Saturday baseball

What you missed, in a nutshell:

- This time extra innings went in the Yankees' favor, in what was most likely the ugliest game of the season for both teams. Pitching? What's pitching? Yankees def. Blue Jays 12-11 [10 inn.]

- They're breathing a little easier in Queens tonight. Mets def. Marlins 7-2

- A part of me wonders if the Nationals are actually going to get swept in their final weekend at RFK. Another part of me thinks that this would be an appropriate sendoff. Phillies def. Nationals 4-1 [10 inn.]

Other results of note: Cubs def. Pirates (9-5), Braves def. Brewers (4-3) [11 inn.], Mariners def. Angels (3-2), Royals def. Tigers (7-4), Athletics def. Indians (9-3), Red Sox def. Devil Rays (8-6)

Again...the Pirates are the team no contending team wants to face? Really? The Royals and Blue Jays are living up to that label. I'd say the Rockies too, but they're not 100% out of contention. Especially as they deal with San Diego. The Pirates, however, get a giant LOL. ... That loss to the Braves this afternoon may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. The Brewers scored late on the Braves to force a 1-1 tie into extra innings. In the 10th, the Brewers tacked on a run but couldn't hold the lead. They then blew it in the bottom of the 11th. Terrible loss, especially with the Cubs winning big against the Pirates. ... I won't call the Yankee-Jays game the worst pitched game you'll ever see, but it was pretty ugly. The Yankees fared better than the Jays, in that they won and didn't lose anyone to injury. Three Blue Jays left the game because of health concerns. ... The magic numbers in the AL Central and AL West both stand at one, after losses by Cleveland and Los Angeles. The champagne celebrations will have to wait. Both teams have the opportunity to lock up their divisions at home tomorrow. ... After the Yankee win and Detroit loss, the magic number for both Seattle and Detroit stands at three games.

As for games in progress, the Orioles just pulled ahead in the top of the 8th and lead the Rangers 10-8. Arizona leads the Dodgers 5-0 in the top of the 6th. Terrible outing by veteran lefty David Wells. With a loss tonight, the Dodgers will officially be eliminated from contention in the NL West. In the top of the 5th, the Rockies lead San Diego 3-0. The Padres are desperate for this win after a tough loss yesterday in extra innings. If they can't pull it out, they'll be 2.5 back in the NL West and only a half-game ahead of the surging Phillies. And they'll continue to breathe life into what was once a dead Rockies team. The Rockies are currently only 3.5 games out of the Wild Card, and that will fall to 2.5 out with a victory.

Sunday baseball:

RHP Joel Hanrahan (4-3, 6.45 ERA) and the Nationals host LHP Cole Hamels (14-5, 3.59 ERA) and the Phillies.

RHP John Maine (14-10, 4.04 ERA) and the Mets take on LHP Chris Seddon (0-1, 8.44 ERA) and the Marlins.

RHP Mike Mussina (10-10, 5.05 ERA) and the Yankees host RHP Dustin McGowan (11-9, 3.84 ERA) and the Blue Jays.

RHP Jon Leicester (2-2, 7.78 ERA) and the Orioles take on RHP Kevin Millwood (9-13, 5.39 ERA) and the Rangers.

RHP Greg Maddux (13-10, 3.95 ERA) and the Padres host LHP Jeff Francis (16-8, 4.25 ERA) and the Rockies.

Other games of note:
Royals @ Tigers (De La Rosa vs. Verlander)
Brewers @ Braves (Capuano vs. Reyes)
Athletics @ Indians (Harden vs. Westbrook)
Red Sox @ Devil Rays (Wakefield vs. Jackson)
Pirates @ Cubs (Gorzelanny vs. Zambrano)
Mariners @ Angels (Weaver vs. Lackey)
Dodgers @ Diamondbacks (Billingsley vs. Gonzalez)

Do the Yankees and Blue Jays even have any relief pitchers left after their last two games? Sheesh. If they go into extras on Sunday, you might see Shelley Duncan pitching. AL Cy Young long-shot Justin Verlander will be on the hill for the Tigers as Detroit continues their final push towards the Wild Card. No real marquee pitching match-ups on Sunday. If Zambrano is on, he and Gorzelanny could be good. If anything, the Pirates (and the Brewers) hope that Gorzelanny can find an answer for the recent surge of the Cubs' offense. He's certainly the guy in Pittsburgh who can do it, if anyone can.