Run to the Finish Line

The Durham Bulls did just fine in this last out-of-division road trip, but hard times are a-comin. They start tomorrow. The Bulls are to play five games in three days against the Gwinnett Stripers. That will surely stress the pitching staff.

Then the Bulls hit the road for four games against Norfolk and three against Charlotte before coming home for their last hurrah of four more games against Norfolk.

My worry is this disturbing pitching trend, especially the Bulls' starters' ERA. On the other hand, the last two games were rare shutouts, so maybe things are back on track. If they can just get through the next couple of days (and the Rays leave them alone)

Now, take a look at the division standings —

This could get really tricky with those 8 games against Norfolk. At the moment the Bulls are just 4½ games ahead of the Tides. The spread between the two teams has been wobbling around quite a bit in August.

Meanwhile, the wild card is getting pretty wild. Indianapolis and Columbus are going at it in the West for the division championship and that means that there's currently a three-way going on for the wild-card, with the third member being whoever ends up second in the west. It would seem that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has the best shot, but it really is up in the air.