Philadelphia @ Atlanta preview
Turner Field
Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2010 ) Philadelphia 7, Atlanta 0
It has come down to this for Bobby Cox and the Atlanta Braves.
Sunday's regular-season finale could be the last game managed by the 69-year-old skipper.
Then again, the outcome of this game - as well as Sunday's NL West showdown pitting the San Diego Padres (90-71) against the division-leading San Francisco Giants (91-70) - could result in one or even two additional "play-in" games.
Ready for some fun? Good. The following are the playoff - and play-in - scenarios:
The Braves (90-71) enter Sunday's action tied with the Padres in the race for the wild card. Should Atlanta win and San Diego lose, Cox and the Braves are off to the postseason, no questions asked.
Now, should Atlanta and San Diego both lose, a one-game play-in game would be contested at Turner Field on Monday to see which team would secure the wild-card berth. That's pretty simple, right?
OK, now if both the Braves and Padres win - hence, the Giants would lose - there would be a tie for the NL West title, thus necessitating a San Diego-San Francisco tilt on Monday at Petco Park. The loser of that contest would then fly to the Peach State on Tuesday to determine the wild card.
Speaking of wild cards, the NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies (97-64) have been doing their best to make things difficult for Cox and company.
Charlie Manuel's boys have taken the first two contests of this three-game set, thereby preventing the Braves from securing Cox's 16 playoff appearance in nearly 29 years.
Raul Ibanez ripped a pair of run-scoring singles and Chase Utley added an RBI single and scored twice as the Phillies posted a 7-0 triumph on Saturday.
Shane Victorino recorded three hits - including an RBI single - and Wilson Valdez added a run-scoring double as Philadelphia improved to 19-4 in its last 23 games.
Looking to slow down the hard-charging Phillies is Atlanta ace Tim Hudson (16-9, 2.76 ERA), who pitched well in his last outing. The 35-year-old right-hander allowed one run and seven hits in six strong innings on Tuesday, but received a no-decision in the Braves' 3-2 victory over the Florida Marlins.
The effort was a welcome sight, considering he had dropped four of his previous five games - surrendering at least four runs and six hits in all of the setbacks.
Philadelphia will counter with Cole Hamels (12-11, 3.09 ERA), who is expected to have an abbreviated start on Sunday so that he's fresh for Game 3 of the National League Division Series. The 26-year-old southpaw is expected to pitch no more than two innings on Sunday.
Hamels struggled in his last outing against the New York Mets, surrendering five runs and nine hits over four innings. Prior to that, the 2008 World Series MVP was simply dominant - reeling off five straight wins with a rail-thin 0.49 ERA in the process.