For those that do not know the concept of Tinder, Tinder is a dating app where the user swipes right on a person they like, swipes left on a person they did not like, and swipes up on a person they super like. Taking that concept, I will be going over the MLB news will be ‘swiping’ on the teams and players that have made some waves over this week.

Mark Canha

Over his last seven games, Canha is hitting over .400 with 4 dingers and 10 RBIs. Photo Credits to MLB.com

Loving the A’s outfielder production, I’m swiping right on Canha. Photo credits to thenounproject.com

Ramón Laureano went down with injury, so Canha was thrusted into the outfield for the Athletics, and he has produced. Homering twice on sunday against the Giants, Canha continued his hot stretch. The A’s are right in the middle of the AL Wild Card race, and if Canha can stay hot, Oakland could still be playing baseball come October.

Boston Red Sox

Still 6 games back, and losing Chris Sale for the remainder of the season, Boston can rule out postseason hopes. Photo Credits to diginomica.com

It will take a lot for Boston to make the postseason. I’m swiping left on Boston. Photo Credits to thenounproject.com

The Yankees continue their AL East dominance. The Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, and Oakland Athletics have made the AL Wild Card a three horse race. News broke that Red Sox ace Chris Sale would be done for the rest of the season as well. It is not looking great for Boston’s playoff chances. There are also trade rumors floating around last year’s MVP Mookie Betts. An injured ace and a former MVP that may be on the market? Officially out on Boston’s chances for postseason baseball.

Washington Nationals

The Nats have won 7 out of their last 8 games, and the Nationals are getting Max Scherzer back from injury. Photo Credits to MLB.com

Washington is getting hot at the right time, and their ace is coming back from injury. I’m super liking the Nationals. Photo Credits to thenounproject.com

Sweeping the Cubs was a huge series for the Nationals playoff chances, giving them a choke-hold at the top of the NL Wild Card. Not only that, the Nats are getting a two-time former Cy Young winner back from the injury list. Pair the strong pitching staff with a lineup that consists of Juan Soto and Anthony Rendon, who have been consistent hitters in the middle of the lineup all season. Sean Doolittle did go on the injury list, but guys like Fernando Rodney and Daniel Hudson will help fill the hole in the bullpen. A strong starting staff that will get stronger once Scherzer is fully healthy, a young lineup that has been solid behind MVP candidate Anthony Rendon, and a bullpen that has resolved issues from the beginning of the season, Washington has put together a nice season after struggling through the first 50 games of the season.

Jack Flaherty

Over his last 7 starts, Flaherty has an ERA less than one and does not have a loss. Photo Credits to vivaelbirdos.com

Flaherty has been a driving force behind the division leading Cardinals success. I’m swiping right on the red birds ace. Photo Credits to thenounproject.com

Flaherty has been an ace during the second half of the MLB season. He has a league leading 0.73 ERA since the All-Star break. He may not be a Cy Young candidate, but the way Flaherty has pitched, the Cardinals have their ace come postseason time.

Lucas Giolito

Giolito has been a Cy Young candidate all year. The young pitcher from the White Sox boasts a shutout against the division leading Twins and a shutout against the World Series favorite Astros. Photo Credits to si.com

He’s not on a playoff team, but Giolito has been one of the league’s best arms all year. I’m swiping right on the young arm for the Sox. Photo Credits to thenounproject.com

Last Wednesday, Giolito toed the rubber in Minnesota and shut down the Twins. A complete game shutout with 12 Ks is only scratching the surface of how solid Lucas “G-Elite-O” has been this season. The White Sox are far from a playoff team. However, the future looks bright behind the arm of Giolito. This season Lucas Giolito has a record of 14-6 with an ERA of 3.20 and a WHIP slightly over 1.00. He is still young, only 25 years old, the White Sox have found the ace of their future.

Trevor Bauer

The NL has not been kind to Bauer, struggling in his last three starts for Cincinnati. Photo Credits to cincinnati.com

0-3 in his last 3 starts with an ERA over 10. I’m swiping left on Trevor Bauer. Photo credits to thenounproject.com

Since joining the Reds, Bauer is 1-3 with a 7.62 ERA. There has not been any headlines around the former Indians pitcher since the trade news broke and he was throwing baseballs over the centerfield wall. Granted, he is not on a playoff team, but I just mentioned Giolito who has been an ace for a non-playoff team. Bauer is going to be a free agent after the 2020 season, so he has some time to improve before he signs a new contract. But, he better figure out pitching in the NL or those one year deals he’s searching for maybe be few and far between.

Zack Greinke and the Astros Pitching Rotation

4-0 since joining the Stros, Greinke has bolstered an already impressive Houston rotation. Photo Credits to clutchpoints.com

The best rotation in the MLB got significantly better when adding Greinke. I’m swiping up on what is a truly sexy rotation. Photo Credits to thenounproject.com

Greinke has not had a loss since joining Houston, pair that with a 2.45 ERA, and the Astros have a number one pitcher pitching in the number three spot. At first glance, a rotation with three of the best pitchers in the MLB right now looks great on paper. And baseball is a very funny game, having the names doesn’t always do it. But the names are pitching up to their potential, especially Greinke. Walking into every series with a 1-2-3 of Verlander, Cole, and Greinke matches up to the 90’s Braves 1-2-3 of Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz. Possibly even better.

In Other News around the MLB…

Jose Ramirez missing the rest of the season

Jose Ramirez fractured a bone in his hand and could miss the rest of the season which could spell trouble for the Indians. Photo Credits to cbssports.com

The Players Weekend jerseys were a HUGE miss

Fans around the country were not too fond of the black and white jerseys for the players weekend. Photo Credits to thebiglead.com

Yankees took 2 out of 3 in Los Angeles in what could be a World Series preview

The Yankees showed they are poised for a deep playoff run after beating the NL’s best team twice in a three game set. Photo Credits to twitter.com

MLB prohibits players from playing in Venezuelan winter ball

MLB players will not be allowed to play in Venezuela for winter ball because of the sanctions against the country. Photo Credits to nbcsports.com

MLB Match-Ups to Look Out For

Cardinals vs. Brewers

This series happened last week and was mentioned on last weeks roundup. The Cardinals took two out of three from Milwaukee. The Brewers were able to rebound and take two out of three from the Diamondbacks. The Cardinals are still atop the NL Central, but could change after the week.

Diamondbacks vs. Giants

The average team bowl, both teams are floating around .500. The Giants at 65-65 and the Diamondbacks at 65-66. Both teams are still very much in the Wild Card race, Giants 4 games back, and the D-Backs 4.5 games back. A sweep either way could knock either team out of contention, and leapfrog the other into top dogs of the wild card chase.

Cubs vs. Mets

Yu vs. Stroman, The ‘Professor’ vs. ‘Thor’, and Lester vs. DeGrom to round out the series, this 3 game set will be a fun watch. Playoff implications still reign supreme for both these teams, as they both are games within the top of the NL wild card. These are MUST-WATCH games.

Rays vs. Astros

Charlie Morton vs. Justin Verlander in Houston is a headliner for the first game of the set. Two Cy Young candidates going against eachother for an appetizer. For the main course, game 2, the impressive, young lefty, Ryan Yarbrough against another Cy Young candidate, Gerrit Cole. For Game 3, the Astros have Zack Greinke on the bump, for the Rays, it is TBD. Cy Young candidates galore here, and playoff implications for Tampa Bay makes this an intriguing series to watch.

Cubs vs. Brewers

Some may call it a rivalry, Cubs coming up to ‘Wrigley North’ to face off against the Brewers. Call it what you want, but this is a huge matchup for the NL playoff picture. The Cubs have to face off the Mets earlier in the week, and the Brewers against the Cardinals. These series could shape the NL playoffs. Especially this Cubs-Brewers match-up.

Mets vs. Phillies

Both teams are vying for a spot in the playoffs. Both teams have been playing inconsistent ball. Any series with Bryce Harper and playoff implications will be must watch television. This will be an interesting set of games to follow.

Indians vs. Rays

The two leaders of the AL Wild card, this is a huge series. I’m sure Oakland will be keeping a close eye as well. This could be an AL Wild Card game preview as well. A lot of interesting storylines in this series makes these games must watch as the season comes to a close.

Athletics vs. Yankees

While the Indians and the Rays battle for wild card supremacy, the Athletics will have to battle the AL East leading Yankees to jump into the top two spots of the wildcard.

Congratulations to Louisiana for winning the Little League World Series

I’m not going to lie, the Little League World Series is an absolute joke of a baseball tournament. The field is way to small, and the projection from how hard these twelve year olds are throwing to how hard it would be in the MLB is an absolute joke. But, I was twelve once, played baseball at twelve too. And winning a nationally televised tournament would be super cool to any twelve year old baseball player. So congratulations to the kids from Louisiana on winning a joke of a baseball tournament.

And that’s it. The season is coming to a close. The AL Wild Card may be a 3 team race, but the NL Wild Card has 5 teams outside the top two that are within 5 games. So pay attention to the tight playoff races now, because this is what shapes the insanity that is postseason baseball.

Featured Image. MLB.com | The Official Site of Major League Baseball. Photo Credits to MLB.com