LUCHADORES FLIP SQUIRRELS FOR PLAYOFF BERTH

Frostbite Falls—On the road against the club with the best record in BARB, the Las Vegas Luchadores clinched their first-ever divisional title with their 79th win of the year, a smartly-played 5-3 decision that followed an earlier loss by the Ballers on the 146th game of play. The Luchadores thus became the first BARB club to clinch a playoff spot in a surprisingly close finish in both East and West.

Aaron Heilman (12-5, 3.97) was given an early lead when his teammates took advantage of a shaky Bronson Arroyo, who was denied a shot at a BARB-leading 17th win when Tadahito Iguchi doubled with two out and the bases loaded in the second, with all three runners scoring. It had to be a nice moment for Iguchi, who began the season with the Squirrels but never provided all that much offense for Head FF-er Andrew Haynes. Arroyo (16-8, 4.22) coughed up two more runs in the third after a rare error by Michael Young allowed the Luchadores to load the bases again. Alfonso Soriano delivered an RBI single and Kevin Youkilis, as his wont, drew a walk with the bags filled to ‘drive in’ another.

That was pretty much it for the Squirrels. Down 5-0, they nibbled away against Heilman and scratched out single runs in the third and fifth before loading the bases with one down in the eighth. Albert Pujols singled home a run to but the go-ahead run at the plate, but Vegas brought on Mariano Rivera, who induced Jason Bay to ground harmlessly into a 6-4-3 DP, denying the threat. Rivera then worked a threatless ninth for his 31st save, and when the last out was recorded the kings of Nevada were also rulers atop the Central Division:

"Ladies and gentlemen.....the Las Vegas Luchadores are going to the playoffs!"

LOOKING AHEAD

Now what? With clubs having eight-ten games left in the schedule, the remaining races shape up like this: thanks to the loss, Frostbite Falls (86-60) hold but a half-game lead over Worcester and Darwin, who at 85-60 are tied for first place and the lead in the ‘wild-card’ chase by a wild margin over Brooklyn (80-66) and Arizona (76-69). Yuma (79-67) clings to a 2 ½ game lead over Arizona in the West: clearly, if the D-Backs are to make a playoff run, they have to catch and pass Yuma—whereas there are any number of scenarios that could lead to Brooklyn gaining the wild card, and these are more probable than winning the East outright.

Bottom line: It’s gut-check time in the East and West.

In other BARB action:

DARWIN 6, YUMA 5
WP: John Smoltz (7-7, 2.98)
LP: Jake Peavy (10-9, 4.62)
SV: Hoffman (30)

The Finches have saved some of their best ball for the final weeks, after getting both Chipper Jones and David Ortiz back from nagging aches and pains, and with John Smoltz allowing just one earned run in seven, were able to hold off the Firebirds’ furious eighth inning comeback capped by Raul Ibanez’s 16th homer, which brought Yuma within a run of tying the game. But Darwin managed to win for the ninth time in their last ten games by bringing in Trevor Hoffman with two down in the inning and working a four-out save.

BLACK MESA 7, BROOKLYN 5 (10 innings)
WP: Takashi Saito (5-3, 1.91)
LP: Joe Kennedy (4-4, 2.86)
SV: Papelbon (20)

Justin Morneau hit his 30th homer and Adam Dunn followed later with a grand slam, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Moabs forcing extra innings with a rare blown save by Saito, only to all go for naught when the Anomalies cashed in a Chase Utley throwing error in the top of the tenth for a pair of unearned runs. Jonathan Papelbon worked a scoreless bottom of the 10th, bellowing like a maniac as he carved up Abreu, Blalock and Ichiro like they wuz buttah. With a strong finish, the up-and-down Anomalies could still finish in the first division (above .500).

POTTSYLVANIA 3, OAKEYLAND 2
WP: Jon Lester (2-1, 2.66)
LP: Bobby Howry (2-3, 3.31)

Jon Lester fanned nine Ballers and pulled a win out of the hat after Oakeyland took a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth on Eric Byrnes 13th homer of the season. But pinch-hitting Chad Tracy, hobbled by leg injuries, still hit Bobby Howry’s first pitch in the bottom of the ninth out of the ballpark and the Creepers then scratched out the winning run on when much-maligned J.D. Drew dropped a base-loaded fly from pinch-hitter Matt Murton. What a way to lose, and it was salt in a very open wound a few minutes later when the news came 'over the wire'.....Las Vegas had won, as well, clinching the title and eliminating Oakeyland