The recent trend in the major league pennant and wildcard races continued tonight. The Diamondbacks, Royals, Cardinals, Expos and Twins continue to fade while the Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies, Marlins and White Sox surge. Ten days ago, there were seven teams within a game and a half of the NL wildcard leaders. Today there are two tied for the lead and only three more within two and a half games.

It's a shame that only one team in the NL will get the wildcard nod. The Phillies and Marlins, especially, have fought hard all season and have been right there. The Dodgers could sneak in there at the end and that would be a hard swallow for both of these two hard fighting teams.

If the Dodgers get to the playoffs, it will be their pitching, of course, that gets them there. The Fan is just astounded at the season Eric Gagne is having. Look at these ridiculous stats:

72 innings pitched, 33 hits!!, 12 runs (11 earned), 2 homers, 17 walks, 125 strikeouts (that's fifteen point six strikeouts per nine innings). 1.36 ERA, 0.69 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning) and National League batters are batting .134 against him. As Stewart Scott would say: "That's sick."