heading for home

The GB column in the standings should be printed in bold these days. It’s that time of year when Games Behind becomes a focal point. The chase for division championships is on. Nobody wants to be thrown into the wild card playoff this year. It’s a sprint to the finish now, no longer a marathon. The two biggest series of this weekend are Pittsburgh-Cincinnati and Baltimore-Tampa Bay, and Mississippians are front and center in both. Ole Miss product Zack Cozart, who is on a 7-for-17 roll, went 1-for-3 Saturday as the red-hot Reds beat Pittsburgh 5-4 and dropped the Pirates 5½ GB in the National League Central. UM alum Alex Presley, batting leadoff for the Bucs, was 2-for-4 in a losing cause. His manager, former Jackson Mets skipper Clint Hurdle, wasn’t around for the end, having been ejected early for arguing about an HBP warning. Today’s game will be intense. Meanwhile, at Tampa Bay, former Mississippi State standout Buck Showalter’s Orioles shut down the Rays 4-0 to even that series at a game apiece and level the teams’ records at 56-51. They’re tied for second in the American League East, 6½ GB the New York Yankees. Itawamba Community College alum Desmond Jennings went 0-for-4 for the Rays on Saturday; he had a home run in Friday’s 2-0 win. The Rays, whose pitching (under the tutelage of ex-Jackson Generals pitching coach Jim Hickey) has been brilliant, will throw 14-game winner David Price today. … In other Saturday games of note: Ex-MSU star Tyler Moore (.295 as a rookie) had a game-tying pinch hit in a six-run eighth inning that propelled Washington past Miami 10-7. That win, coupled with Atlanta’s 3-2 loss to lowly Houston, moved the first-place Nationals, managed so adroitly by former JaxMets skipper Davey Johnson, 3 games up on the Braves in the NL East. Greenwood native and former MSU star Paul Maholm had a decent debut for the Braves, yielding three runs (all on Justin Maxwell homers) in seven innings with eight strikeouts. … Oakland, which may miss UM product Seth Smith’s left-handed power over the next couple of weeks, fell 5½ GB first-place Texas in the AL West with a 3-1 loss to Toronto. Texas beat Kansas City 4-2 for its fourth straight W. Ex-MSU star Mitch Moreland has returned from the DL with a vengeance (7-for-16 with a homer) for the suddenly resurgent Rangers, who also got a win last week from Holmes CC’s Roy Oswalt in his first relief appearance. … Philadelphia, out of it in the NL East, knocked NL West contender Arizona 2 1/2 GB division leader San Francisco with a 3-0 win. Meridian CC’s Cliff Lee — still a Phillie! — is expected to start today’s game, looking for a second straight win in what’s been an unexpectedly rough year (2-6, 3.73). P.S. Southwest Miss CC product Jarrod Dyson is climbing in the AL stolen base race; he got No. 21 on Saturday for Kansas City. And he’s hitting .271. … First Bobby Abreu gets DFA’d by the L.A. Dodgers, then Lance Berkman goes back on the DL with St. Louis. Sadly, this could be a race to retirement for the two former Jackson Generals stars (see previous post).