In case you were wondering, here is the playoff schedule. Be sure to tune in for some excitiong Playoff Scoops!!

Indians (11-4-1) 9, Red Sox 4-9-3) 9

The Indians Joseph Tobia missed hitting a homer on Wilkens by fractions of an inch on his way to a 3-for-3 night at the plate and Sean Brock also went 3-for-3 as the Indians and Red Sox tied a back and forth game. The Indians got stellar first-time pitching performances out of Tobia, Brock, Jonah Mills (whose battery-mate was his brother, Jared), and Ethan Blase. The Mills twins also made 2 strong plays in the field at 3B and RF to save crucial runs.

Giants (12-4) 11, Reds (7-9) 4

Giants were hit with injuries and the illness bug. 9 strong Giants players came out swinging and put up an early lead that they did not give up.  

Rangers (5-9-2) 11, A's (9-7) 9

Claiming he just needed "a little something to nibble on," Rangers second baseman Todd Arnold brought out a glove full of miniature Rold Gold pretzels as a "between-pitches snack" during Monday night's game against the A’s.  Asad Nixon made some nice plays at first and Brett Blase pitched well to close out the game.

Indians (11-4) 12, Rangers (4-9-2) 5

Joseph Tobia's 2 doubles and 3 RBI led the Indians to victory, clinching the American League title. Sam Drucker also had a pair of hard line drive hits to the outfield. 7 different Indians had RBIs. Cole Aaronson pitched 3 solid innings and Drucker pitched the last two to wrap up the win. For the Rangers, Kyle Jones-Shaw made numerous spectacular defensive plays at SS and Pitcher. Chris "Rainman" Reiman banged out a double.

Astros (12-2-1) 15, Mets (6-9) 5

The Astros overcame a 2 run deficit in the bottom of the fourth inning with an offensive explosion of nine runs. Brett Thomas had a career night at the plate with two deep blasts over the net and onto Lake Forrest. Dalton Wawro added a sweet triple with bases loaded to ring up 3 RBI. Jake Bressler and Dalton Wawro pitched a fantastic game. Bressler went 2-2 at the plate and scored two runs. Noah Lee and Brendan Dolan continued their hot streak zooming around the bases at mach speeds. This win secured a bye in the first round of the playoffs for the Astros.

Giants (11-4) 8, Phillies (4-11) 6

Errors and baserunning mistakes plagued the Giants early but they were able to pull through late on Styles Overby's RBI double.

A's (9-6) 7 ,Twins (7-7-1) 5

The A's locked up the second seed in the AL with a hard-fought victory in a very close and tense game. As they have all season, Robert Ghirardini and Jake Bloodworth led the Twins on the mound with 3 innings each.

Indians (10-4) 5, Twins (7-6-1) 2

The Indians won a low-scoring affair that was extremely well played by both teams. Few walks or errors; you had to earn everything this game. Alec Evans threw 3 more shutout innings for the Indians to run his scoreless inning streak to 6. Indians pitchers Evans, Cole Aaronson, and Casey Levy combined to throw 11 strikeouts. The hitting stars were Joseph Tobia, who went 2-for-2 and had 2 RBI, and Sam Drucker, who's 2-out, 2 RBI single provided some much needed insurance runs late in the contest. For the Twins, Schyler Drose threw 5 great innings and Tate Gephart made several spectacular plays at 2B. Gephart and Charlie Hicks each conneced for line-drive doubles to the fence to lead the offense.

Congrats to the Astros and Giants! Those two teams have clinched the top 2 spots in the National League and have guaranteed a "bye" out of the first round of games in the playoffs. Over in the AL, things are decidedly more bunched. The Indians have the inside track on a bye but probably need at least one more win to feel safe. The Twins and A's are still very much in the mix.

Those first round games will be played on Saturday May 5th.

By the way, in case you did not know, every team in Majors will qualify for the playoffs. There will be none of the play-in games that have happened in year's past. The tournament will be a double-elimination format so, if you lose one, you still have a chance to win it all! Tune back in to the scoop in coming days for more on the playoff possibilities!

Astros (11-2-1) 12, Nats (7-7) 7

Joseph Perticone led the Astros by pitching three shut out innings, scoring three runs, and providing a spark for his team to overcome a four run deficit after second frame. Dalton Wawro went 3-3 offensively, and Robbie Gratten-Smith continued his hot streak at the plate with a beautiful two RBI double to give the Astros a lead in the fifth inning that kept their rally alive.

Indians (9-4) 12, Red Sox (4-8-2) 4

The Indians jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning on the back of Sean Brock's grand slam, his 3rd homer in the past 4 games. Alec Evans took care of the rest, turning in a dominant pitching performance with 3 shutout, no-hit innings and only 10 batters faced. Jonah Mills helped out with 2 RBI.

Giants (10-4) 15, Reds (5-8) 10

The Giants ended their four game weekend with a second win on the strength of Eli Barry and Alex Cann's first homeruns of the season.

Rangers (4-8-2) 12, Twins (7-5-1) 6

The Rangers organization was excited to try out a new red 16-oz. batting doughnut which reportedly makes the bat feel 0.1-oz. lighter for about 0.3 seconds longer. Chance Chadwick, Conner Lamb and Caleb Washington had a few nice hits. The surging Rangers ran their unbeaten streak to five games behind the pitching of Chris Riemann and T.J. Rafeedie. The Twins were led by the hitting of Bobby Mills, who had two line drive hits, and the excellent defensive outfield play of Smyth Harper and Sam Jenkins.

These are the games that were originally rained out on Wednesday, 4/18. All 4 of these teams were playing their third game in three days.

Giants (9-4) 14, Indians (8-4) 10

The Giants bounced back in their third game of the weekend. Styles Overby had a huge 2 rbi single for much needed insurance runs in the bottom if the sixth. The Indians jumped out to an early lead on Sean Brock's 3-run homer, his 3rd of the season. The bats were there this game for the Indians as Sam Drucker hit his 2nd homer of the season and Joseph Tobia had his first. Ian Jones also had 2 doubles. But the Giants hitting up and down the lineup was just too much. The Giants are pumped for their 4th game in 4 days tomorrow!

Royals (4-8) 10, Phillies (3-9) 8

Royals win a wild one against a great effort by the Phillies. Will Long pitched 3 innings of no hit ball for the Royals and Sam Cravey ended the game with a game winning put out from left field.

Nats (8-5) 8, Indians (8-3) 4

In a matchup of two of the best teams in Majors, the Nats played a near flawless game (1 walk, 1 error) and took advantage of every Indians mistake to win a hard-fought game 8-4. William Mitcham pitched 4 strong innings and had a homerun. The Nats defense included 3 big plays in the outfield by Chip Goldsmith, who also had 2 hits. For the Indians, Cooper Griggs made several great plays in the outfield while Sean Brock, Ethan Blase, Danny Raymon, and Joseph Tobia each had hard RBI hits to the outfield.

Astros (10-2-1) 13, Giants (8-4) 2

The Astros swept their back-to-back 2-game series with the Giants to take command of the National League standings. Jake Bressler, Joseph Perticone, and Cole Price led the Astros on the hill with a combined two-hitter over six innings. Dylan Usiak highlighted the offensive production with a towering double deep down the left field line and Robbie Gratten-Smith continued his hot streak at the dish. Defensively the Astros had 13 put outs highlighted by Brendan Dolan's amazing catch in center field. The score remain close all game until the 6th inning when the Astros broke out and the Giants began to feel the weight of their 4 games in 4 days stretch starting to kick in.

Twins (7-4-1) 7, Royals (3-8) 6

After being thwarted by excellent defense and pitching by the Royals, the Twins got clutch hits by Nick Paterson, Max Myer, Tate Gebhart, and Chase Otten to rally back for a hard fought victory. Bobby Mills, the starting pitcher for the Twins, pitched an excellent game and also contributed with a hit.

Rangers (2-9-2) 10, Phillies (3-10) 3

The Rangers, searching for any possible competitive edge, put on an elaborate pre-game Light Show to help neutralize the Phillies.  Chris Riemann pitched well and Drew Balser had a timely triple. 

Astros (9-2-1) 6, Giants (8-3) 5

The Giants and Astros waged an epic game on Wilkens in a matchup of the two best records in the National League. The Giants scored 3 in the top of the 4th frame to tie the game at 5-5. The Astros scored in the bottom of the 6th with a walk off single with bases loaded by Noah Lee to win 6-5. Brett Thomas pitched 3 strong innings and Dalton Wawro, Jake Bressler, and Joseph Perticone added one inning each to finish the game. Brett Thomas was 3-3 at the dish with two doubles and a single.

Indians (8-2) 11, Royals (3-7) 2

Cole Aaronson pitched 3 innings of 1-hit ball to lead the Indians to another victory. Casey Levy had a 3 RBI double and Sean Brock hit his 2nd homer of the season to lead the offense. The Indians' Danny Raymond pitched a 3-up, 3-down inning to close out the victory. Sam Cravey pitched great for the Royals in his first appearance of the season and Daniel Lewis lead an overall good defensive effort by the Royals with 4 straight outs recorded at second base.

Nats (7-5) 18, Phillies (3-8) 8

Reese Middleton went all the way on the mound to lead the Nats to a big win.

Twins 4, Mets 3

In a tight game that featured a clutch 5-inning pitching peformance out of the Twins Chase Otten, Jake Klausener of the Twins lined a two out single to right field scoring the tying and go ahead runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Astros 11, Reds 3

The Astros we're helped by The killer B's home runs in the first inning. Brendan Dolan and Brett Thomas launched long balls to get the lead in the game. Jake Bressler, Joseph Perticone, and Dalton Wawro tossed the rock efficiently for the Astros.

Rangers 7, Red Sox 7

Brian Hill pitched 3 strong innings for the Red Sox, and Conner Pellegrini induced a game-ending double play to preserve the tie. Michael and Matthew Amerson each had 2 hits to lead the Red Sox offensive attack.

  (the Rangers coach submitted the following very amusing scoop for his team)

Facing the Red Sox in the midst of a nine-game losing streak, the desperate Rangers sprinted out to the field Monday night, launched themselves high into the air above Field of Dreams, and combined their bodies to form a 400-foot tall fielding and hitting robot called JPW Voltron. Although Coach Wallace said he had to settle an argument over who got to be the robot's head, his final lineup was Chris Riemann and Conner Lamb forming the legs, Trey Bohannon and TJ Rafeedie making the feet, Chance Chadwick and Asad Nixon completing the arms, Caleb Washington and Kyle Jones Shaw joining to create the torso, Todd Arnold forming the head and Drew Balser adding the facial features including that trademark smile.

A's 4, Nats 3

 The A's won a dramatic pitcher's duel. Khari Gee and Connor Sewell were the studs on the mound for the Nats. The A’s scratched out a run with 2 outs in the bottom of the 6^th. The A’s were led by Robert Ghirardini (hit, 1 RBI) who struck out 4 batters in 3 innings of no hit pitching. Jake Bloodworth pitched 3 innings and scored the winning run. Both teams played outstanding defense. 

Indians 11, Reds 8

The Indians stretched their record to 7-2 as Sam Drucker hit a double off the right field fence and drove in 3 runs to lead the Indians' offense. Ethan Blase chipped in with 2 RBI. Casey Levy pitched 3 strong innings to keep the Reds at bay.

Royals 7, Rangers 5

The Royals pick up a great win led by Will Long on the mound and a great defensive effort by Max Mitchell. The Red Sox continue to develop their pitching depth. Brian Hill pitched 2 strong innings of shutout baseball.

Astros 17, Mets 4

Dalton Wawro, Jake Bressler, and Jay Paul Smith led an excellent pitching effort for the Astros against the Mets. Grayle Kendall made a great catch in right field defensively. Sutton Larmore banged his 4th home run over the left center field fence and Robbie Gratten-Smith went 3-3 with two RBI and 2 runs scored.

Twins 9, Phillies 6

Clutch hitting by the entire lineup propelled the Twins to victory over the Phillies. Chase Otten was 3 for 3 for the third time this season including a three run double to put the Twins ahead to stay in the 2nd inning. Schuyler Drose pitched 4 innings, giving up only 2 runs, for his best outing of the season.

Nats 8, Rangers 4

The Nats scored a come-from-behind victory by putting up a 5-spot in the 5th inning.

Astros 9, Reds 2

The Astros earned a solid win against the Reds with stellar pitching from Brett Thomas, Jake Bressler, and Joseph Perticone whose combined efforts led to a one hitter. Brendan Dolan and Joseph Perticone each scored two runs. Jake Bressler went 2-3.  Noah Lee reached 1st on all three plate appearances. 

Giants 15, Nats 1

Giants' bats come out hot and put double digit runs on the board to give Charlie Hirsch and Phillip Clendenin support on the hill.

Red Sox 9, Rangers 9

Connor Pellegrini led the Red Sox with 3 hits and a strong relief performance. The Rangers were thrilled to welcome Kyle Jones-Shah back from injured reserve! Christopher Riemann pitched three strong innings for the Rangers while Conner Lamb and Miller Parker performed well at the plate. 

Indians 11, Astros 7

This was a battle of two of the best records in Majors! The Indians came back from a 7-3 deficit in a game where every single Indian scored a run or had an RBI. Alec Evans led the Indians with 2 hits, 2 runs, 3RBI, and 2 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. Jonah Mills had 2 hits and Cooper Griggs scored 2 runs. The Astros battled tough against a great Indians squad who struck out 9 Astros and picked off two base runners. The Astros' Joseph Perticone scored two runs, Noah Lee got a hit and a walk, and Sutton Larmore hit his third home run of the season. 

Nats 14, Royals 5

Royals played hard in the first game after the break. They were led offensively by a bases loaded double by Banks Platford and defensively by Wyatt Stevenson on the mound.

The Scoop has fallen a bit behind lately and is so sorry for that.

So, click on the "read more" link to catch up on a bunch of games leading up to Spring Break!

A's 8, Indians 3

Robert  Ghirardini  scattered  4  hits  while  striking  out  4,  and  Jake  Bloodworth  pitched  2  scoreless  innings  while  striking  out  3.  The  A’s  were  aided  by  key  defensive  plays  by  Thomas  Smith  and  Ben  Egan  in  the  outfield. Six   A’s  had  RBI’s. The Indians' Sam Drucker struck out 7 batters in 3 strong innings of pitching. Jonah Mills and Cooper "my new bat works!" Griggs each had clutch hits. Joseph Tobia had a 2 RBI single that made the game close in the middle innings.

Nats 11, Phillies 5

The Nats won their 4th game in a row with the longball as  William Mitcham and Thomas Haderlein each hit homeruns.

Another busy weekend at the park featuring a lot of kids going deeeeep!

Click the "read more" button to see it all.