Thursday baseball

What you missed, in a nutshell:

- A sweep, just what the the doctor ordered. Padres def. Pirates 6-3

- So much for that great bullpen. Phillies def. Nationals 7-6

- I'm still not sure what happened in the bottom of the 9th, nor am I sure I want to know... Marlins def. Mets 8-7 [10 inn.]

- Believe it or not, this was a 1-1 tie when it went into extras. Orioles def. Rangers 5-2 [10 inn.]

Other results of note: Rockies def. Dodgers (9-4), Braves def. Brewers (3-1)

Oh, Nationals... They got a fantastic start from Jason Bergmann. Six innings, two runs. The argument for starting Ayala in the 7th from the Nationals' booth was that Manny Acta didn't want to overextend his starters with the team not being in a pennant race. That might be true, but that 6-2 lead Bergmann left with shrank quickly and disappeared for good in the 8th inning. And this result, rather than inspiring the Mets, seems to have crippled them. The Mets led 7-4 heading into the bottom of the 9th inning against the Marlins, after taking the lead in the top of the 9th against Marlins' closer Kevin Gregg. For some reason, Jorge Sosa was in the game instead of Billy Wagner. And again, for some reason, Sosa was allowed to remain in the game long enough to blow the save and send the game into extras with a 7-7 tie.

The Braves made the Brewers lose a half-game in the NL Central. And the Rockies are on a bit of a run, completing a four-game sweep of the Dodgers. Good outing for Tomko in San Diego too, and one they needed with the Phillies pulling off the win against the Nationals.

Your Friday games:

RHP Pedro Martinez (2-0, 1.69 ERA) and the Mets take on LHP Scott Olsen (9-14, 6.06 ERA) and the Marlins.

RHP Shawn Hill (4-4, 3.01 ERA) and the Nationals host RHP Adam Eaton (9-9, 6.36 ERA) and the Phillies.

RHP Chien-Ming Wang (18-7, 3.82 ERA) and the Yankees host RHP Roy Halladay (15-7, 3.82 ERA) and the Blue Jays.

RHP Victor Santos (1-5, 5.95 ERA) and the Orioles take on RHP Luis Mendoza (0-0, 2.08 ERA) and the Rangers.

RHP Jake Peavy (18-6, 2.39 ERA) and the Padres take on LHP Franklin Morales (2-2, 3.81 ERA) and the Rockies.

Other games of note:
Pirates @ Cubs (Malholm vs. Marquis)
Royals @ Tigers (Buckner vs. Jurrjens)
Brewers @ Braves (Villanueva vs. Hudson)
Athletics @ Indians (Blanton vs. Carmona)
Red Sox @ Devil Rays (Beckett vs. Kazmir)
Dodgers @ Diamondbacks (Loaiza vs. Hernandez)
Mariners @ Angels (Washburn vs. Saunders)

Where Thursday had little of anything going on other than the Mets and Phillies, there's a lot to sink the teeth into on Friday. The Padres and Rockies should be a huge series, with the Rockies having just swept the Dodgers at home over four games and the Padres sweeping the Pirates at home over four games. Something has to give. Speaking of those Dodgers, they might not still be in the hunt for October, but they have some pride on the line against the Diamondbacks, who have not played well within their division. Phillies vs. Nationals will once again be big, both in the NL East and the Wild Card. Many eyes will be following the results of Yankees vs. Blue Jays and Red Sox vs. Devil Rays as well.

Numerous Cy Young candidates on the hill Friday. You have AL Cy Young hopefuls Josh Beckett, Fausto Carmona, and Chien-Ming Wang on the hill. In the NL, you have Jake Peavy - who many have already crowned the NL Cy Young winner with a week left to go in the regular season. But Tim Hudson, a long shot candidate, will be on the mound as well. Good pitching tomorrow.

And with good pitching, you have good match-ups. I'll gladly take either Chien-Ming Wang vs. Roy Halladay or Josh Beckett vs. Scott Kazmir. The edge might go to the Yankees-Blue Jays match-up, just because of how well both teams have been playing lately. But those are four excellent pitchers on the mound at the same time. Honorable mention to Peavy vs. Morales, the latter of whom has pitched very well for the Rockies in limited starts. Also, a match-up not mentioned here, Buehrle vs. Santana has a chance to be very good out in Minnesota.

Not a bad way to kick off the second-to-last weekend of the regular season. Enjoy!