It’s a Thursday in the dying embers of the regular season, which means that a lot of teams ended up with the day off. The Braves were one of them and they were joined on the couch/plane/whatever by the Pirates and Twins, who also had the day off. Therefore, we’ve only got three games to talk about. How tragic were they? Let’s find out.

Former Mississippi State star Brent Rooker got the A’s off to a very good start in this one as he crushed a two-run dinger to get them on the board before Brayan Bello had even recorded an out. Tyler Soderstom brought home Nick Kurtz shortly after that and it sure seemed like the A’s would be in firm control of this one. Despite the fact that the Sox did cut the lead down to one, Oakl—uh, Sacra—ah, dang it, the Athletics picked up a couple of insurance runs down the road while J.T. Ginn and the rest of their pitching staff took care of business and kept Boston quiet at the plate for the most part. The Red Sox cut the deficit back down to two in the eighth inning but they went down quietly in the ninth as The AL West’s Northern California Representative took the series at Fenway somewhat convincing fashion.

Welcome to Coors Field, where a game ain’t over until it’s over. The Marlins went into the bottom of the ninth inning with a six-run lead after Liam Hicks, Otto Lopez and Heriberto Hernández helped power them forward in the high altitude. This should’ve been a cakewalk to victory for Miami after Sandy Alcantara looked like his old self for once. Valente Bellozo entered the game in the ninth for Miami and got absolutely walloped as he gave up two doubles and two homers while struggling mightily to get two outs. Calvin Faucher had to come in to save the day by getting just one single, solitary out. Faucher then proceeded to let the tying run reach base immediately but he eventually got Jordan Beck to hit a harmless grounder to end the game and save Miami from getting embarrassed by one of the worst big league teams of all time.

This one was on national TV and if you tuned in for it, our old friend Max Fried delivered what was probably his best start in pinstripes so far. Fried went seven innings and only gave up three hits and a walk while striking out 13. Baltimore’s starter Cade Povich was okay but on this night, giving up three runs in five innings was a death sentence compared to what Fried was doing on this night. New York’s lineup backed up Fried by picking up hits early and often and a four-run seventh inning was enough to deliver the knockout blow. Those three hits that Fried gave up were the only ones that the O’s would collect on the night, as Paul Blackburn pitched two shutdown innings once Fried was gone. Baltimore had no chance in this one, phew.

As you can see from the standings below, the Braves now have a pretty clear buffer between them and their partners in mediocrity when it comes to their hold on the fourth spot in the Draft Lottery odds. They’re two games “ahead” of both the A’s and the Orioles and three clear of the Marlins as well. We’re going to be in for a real barnburner though, as the A’s and Pirates will actually be playing each other over the weekend. Both the Marlins and Twins will have to deal with Postseason contenders this weekend as well, so the Braves won’t be alone in that category. We could be seeing a whole lot of losing from these clubs over the weekend. Steel yourselves.

2. Pirates | 65-88 | .425 Win% | 22.27% Lottery Odds

3. Twins | 66-86 | .434 Win% | 16.81% Lottery Odds

4. Braves | 70-83 | .458 Win% | 9.24% Lottery Odds

5. Athletics | 72-81 | .471 Win% | 6.55% Lottery Odds

6. Orioles | 72-81 | .471 Win% | 4.54% Lottery Odds

7. Marlins | 73-80 | .477 Win% | 3.03% Lottery Odds