The pennant and wild card races are coming down to the wire.  In the American League, the Yankees lead the AL East by 1 1/2 games over the Orioles; the White Sox are ahead of the Tigers in the Central by one game; in the West, the Rangers are getting close to clinching as they hold a 5-game margin over the Oakland A’s.  In the race for the wild card in the AL, Baltimore leads Oakland by 1 1/2 games, the A’s are ahead of the Angels for the second spot by 2 games, and Tampa Bay is 3 games off the pace.  Going over to the National League, the only division race to be decided is the NL East, where Washington has a 5-game advantage over the Atlanta Braves with 9 games remaining.  Atlanta is in the lead for the wild card with a 5 1/2 game cushion over the St. Louis Cardinals.  St. Louis is 3 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee and the LA Dodgers in the race for the second wild card spot.  

In today’s critical action, the Chicago White Sox are at home against the Cleveland Indians, while the Detroit Tigers host the KC Royals.  Toronto takes on the Orioles in Baltimore, Tampa is in Boston to battle the Red Sox, the Yankees are in Minnesota against the Twins, Oakland is in Texas to square off against the Rangers, and the Angels play host to Seattle.  In the National league, Washington is at Philadelphia, the Atlanta Braves are at home against the Marlins, Milwaukee is in Cincinnati to take on the Reds, St. Louis is in Houston to battle the Astros, and the Dodgers are in San Diego against the Padres.  

The Marlins have now lost six of their last seven games, and tonight they will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound in Atlanta to face Kris Medlen and the Braves in the first of a three-game series.  Tomorrow, Josh Johnson will face Paul Maholm, and on Thursday, it will be Jacob Turner against Tommy Hanson.  Start time for all three games against the Braves is 7:00 pm.  Reviewing yesterday’s action in the majors, first in the National League, 

Nationals 12 Brewers 2

Ryan Zimmerman went 3-4 with a homer and four RBI

Cardinals 6 Houston 1

Yadier Molina and Peter Kozma homered, Lance Lynn improved his record to 17-7

Rockies 4 D-Backs 2

Andrew Brown homered and drove in two runs

Mets 6 Pirates 2

Ike Davis hit two home runs and knocked in five runs

In the American League yesterday, 

Yankees 6 Twins 3

Andy Pettitte continues to amaze, throwing 6 shutout innings.  Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, Raul Ibañez, and Eric Chavez all went yard for the Yankees

Orioles 4 Blue Jays 1 (Game 1)

Blue Jays 9 Orioles 5 (Game 2)

In the first game, Adam Jones and Ryan Flaherty homered.  In the nightcap, JP Arencibia hit a grand slam and Edwin Encarnacion also connected long distance with a runner on base

White Sox 5 Indians 4

Adam Dunn hit a pair of home runs, including a three-run blast in the eighth inning

Tigers 6 Royals 2

Prince Fielder homered and Justin Verlander improved to 16-8.  

Rangers 5 A’s 4

Adrian Beltre tied the game with a two-run homer in the seventh inning, and drove in the game winner in the bottom of the ninth with a bases-loaded single

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Yesterday, I asked you who were the only two players in MLB history to win the Rookie of the Year and the MVP in the same season.  Let’s change sports today and find out who were the only two players to do that in the NBA and who was the only player to achieve it in the NFL?  Tell you later, alligator.  

In college football, after last week’s thrilling come-from-behind win over Georgia Tech, the University of Miami Hurricanes return home to the Seven-Names Stadium this Saturday at 12 noon to take on North Carolina State.  On the other side of town, the FIU Panthers travel to Lafayette, LA this week to take on Louisiana.  The Panthers lost a close one last week, 28-21, to the #17 ranked Louisville Cardinals.  FIU lost their starting QB, Jake Medlock, in the first half of the game after suffering a broken bone in his leg.  He was replaced by freshman QB EJ Hilliard, who will start in Medlock’s place while he recovers.  Medlock is expected to miss at least four weeks.  Game time this week for FIU-Louisiana is 7:00 pm.  You can listen to the game on your smartphone or computer by going to www.fiusports.com and clicking on the Stretch Internet Radio link.  I will be bringing you the play by play, Pete Pelegrin will have his expert color analysis. 

We have total agreement in the top-five in college football.  Both the AP and the USA Today poll have Alabama #1, followed by Oregon, LSU, Florida State, and Georgia.  The Florida Gators are #11 and #12 in the AP and USA Today polls, respectively.   

The NFL finally got what they deserved last night, as the replacement officials made a glaring, horrible bad decision at the end of a game, costing the Green Bay Packers a win, and handing a victory to the Seattle Seahawks on a silver platter.  Seattle QB Russell Wilson threw a Hail-Mary pass into the end zone, where Green Bay defensive back MD Jennings CLEARLY intercepted the pass and had the ball clutched against his chest, before WR Golden Tate, who had committed a flagrant two-handed push on DB Sam Shields that should have been called offensive pass interference,  stuck his hand inside one of Jenning’s arms.  Awful ending to what should have been celebrated as a great defensive game, instead it will go down as one of the worst calls ever.  The NFL needs to get the real officials back in the fold.  They have put an unrealistic burden on these replacement officials, that cannot keep up with the frantic pace in the NFL, and have had to try and learn a rulebook in a couple of months, a process that usually takes four years, according to former league officials.  This is an embarrassment to the league and to the sport itself.  Thanks to these bogus officials, I ended up 2-2 with a push (tie), winning the Jets-Miami and the Atl-SD games; pushed the Steelers-Raiders, and lost NE-Bal (Bal won but only by a point), and the fiasco in Seattle.  Note to Santos Perez, the boxing writer at the Miami Herald who joined me on the picks this past week:   Don’t quit your day job. 

The games go on, and this coming Sunday, the Miami Dolphins will try to recover after their tough overtime loss to the New York Jets last week, and they will have to do it in Phoenix against the Arizona Cardinals, one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the league.  Game time is 4:00 pm, and the game will be televised by CBS, Channel 4 in Miami.   

This week’s complete schedule in the NFL, 

THURSDAY

Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens BAL -13 8:20 pm  NFL Network

SUNDAY

Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons ATL -9 1:00 pm

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills BUF -3.5 1:00 pm

Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions DET -4.5 1:00 pm

San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs KC +1 1:00 pm

Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis Rams StL -1.5 1:00 pm

SF 49ers @ New York Jets NY +4 1:00 pm

Miami Dolphins @ Arizona Cardinals ARI -6 4:00 pm  CBS Ch. 4

Cincinnati Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars JAX +1 4:00 pm

New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers GB -7.5 4:25 pm

Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay Bucs TB -3 4:25 pm

NY Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles Phi -1 8:20 pm  NBC Ch. 6

MONDAY

Chicago Bears @ Dallas Cowboys Dal -3.5 8:30 pm  ESPN

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Yesterday, I asked you who were the only two players in MLB history to win the Rookie of the Year and the MVP in the same season.  Let’s change sports today and find out who were the only two players to do that in the NBA and who was the only player to achieve it in the NFL?  In the NBA, we have to go back to 1960 and Wilt Chamberlain and 1969 to Wes Unseld.  In the NFL, Earl Campbell won both awards in 1978.  

Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” segments (for the Spanish-challenged, “Sports Jam Session”) every day, Monday through Friday, at 9:25 am and 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM or on the internet on www.miradioesperanza.com.  

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.