The Cincinnati Reds became the first team
to secure a playoff spot and a division title seems inevitable. yankees
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The Los Angeles Dodgers' chance of winning
their division is bleak and they're running out of time in the wild-card race.
The Reds, who hope to have manager Dusty
Baker back in the dugout, could have a shot at clinching the NL Central in
Friday night's series opener with the scuffling Dodgers.
By sweeping a three-game series from the
Chicago Cubs with Friday's 5-3 win, Cincinnati
(91-59) ensured itself of at least a wild-card berth. The Central crown could
be wrapped up as early as Friday, if second-place St. Louis, which is 11 games back, loses to
the Cubs in the afternoon and the Reds beat the Dodgers.
"There's a lot of work left,"
reliever Sean Marshall told the Reds' official website. "We've got a lot
of games to win if we want to win the World Series."
Cincinnati won its last two games without Baker, who was hospitalized in Chicago with an irregular
heartbeat. General manager Walt Jocketty said he didn't know if Baker would be
able to manage Friday.
"Hopefully he'll be back with us
(Friday) and when it really matters, when we clinch (the division)," Marshall said.
"Hopefully we get to celebrate this weekend with him."
While Baker's status is uncertain, Joey
Votto will be back in the starting lineup after most of the regulars rested
Friday. Votto is batting .391 during a seven-game hitting streak, and is
batting .348 with six homers and 22 RBIs in his last 17 games against the
Dodgers, whose postseason chances appear to be fading.
Los
Angeles (77-73) was one-half
game out of a playoff spot Sept. 3, but has lost 10 of 14 since and is now
three back of the Cardinals for the NL's second wild card with 12 to play.
Winning the NL West is just about out of the question, seeing as it's dropped
10 games behind first-place San
Francisco.
"We're going the wrong
direction," Don Mattingly said. "For us at this point, we're going to
have to put a run together that's going to be more than just win a series.''
A sluggish offense has been one of the
biggest reasons for Los Angeles'
recent struggles. It managed four hits in Thursday's 4-1 loss, and has totaled
seven runs in its last seven defeats.
Matt Kemp has been responsible for some of
this mess, batting .148 with three RBIs and 17 strikeouts in his last 13 games,
dropping his average 28 points to .303.
Kemp has given scheduled starter Bronson
Arroyo problems, batting .409 with two homers in 22 career at-bats, but that
hasn't led to many victories for Los Angeles. Arroyo (12-8, 3.74 ERA), who has
yet to face the Dodgers this season, has a 2.60 ERA in winning his last four
starts in the series.
Against Miami on Friday, the right-hander allowed
four runs and nine hits in six innings of a 4-0 loss. It was the first time he
gave up more than three runs since Aug. 6, having gone 5-0 with a 2.40 ERA in
his previous six starts. nike
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The Dodgers counter with Joe Blanton (9-13,
4.97), who allowed three runs and four hits in 5 2-3 innings in Saturday's 4-3
comeback win over St. Louis. The righty is 1-3 with a 6.43 ERA in his last six
starts, going less than six innings four times.
Blanton, who is making his first appearance
in the season series, is 2-0 with a 4.85 ERA in four career starts against the
Reds.
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