The Sports Mac: The Daily Fives For September 22nd, 2010

Top 5 Stories From Yesterday

1.         The Twins become the first team into the 2010 MLB postseason after clinching the American League Central division title last night with a win over the Indians.

2.         The Giants and Padres both were winners last night, so San Francisco maintains their ½ games lead in the NL West while the Rockies lost, falling 2.5 games back in the division.

3.         The Phillies are taking control of the National League East with another victory over the Braves to extend their lead in the division to five games while Atlanta now leads the wildcard by just a game over San Diego.

4.         Jets WR Braylon Edwards will play this weekend although he will not start after being arrested for DWI early Tuesday morning.

5.         The University of Colorado has made the move to leave the Big 12 and join the Pac-10 after this academic year rather than wait until 2012 as originally thought.

Top 5 Games From Yesterday

1.         Giants 1, Cubs 0: A Buster Posey HR in the eighth inning proves to be the winning margin as San Francisco stays on top in the NL West.

2.         Twins 6, Indians 4: Minnesota rallies to score four runs in the eighth inning to come from behind and capture the sixth AL Central crown in the last nine years.

3.         Phillies 5, Braves 3: Roy Halladay becomes the Philadelphia pitcher to win 20 games in a season since 1982 and the Phillies reduce their magic number to six with the victory.

4.         Angels 2, Rangers 0: Los Angeles gets a great performance from Ervin Santana and keeps themselves and Oakland alive for another day.

5.         Diamondbacks 3, Rockies 1: A tough loss for Colorado as it leaves 2.5 games out in the division and three games out in the NL wildcard race.

Top 5 Performances From Yesterday

1.         Ervin Santana, Angels SP: 0 runs on 5 hits with 8 K’s and the CG shutout in LAA’s 2-0 win over TEX

2.         Clayton Richard, Padres SP: 0 runs on eight hits with six K’s and the CG shutout in SD’s 6-0 win over LAD

3.         Edinson Volquez, Reds SP: one run on three hits with six K’s in eight IP and the victory in CIN’s 4-3 win over MIL

4.         Gaby Sanchez, Marlins 1B: 3 for 4 with a HR and three RBI in FLA’s 5-2 win over NYM

5.         Ty Wigginton, Orioles 1B: 3 for 4 with a HR and three RBI in BAL’s 9-1 win over BOS

5 Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1.         Felipe Paulino, Astros RP: five runs on three hits in 0.2 IP in HOU’s 8-4 loss to WAS

2.         Jake Westbrook, Cardinals SP: five runs on five hits in four IP in STL’s 5-2 loss to PIT

3.         Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox RP: four runs on five hits in one IP in BOS’s 9-1 loss to BAL

4.         Andres Galarraga, Tigers SP: five runs on nine hits over 5.1 IP in DET’s 9-6 loss to KC

5.         Robert Andino, Orioles SS: 0 for 4 with three K’s in BAL’s 9-1 win over BOS

Top 5 Events To Follow Today

1.         MLB: Braves (86-66) at Phillies (91-61), 7:00 PM: Philadelphia looks to put the NL East race out of reach while Atlanta looks to stay in the NL wildcard lead; (Good match-up; Hanson (ATL) vs. Oswalt (PHI))

2.         MLB: Rays (89-61) at Yankees (92-59), 7:00 PM, ESPN: Tampa Bay needs a win to get back in touch with New York in the division; (Davis (TB) vs. Burnett (NYY))

3.         MLB: Giants (85-66) at Cubs (68-82), 8:00 PM: San Francisco tries to at least maintain their ½ game lead in the NL West; (Sanchez (SF) vs. Wells (CHC))

4.         MLB: Rockies (82-68) at Diamondbacks (60-91), 9:30 PM: Colorado needs a win to keep themselves in both playoff races; (Jimenez (COL) vs. Lopez (ARI))

5.         MLB: Padres (84-66) at Dodgers (73-78), 10:00 PM, ESPN: San Diego tries to gain ground on both San Francisco and Atlanta in the playoff races; (Good match-up; (Stauffer (SD) vs. Lilly (LAD))