston Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Sonny Gray	2'-8	NYM			0
Garrett Crochet	2'-8	LAD	1	2	0	1
Ranger Suarez	2'-7	LAD	3	4	0	1
Payton Tolle	4'-7	NYM			0
Team Total Wins & Runs			4	6	0	2
NY Mets Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Jonah Tong	2'-8	LAD	1	5	0	1
Nolan McLean	2'-7	Bos
Christian Scott	2'-7	Bos
Sean Manaea	4'-7	LAD	3	8	0	1
Team Total Wins & Runs			4	13	0	2
			27	27
Tampa Wins Pool K Semifinal
Tampa Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Shane McClanahan	2'-8	Mil	5	3	1	0
Drew Rasmussen	2'-8	ChC	2	1	1	0
Freddy Peralta	2'-7	ChC	10	0	1	0
Ryan Pepiot	4'-7	Mil	4	7	0	1
Team Total Wins & Runs			21	11	3	1
Chicago Cubs Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Justin Steele	2'-7	TB	1	2	0	1
Edward Cabrera	2'-7	Mil	3	6	0	1
Kevin Gausman	2'-7	Mil	2	1	1	0
Jordan Wicks	2'-7	TB	0	10	0	1
Team Total Wins & Runs			6	19	1	3
Milwaukee Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Jacob Misiorowski	2'-9	TB	3	5	0	1
Brandon Woodruff	2'-7	ChC	6	3	1	0
DL Hall	4'-7	ChC	1	2	0	1
Shane Drohan	4'-7	TB	7	4	1	0
Team Total Wins & Runs			17	14	2	2
			44	44
Philadelphia Wins Pool L Semifinal
Philadelphia Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Cristopher Sánchez	2'-9	Sea	3	1	1	0
Zack Wheeler	2'-8	Ari	4	3	1	0
Jesús Luzardo	2'-7	Ari	7	4	1	0
Aaron Nola	4'-7	Sea	2	5	0	1
Team Total Wins & Runs			16	13	3	1
Arizona Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Corbin Burnes	4'-7	Phi	3	4	0	1
Zac Gallen	4'-7	Sea	1	2	0	1
Merrill Kelly	4'-7	Sea	1	0	1	0
Brandon Pfaadt	4'-7	Phi	4	7	0	1
Team Total Wins & Runs			9	13	1	3
Seattle Rotation	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Logan Gilbert	2'-8	Phi	1	3	0	1
George Kirby	2'-8	Ari	0	1	0	1
Bryan Woo	2'-8	Ari	2	1	1	0
Bryce Miller	2'-6	Phi	5	2	1	0
Team Total Wins & Runs			8	7	2	2
			33	33
Seattle Emerges from Wild Card
Atlanta	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Chris Sale	2'-9	CWS	9	2	1	0
Reynaldo López	2'-7	CWS	5	4	1	0
Spencer Strider	2'-7	Sea	2	4	0	1
Spencer Schwellenbach	2'-8	Sea	5	3	1	0
			21	13	3	1
Chicago White Sox	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Luis Castillo	4-7	Atl	2	9	0	1
Noah Schultz	4-7	Sea	3	5	0	1
Anthony Kay	2-6	Sea	0	10	0	1
Shane Smith	2-5	Atl	4	5	0	1
			9	29	0	4
Seattle	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
George Kirby	2'-8	Atl	3	4	0	1
Bryan Woo	2'-8	CWS	4	3	1	0
Logan Gilbert	2'-8	CWS	10	0	1	0
Bryce Miller	4'-7	Atl	4	2	1	0
			21	9	3	1
Preliminary 27 teams (9 Pools)
LA Dodgers Win Pool A
Athletics	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Jacob Lopez	2'-5	LAD	5	16	0	1
Jack Perkins	2'-6	LAD	2	3	0	1
Gage Jump	2'-5	Was
Mason Barnett	2'-6	Was
			7	19	0	2
LA Dodgers	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Tyler Glasnow	2'-8	Ath	3	2	1	0
Shohei Ohtani	2'-9	Ath	16	5	1	0
Blake Snell	2'-8	Was	12	4	1	0
Yoshinobu Yamamoto	2'-8	Was	4	0	1	0
			35	11	4	0
Washington	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Zack Littell	2'-5	Ath
Cade Cavalli	4'-7	Ath
Foster Griffin	4'-7	LAD	0	4	0	1
Andrew Alvarez	2'-5	LAD	4	12	0	1
			4	16	0	2
Boston wins Pool B; ATL wildcard
Atlanta	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Chris Sale	2'-9	Bos	1	8	0	1
Reynaldo López	2'-7	Bos	4	2	1	0
Spencer Strider	2'-7	Tex	5	9	0	1
Spencer Schwellenbach	2'-8	Tex	4	2	1	0
			14	21	2	2
Boston	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Ranger Suarez	2'-7	Atl	2	4	0	1
Garrett Crochet	2'-8	Atl	8	1	1	0
Connelly Early	2'-7	Tex	2	3	0	1
Sonny Gray	2'-8	Tex	2	1	1	0
			14	9	2	2
Texas	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Nathan Eovaldi	2'-8	Atl	2	4	0	1
Jordan Montgomery	2'-6	Atl	9	5	1	0
MacKenzie Gore	2'-7	Bos	3	2	1	0
Kumar Rocker	4'-7	Bos	1	2	0	1
			15	13	2	2
NY Mets win Pool C
Miami	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Braxton Garrett	2'-7	NYM	6	9	0	1
Sandy Alcantara	4'-7	NYM	1	5	0	1
Max Meyer	4'-7	NYY
Eury Pérez	2'-7	NYY	1	0	1	0
			8	14	1	2
NY Mets	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Nolan McLean	2'-7	Mia	9	6	1	0
Freddy Peralta	2'-7	Mia	5	1	1	0
Sean Manaea	4'-7	NYY
Jonah Tong	2'-8	NYY	6	3	1	0
			20	10	3	0
NY Yankees	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Gerrit Cole	2'-8	Mia	0	1	0	1
Carlos Rodón	4'-7	Mia
Max Fried	2'-8	NYM	3	6	0	1
Cam Schlittler	2'-9	NYM
			3	7	0	2
Tampa Wins Pool D
Cincinnati	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Brady Singer	2'-6	Hou	4	3	1	0
Chase Burns	2'-9	Hou	4	0	1	0
Hunter Greene	2'-7	TBR	0	3	0	1
Nick Lodolo	4'-7	TBR	9	3	1	0
			17	9	3	1
Houston	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Hunter Brown	2'-8	Cin	0	4	0	1
AJ Blubaugh	2'-6	Cin	3	4	0	1
Mike Burrows	2'-6	TBR	2	8	0	1
Tatsuya Imai	2'-6	TBR	5	13	0	1
			10	29	0	4
Tampa	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Drew Rasmussen	2'-8	Cin	8	2	1	0
Joe Boyle	4'-7	Cin	3	9	0	1
Ryan Pepiot	4'-7	Hou	13	5	1	0
Shane McClanahan	2'-8	Hou	3	0	1	0
			27	16	3	1
Milwaukee wins Pool E
Milwaukee	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Kyle Harrison	2'-6	SFG	4	0	1	0
Brandon Woodruff	2'-7	SFG	2	0	1	0
Jacob Misiorowski	2'-9	Tor	2	9	0	1
DJ Hall	4'-7	Tor	6	2	1	0
			14	11	3	1
San Francisco	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Landen Roupp	4'-7	Mil	0	2	0	1
Robbie Ray	4'-7	Tor
Carson Whisenhunt	4'-7	Mil	0	4	0	1
Logan Webb	2'-8	Tor	1	0	1	0
			1	6	1	2
Toronto	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Ricky Tiedemann	2'-7	Mil	2	6	0	1
Dylan Cease	2'-9	Mil	9	2	1	0
Shane Bieber	2'-7	SFG	0	1	0	1
Trey Yesavage	2'-7	SFG
			11	9	1	2
Chicago Cubs win Pool F
Chicago Cubs	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
David Peterson	4'-7	KCR	7	1	1	0
Edward Cabrera	2'-7	KCR	2	5	0	1
Justin Steele	2'-7	StL	3	5	0	1
Matthew Boyd	2'-6	StL	5	0	1	0
			17	11	2	2
Chicago Cubs	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Cole Ragans	2'-8	Chc	5	2	1	0
Seth Lugo	2'-5	Chc	0	5	0	1
Kris Bubic	2'-7	StL	8	4	1	0
Noah Cameron	2'-5	StL	3	6	0	1
			16	17	2	2
Kansas City	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Matthew Liberatore	2'-6	KCR	6	3	1	0
Michael McGreevy	4'-7	Chc	5	3	1	0
Dustin May	2'-6	KCR	4	8	0	1
Andre Pallante	2'-6	Chc	1	7	0	1
			16	21	2	2
Arizona Wins Pool G
Arizona	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Merrill Kelly	4'-7	Cle	1	0	1	0
Zac Gallen	4'-7	Cle
Corbin Burnes	2'-8	Det	4	3	1	0
Brandon Pfaadt	4'-7	Det	8	2	1	0
			13	5	3	0
Cleveland	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Parker Messick	2'-9	Ari	0	1	0	1
Tanner Bibee	4'-7	Ari
Joey Cantillo	4'-7	Det	1	12	0	1
Gavin Williams	4'-7	Det
Detroit			1	13	0	2
Detroit	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Framber Valdez	2'-8	Ari	3	4	0	1
Jack Flaherty	2'-7	Ari	2	8	0	1
Tarik Skubal	2'-8	Cle	12	1	1	0
Casey Mize	4'-7	Cle
			17	13	1	2
Philadelphia Wins Pool H
Baltimore	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Shane Baz	2'-6	Phi
Albert Suárez	2'-6	SDP
Kyle Bradish	2'-8	SDP	5	9	0	1
Trevor Rogers	2'-6	Phi	1	4	0	1
			6	13	0	2
Philadelphia	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Zack Wheeler	2'-8	Bal	4	1	1	0
Jesús Luzardo	2'-7	Bal	9	5	1	0
Cristopher Sánchez	2'-9	SDP	2	1	1	0
Aaron Nola	4'-7	SDP	7	0	1	0
			22	7	4	0
San Diego	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Michael King	2'-6	Phi	1	2	0	1
Joe Musgrove	4'-7	Bal
Nick Pivetta	2'-7	bal
Casey Mize	2'-8	Phi	0	7	0	1
			1	9	0	2
Seattle Wins Pool I - goes Wild card
Minnesota	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Joe Ryan	2'-9	Pit	4	3	1	0
Taj Bradley	4'-7	Pit	6	1	1	0
Zebby Matthews	2'-7	Sea	6	4	1	0
Andrew Morris	4-'7	Sea	3	6	0	1
			19	14	3	1
Pittsburgh	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Paul Skenes	2'-9	Min	3	4	0	1
Mitch Keller	4'-7	Min	1	6	0	1
Jared Jones	2'-7	Sea	3	8	0	1
Braxton Ashcraft	4'-7	Sea	2	4	0	1
			9	22	0	4
Seattle	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
George Kirby	2'-8	Min	4	6	0	1
Bryan Woo	2'-8	pit	8	3	1	0
Logan Gilbert	2'-8	Pit	4	2	1	0
Bryce Miller	4'-7	min	6	3	1	0
			22	14	3	1
Teams Not Included in Pool
Chicago White Sox added later WC
Angels-Rockies May Play at End
LA Angels	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Grayson Rodriguez	2'-7
Reid Detmers	4'-7
Yusei Kikuchi	4'-7
Ryan Johnson	2'-6
Colorado Rockies	PB	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Wins	Losses
Tanner Gordon	2'-5
Gabriel Hughes	2'-5
TJ Shook	2'-5
Kyle Freeland	2'-4

Here is the Phillies win in our 67th game this year:

Tampa Wins Pool with Only Two .600 Teams (Brewers Eliminated)

 Both teams playing .600 ball in actual MLB play ended up in the same semifinal pool, meaning only one could advance to the Final 3 Pool.

The Rays emerged to join the Los Angeles Dodgers and one team TBD from the third semifinal pool.

The Rays, who with the Brewers are the only two .600 teams in actual MLB play hope to make their third ALCS in five years in real MLB, had already finished 3-1 with a commanding 21-11 advantage in runs scored versus runs allowed.

But because we went with head-to-head runs scored as our tiebreaker for this round, their fate was still in doubt with the Cubs and Brewers tied 1-1 after six innings.

Then MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a solo homer in the top of the 7th, and the Cubs' sometimes-shaky relievers retired the final 10 Brewers in order to secure a 2-1 victory.

That sent Tampa Bay to the Final 3 Pool—and sent their rival Brewers home..

 

Lefty-lefty Saves Ashby v PCA to Keep Brewers Season Alive at Wrigley

 With Cubs MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong up and the tying run on third base, the Brewers brought in lefty Aaron Ashby to get the final out of the 6th.

The Random Number was the highest in the range, an 88. If they had left Coleman Crow in the game, the right-handed pitcher vs. PCA's LP (left power) rating would have converted the out into a run-scoring single, putting runners on first and third and potentially eliminating the Brewers.

Instead, Ashby got PCA out, and the Brewers later made it 6-3 to force a final game back in Milwaukee. They will go into that game with a depleted bullpen after having to use all five PB 2-8 relievers to make sure the season didn't end at Wrigley.

That puts a lot on the new PB 4-7 card of DL Hall and just two PB 2-7 relievers. At least Hall is a lefty, which helps against the three LP batters among the Cubs' first five hitters.

In Statis-Pro, a left-handed pitcher facing a left-handed batter changes 11-13 from a hit to a strikeout, whether the action is on the batter's or pitcher's card.

Righty vs. righty only changes an 11 to a strikeout.

But when the batter and pitcher throw from opposite sides, an 88 changes from an out to a single with the runner advancing two bases—which is exactly why it took Ashby to stop PCA and the Cubs.

Finale to Follow

Seattle and Philadelphia Travel to Arizona Where 1 of 3 Will Make Finals

What a finale in semifinal Pool L, with Arizona hosting the final two pool games.

The two league runner ups in the 2025 season, Philadelphia and Seattle, have the best shot, but Arizona is alive.

Seattle took control with two home wins — first a 5-2 win over the Phillies, and then a thrilling 2-1, 11-inning win over Arizona. Weston Wilson singled home ghost runner Rob Refsnyder to start the bottom of the 11th with a walk-off win.

Both teams had loaded the bases in the 10th but failed to score. Earlier in the game, both teams had runners thrown out at home trying to score from second base — something that happens less than 10 percent of the time.

Now the scenarios are pretty simple.

If Seattle wins the next game at Arizona, the Mariners clinch the pool with a 3-1 record. Even if the Phillies could eventually match that record, Seattle owns the tiebreaker after outscoring Philadelphia 6-5 in their two games. So if Seattle wins, there is no need to play the final Arizona-Philadelphia game.

If Seattle loses, then Philadelphia will play Arizona in the finale. A Phillies win would make Philadelphia the only 3-1 team and clinch the pool.

But if Arizona wins both games, the Diamondbacks would almost certainly advance. Both of Arizona's losses were by just one run, so if the Diamondbacks win twice, all three teams would finish 2-2. As long as Arizona wins at least one of those games by more than one run, it would win the run-differential tiebreaker.

There is only one scenario in which all three teams finish 2-2 and Arizona does not advance: if the Diamondbacks win both remaining games by exactly one run. In that case, Seattle would take the pool with a +1 run differential, Arizona would finish at 0, and Philadelphia at -1.

So Arizona has the toughest path — it must win twice — but if it does, it will almost certainly be the team advancing.

In the earlier game ...

The Mariners’ No. 4 pitcher, Bryce Miller, with a below-average PB 2-6 card and many of Seattle’s top relievers needing rest, pulled off the stunning outing of the year with 7 scoreless innings.

That means the Mariners now need only one of their PB 2-8 starters, Bryan Woo or George Kirby, to beat Arizona to win Semifinal Pool L.

Cal Raleigh continued to look more like the 50-home-run catcher who helped the Mariners win 90 games last year than the slumping .150 hitter for the struggling 2026 Mariners in MLB.

The Phillies are still technically in first place at 2-1, but even if they beat Arizona to finish pool play 3-1, they were outscored by the Mariners 6-5 in their two head-to-head games. That means Seattle advances if the Mariners finish tied with Philadelphia.

And, of course, Arizona is still alive.

So we’ll play Arizona at Seattle next, before Arizona hosts both teams for its final two games.

Brewers Rally in 8th and 9th to Stay Alive After Rays Crush Cubs 10-0

Tampa Bay was two innings away from clinching Statis-Pro Baseball Pool K and advancing to the three-team Championship Pool. Instead, Milwaukee rallied for a 7-4 win, and now the Rays must root for the Cubs to win at least one of their two remaining games against the Brewers.

If Milwaukee sweeps Chicago, the Brewers win the pool. If the Cubs win either game, Tampa advances. You can see the results of all 9 semifinal pool games, as well as the 55 games in initial pool play that got us from 28 teams to 9 seminfinal teams (those average much more lopsided 5.9 to 2.1 scores.and only 41% of 1st round games - 23 of 55 - being decided by one or two runs, while the majority of semifinal pool games have been decided by one or two runs).

That is quite a turnaround after the Rays dominated the Cubs 10-0 earlier in the day to improve to 3-0. Even after falling behind Milwaukee 5-4 through seven innings, Tampa remained in excellent position. A win or even a one-run loss would have clinched the pool because of the tiebreakers.

But Milwaukee kept adding just enough.

Brewers Stay Alive With 2 Late Runs

With both bullpens depleted from the first Rays-Brewers matchup in Milwaukee, both teams had chances against mediocre pitchers throughout the game.

Brice Turang singled and stole second to start the eighth, and super rookie Luis Lara doubled him home to make it 6-4.

That run was huge. If nobody else had scored, Milwaukee would have remained alive, but barely. The head-to-head run total between Milwaukee and Tampa would have been tied 9-9, moving the tiebreaker to overall run differential. Tampa's massive 10-0 win over Chicago had given the Rays such an advantage that Milwaukee would have needed to sweep the Cubs by a combined margin of at least 11 runs to overtake Tampa.

Then came the decisive top of the ninth.

With one out, Christian Yelich singled and stole second. Sal Frelick then drove a ball to right for the second out, but Yelich's OBR A — the game's best baserunning rating — allowed him to advance to third with two outs.

A scoring note: On our scoresheet, we wrote "S9" on the play, similar to a sacrifice fly, simply to keep track of how Yelich advanced. Officially, however, Frelick does not receive a sacrifice fly because no run scored. He finished 2-for-4, with his other out an RBI grounder to shortstop that scored Jeff Williams in the fifth to give Milwaukee a 3-0 lead.

That left cleanup hitter William Contreras with a chance to drive Yelich home from third.

Contreras hit a grounder to Nick Madrigal, who was starting at second only because Milwaukee had a left-handed starting pitcher. Madrigal is a decent defensive second baseman with an E4 rating, but the play drew an E1-10 — meaning everyone except an elite E0 fielder would commit an error.

We were playing with the original 1978 out charts that came with our game, which required another card to determine whether it was an Error 1, 2 or 3. The result was Error 3.

With a runner on third, Error 3 normally means the batter is safe while the runner holds because the ball is essentially stuck in the fielder's glove. But with two outs, the runner races home — and Yelich did exactly that to make it 7-4.

The timing was funny because it came one day after Brewers rookie Cooper Pratt was lifted for a pinch runner in real MLB play after failing to run out a play and being reminded that the Brewers run everything out.

They have to. If the actual MLB season ended today, Milwaukee would be the first team since the 1959 Chicago White Sox — who won 94 games despite hitting only 97 home runs — to lead MLB in wins while finishing last in home runs. The Brewers currently lead the majors with 82 wins despite ranking last with 120 homers.

Harrison Slams the Door

Kyle Harrison protected the 7-4 lead with a scoreless ninth to complete 2 2/3 scoreless innings, with some help from Milwaukee's always-excellent defense.

Nick Fortes walked to start Tampa's final chance, and pinch runner Taylor Wells entered with instructions to steal second. Even one Rays run would have dramatically improved Tampa's tiebreaker position.

He never got the chance.

Contreras picked Wells off first for the opening out, and Harrison retired the final two hitters to wrap up Milwaukee's 7-4 win.

That leaves the situation very simple:

If the Cubs beat Milwaukee once, Tampa wins Pool K and advances. If Milwaukee sweeps both games from Chicago, the Brewers win Pool K and advance.

Pool K Semifinal Standings and Remaining Games

Pool K Semifinal	PB	Venue	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Result
Tampa Rotation
Shane McClanahan	2'-8	A	Mil	5	3	W
Drew Rasmussen	2'-8	A	ChC	2	1	W
Freddy Peralta	2'-7	H	ChC	10	0	W
Ryan Pepiot	4'-7	H	Mil	4	7	L
Team Total Wins & Runs				21	11	3-1
Chicago Cubs Rotation	PB	Venue	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Result
Justin Steele	2'-7	H	TB	1	2	L
Edward Cabrera	2'-7		Mil
Kevin Gausman	2'-7		Mil
Jordan Wicks	2'-7	A	TB	0	10	L
Team Total Wins & Runs				1	12	0-2
Milwaukee Rotation	PB	Venue	Opp	Runs	Allowed	Result
Jacob Misiorowski	2'-9	H	TB	3	5	L
Brandon Woodruff	2'-7		ChC
DL Hall	4'-7		ChC
Shane Drohan	4'-7	A	TB	7	4	W
Team Total Wins & Runs				10	9	1'-1

Cubs Have the Pitching to Play Spoiler

The Rays now have to watch.

Chicago does have two PB 2-7 starters lined up against Milwaukee, while the Brewers counter with one PB 2-7 starter and DL Hall, an average PB 4-7 pitcher.

Hall was one of two pitchers recently added to the game, giving Milwaukee two PB 4-7 pitchers at the back of its rotation instead of the two PB 2-6 pitchers who previously would have been its third and fourth starters.

Milwaukee does hold a slight bullpen advantage, with four PB 2-8 relievers compared with three for Chicago.

For anyone unfamiliar with Statis-Pro Baseball, the pitcher's PB rating is one of the keys to the game. It determines how often the action remains on the pitcher's card rather than moving to the hitter's card.

A dominant PB 2-9 pitcher keeps the action on his card on 30 of the 36 possible combinations of two traditional six-sided dice. Only a 10-12 roll — about 17% of the time — sends the action to the hitter's card, where extra-base hits become possible.

A strong PB 2-8 pitcher allows the hitter's card about 28% of the time. A PB 2-7 starter allows it about 42%, while a mediocre PB 4-7 pitcher gives the hitter his card on exactly half the rolls.

That makes the two remaining Cubs-Brewers games anything but automatic Milwaukee wins.

Rays Had Been Perfect Before Milwaukee Rally

Earlier in the day, Tampa looked unstoppable.

Once again, we had to ask: How are the Rays this good?

In Statis-Pro, they were even better than their real-life counterparts, pounding Chicago 10-0 behind their new pickup from the Mets, Freddy Peralta.

The Rays exploded for eight runs in the first inning, and Peralta followed with six scoreless innings as Tampa cruised to the shutout and improved to 3-0 in Pool K.

That put the Rays one victory away from clinching the second spot in the three-team Championship Pool, where the Dodgers are already waiting.

Instead, Milwaukee's 7-4 win changed everything.

Tampa has completed its schedule at 3-1. Milwaukee is 1-1 with two games left. Chicago is 0-2.

Now the equation couldn't be easier: Tampa needs one Cubs win. Milwaukee needs two.