Arizona Blinks
Three clubs at 66-58 yesterday. Today it's two at 67-58 and one a game behind.
Yesterday I wrote that the National League wild-card knot had gone from a one-game cushion to a dead-level three-way tie in a single night. Twenty-four hours later it's untied. San Diego shut out Cleveland 5-0, Philadelphia beat Minnesota 7-5, and Atlanta beat Arizona 5-3. Padres 67-58, Phillies 67-58, Diamondbacks 66-59.
One game. Not a lot. But it's the difference between being in the picture and being the one who has to pass somebody, and there are thirty-seven games left for exactly one of these three to be wrong about themselves.
The board moves accordingly: Arizona 0.66 to 0.60, San Diego back up 0.62 to 0.66, Philadelphia 0.72 to 0.74. Sums to 2.00 for two slots, same as it did when they were level, because that's the arithmetic and it doesn't care which of them won. Philadelphia stays on top of the group for the reason it's been on top all week — 35-28 away from home is the only winning road record in the trio, and September is not played at Petco.