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Mike Fitzpatrick / Associated Press:
Mets rally, gain ground in NL East — NEW YORK (AP)—With a desperate rally in the rain, Carlos Beltran and the New York Mets kept their playoff destiny in their own hands. — Beltran singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning and New York beat the Chicago Cubs 7-6 …
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Mets Geek, Blogging Baseball, The Musings and Prophecies …, My Summer Family and NY Daily News
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Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Mets show cool under pressure — Beltran delivers game-winner, Mets now one back in NL East — NEW YORK — It was merely a slam they had witnessed, nothing grand about it. The baseball left the bat of Ryan Braun and instantly tightened the race for the National League Wild Card.
Associated Press:
Carlos Beltran knocks in game-winner, Mets beat Cubs 7-6 — Carlos Beltran singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning and the Mets rallied to beat the Chicago Cubs 7-6 on Thursday night for a huge win that halted their late-season slide.
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Cranky, cranky, everybody is cranky — I'll try to explain this as simply as I can. — Before the game, Joe Girardi told us that Mariano Rivera went back to New York to get his standard end-of-the-season physical. He wasn't going to pitch anyway, the manager said, because he had a “cranky body.”
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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Rivera Is Aching, but Yankees Can't Agree Where It Hurts — TORONTO — Mariano Rivera pitched four times in five days before the Yankees were eliminated from playoff contention this week. On Thursday, he left the team to return to New York for a magnetic resonance imaging exam on his right shoulder.
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Yanks send Rivera back to New York — Closer to complete physical, return to club for series in Boston — TORONTO — Yankees manager Joe Girardi engaged in a contentious postgame session with reporters on Thursday, debating the validity of information concerning Mariano Rivera's pitching shoulder.
Jordan Bastian / MLB.com:
Halladay goes distance for No. 20 — Ace gives vintage performance in Jays' final home game — TORONTO — It seemed fitting that Roy Halladay would be on the mound for the Blue Jays' final home game this season. With Rogers Centre's dome open to welcome in the warm Toronto night on Thursday …
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BBTF's Baseball Primer …
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Jordan Bastian / MLB.com:
Ricciardi returning as Jays' GM — Godfrey explains decision on day Toronto keeps Gaston on — TORONTO — Paul Godfrey is a realist. The Blue Jays president and CEO is well aware that his announcing that general manager J.P. Ricciardi will be back for the 2009 season won't go over well in all circles.
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Bluebird Banter
Richard Griffin / Toronto Star:Jays might be better off without Burnett
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Drunk Jays Fans
Mark Herrmann / Newsday:
Rain could scramble Mets' schedule — If there is anything harder to predict than how the National League wild-card race will end, it is when it will end. An ominous forecast for New York for Friday night could mean a doubleheader Saturday — and another rainout then could bring a new meaning to “wild.”
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Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com:
Wet weather could impact races — Mets' farewell to Shea Stadium festivities in jeopardy — As if the National League East race and the Wild Card picture were not fuzzy enough, Mother Nature may deal Major League Baseball another dastardly card before the postseason begins on Wednesday.
Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Braun delivers walk-off grand slam — Brewers remain tied with Mets for National League Wild Card — MILWAUKEE — Until 10:13 p.m. CT on Thursday, the Brewers were the only team in Major League Baseball without a grand slam this season. — What a moment for Ryan Braun to deliver.
Kelly Thesier / MLB.com:
Twins take first on Casilla's walk-off hit — Second baseman singles in 10th to complete sweep of Sox — MINNEAPOLIS — The jubilant way that the Twins jumped into a pile following Alexi Casilla's game-winning single on Thursday night made them look like a team that had just clinched a playoff spot.
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Paul White / USA Today:
Baseball's playoff teams start to map strategies — For the five teams already in the playoffs, this final weekend of the regular season is about preparation, strategy and auditions. — Managers of the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox …
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Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Offseason Outlook: Cincinnati Reds — By Tim Dierkes [September 26 at 12:17am CST] — The Reds are next in our Offseason Outlook series. Their probable commitments for 2009: — C - Ryan Hanigan - $400K — C - Wilkin Castillo - $400K — 1B - Joey Votto - $400K — 2B - Brandon Phillips - $4.75MM
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