Friday baseball

What you missed in a nutshell (and boy, did you miss a lot):

- There's something ironic about the Red Sox clinching the AL East because of a blown save by Mariano Rivera. Orioles def. Yankees 10-9 [10 inn]

- He's Cole Hamels, and he's that damn good. Phillies def. Nationals 6-0

- Goodbye, first place. Marlins def. Mets 7-4

- Trevor Hoffman, heartbreaker. Padres def. Brewers 6-3

Other results of note: Red Sox def. Twins (5-2), Cubs def. Reds (6-0), Diamondbacks def. Rockies (4-2), Indians def. Royals (5-3)

So many questions when Friday began, so many answers as Friday ends. Terrible blown save for Mariano Rivera, who came in for the bottom of the 9th with a 9-6 lead. Edwar Ramirez took the loss, and the Red Sox have officially won the American League East. ... The Phillies win and Mets loss make it official: the Mets have blown a 7 game lead with 17 left to play. They now stand a game back of Philadelphia, and fate is in the Phillies' hands. ... With the Cubs win and Brewers loss, Milwaukee's playoff dreams are officially done. The Cubs have clinched the NL Central. Interestingly, it was also the most dominant Trevor Hoffman outing I've seen all season. Good win for San Diego, especially for an injured Greg Maddux who toughed his way through five innings. ... The Diamondbacks' win today secures them a definite spot in the playoffs. Whether by division title or wild card has yet to be determined, but you'll see Arizona in October. Your Mananger of the Year, Bob Melvin. ... With the Mets and Rockies losses, both teams stand two games back of the Padres in the Wild Card. The worst the Padres can do now, with two straight losses the rest of the way, is force a tiebreaker. Their magic number over both teams is one game.

Saturday's games:

RHP John Maine (14-10, 4.07 ERA) and the Mets host LHP Chris Seddon (0-1, 6.89 ERA) and the Marlins.

RHP Chris Young (9-8, 3.13 ERA) and the Padres take on RHP Dave Bush (12-10, 5.16 ERA) and the Brewers.

LHP Matt Chico (6-9, 4.75 ERA) and the Nationals take on RHP Adam Eaton (10-9, 6.33 ERA) and the Phillies.

LHP Andy Pettitte (14-9, 3.81 ERA) and the Yankees take on RHP Daniel Cabrera (9-17, 5.36 ERA) and the Orioles.

Other games of note:
Cubs @ Reds (Hill vs. Harang)
Angels @ Athletics (Escobar vs. Braden)
Twins @ Red Sox (Silva vs. Wakefield)
Indians @ Royals (Westbrook vs. Meche)
Diamondbacks @ Rockies (Gonzalez vs. Redman)

Huge, huge Saturday of baseball. If the Padres win tomorrow, both the Mets and Rockies will be eliminated from the Wild Card race. The same will happen if either or both the Mets and ROckies lose. In the NL East, the magic number stands at two games. The Phillies can clinch with a win and a Mets loss.

A big day for the playoff picture but not a big day for pitching. Of the listed match-ups, Hill vs. Harang is probably the best Saturday duel. But the best numbers are for a game not listed: Adam Wainwright vs. Tom Gorzelanny as the Cardinals take on the Pirates at PNC Park.