Last night couldn't have gone better if I made a wish with a genie

Seriously... last night in baseball gave me a host of best case scenarios that made me think two things:

1. I like the direction my beloved Red Sox are going.

2. The last two weeks might actually have a little pennant race action instead of grinding to a painful conclusion.

Of course I barely saw any of it as last night I took my family to A'Float Sushi in Pasadena and went to bed at a reasonable hour.

But I woke up to find a plethora of final scores that made me happy.

1. RED SOX BEAT THE ORIOLES

It wasn't a dodged bullet, even though the game was close. It was just a well played game with a few timely hits and a solid performance by Clay Buchholz.

Man, it's nice to have a #3 starter that didn't cost the team any prospects... like Buchholz.

2. THE RANGERS LOSE

The Texas bats continue to go cold. Now I don't necessarily like to see the Angels win anything, but as long as it helps the Red Sox, I can live with it.

The magic number is down to 10. The sooner the Red Sox clinch a playoff spot, the more time they have to set up their playoff rotation. 

So for the next few days... go Angels!

3. TWINS BEAT THE TIGERS

I told the people of Detroit to not take it personally... but a Tigers/Twins playoff race could be just what this final two weeks of the season could need.

Truth be told, I kind of like both teams and neither has a realistic shot of making it past the Division Series.

So we can all gain with a little drama (unless you are a Tigers fan.)

4. MARIANO BLOWS A SAVE AND LETS UP A WALK OFF HOMER

I know the Red Sox have no realistic chance of passing the Yankees for the Division... and I swore I would stop following the Yankees. 

But no matter what the scenario is, it's always fun to watch Rivera slowly walk off the field while the crowd goes wild.

Plus Felix Hernandez is making a late push for Cy Young consideration... and that's fun.

5. THE GIANTS BEAT THE DODGERS

The bullpen threw 4 plus shutout innings and Sandoval and Velez continue to show their power.

My dad must have been going nuts. All the while, the Giants who seemed doomed the other day suddenly are alive again.

And all of that was magnified by...

6. THE ROCKIES LOST!

Arizona rookies Ryan Roberts Geraldo Parra and Brandon Allen should all be embraced by Giants fans.

I bet you never heard of them before reading this post, but all three knocked in big runs against the Rockies, spoiling a Jason Marquis start.

All of a sudden the Rockies are only up by 2 in the loss column.

7. THE MARLINS WON

Ahhh those Fish. The team I have written about waaaay  too much this year and last.

They scored 4 in the 9th against the Reds for the win.

That means the Marlins continue to stay on the periphery of the playoff hunt (just 4 games back of the Rockies in the loss column) but also now they need just 3 wins to clinch a winning season.

That would be their 5th winning season out of the last 7. Not bad for a franchise that supposedly can't field a competitive team.

8. THE CARDINALS WIN ON A WALK OFF HOMER

OK, I don't really care about the Cardinals.

But walk off homers are fun. 

And let's face it... the sooner the Cubs are put out of their misery the better.

(Remember when the Cubs were such prohibitive favorites I had to write a whole post defending why I DIDN'T pick them to win the division?)

9. THE METS FIND A NEW WAY TO LOSE

I have no ill will towards the Mets, but man oh man this season just can't stop being morbidly fascinating.

The Mets rallied in the 9th and it looked like Jeff Francoeur hit a game tying single.

It literally knocked pitcher Mike MacDougal's glove off... chaos ensued... and when the dust cleared the Nationals won.

I've never seen a game end with a glove flying off of a pitchers hand and the pitcher STILL making the play.

But that's just another day of Mets baseball.

10. IN PITTSBURGH, 26,178 TICKETS WERE SOLD

Oh I'm not saying 26,178 people SHOWED UP!

But that was the announced attendance. 

Now why did more than 26 thousand people buy tickets for a Pirates-Padres game that defines the term "meaningless"?

I would like to think my post from yesterday had some influence.

If you went to the game please shoot me an e mail and tell me what you thought of the game.

So there you go!

Ten games from last night whose results made your pal Sully happy.

Can we hope for as great a day today?

I had better call Barbara Eden!