Dodger blues? No.

A Rich Aurillia RBI single in the 11th was all that separated the Giants from the Dodgers in a 1-0 triumph in Los Angeles.

LA needs to be careful. With the loss and the Diamondbacks 13-4 pounding of the Rockies, the Dodgers NL West lead is down to 2 1/2 games. Then again, the D'backs have the tougher schedule over the final week of the regular season. They're at St. Louis and home to Colorado while the Dodgers have home games with San Diego before paying a visit to San Francisco. This is certainly the Dodgers' division to lose.

Phillies Phirst

With a 5-2 win over the Marlins, the Phillies pull ahead of the Mets to 1 1/2 games. With their remaining schedule consisting of visits from the Braves and Nationals, forget New York catching them.

Bye-bye from the Bronx

The Yankees certainly know how to send their ballpark out in style. Derek Jeter's speech to the fans can be read here. If you didn't have goosebumps, you're a Red Sox fan.

Red Machine fueling up

The young Reds claim they're learning to win, and if they carry over a nice win binge from this September into the spring, watch out. With an 11-5 record over their last 16 games against all winning teams, Cincinnati holds some competitive cards for next year.

Players like Jay Bruce and Joey Votto are pacing the late surge offensively. Edinson Volquez pitched in this year's All-Star game, and Johnny Cueto should be that much better after one year of experience. Even Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo showed some flashes late in the year.

We can't forecast Cincinnati as a playoff team next year, but the Reds should make some waves in 2009.

Saito to close this week

Takashi Saito is close to working back-to-back days for the Dodgers, which means he could return to the closer role by the middle of the coming week. That's what Joe Torre wants, even if Jonathan Broxton has filled in with remarkable ability.

"I think [Saito's] more emotionally equipped for that because he's done it," Torre said. "That's been his primarily role. I'm comfortable with Brox, but again, once Saito gets there, we have a little more length. Brox, I think, has done a fine job in the closer's spot."

Unless Saito gives them false confidence and then relapses after his right elbow problem, the Dodgers really can't go wrong here. Two closers cannot be a bad thing, especially with the consistency these two have shown.

Fantasy Impact: For Broxton owners, this couldn't happen at a worse time. It's championship week, and Saito might take a few saves away from a guy that's closed 14 of 16 opportunities. Hopefully you own them both and pick the right guy on the right day.

Mets mess one up

The Mets 7-6 loss at Atlanta leaves them a full game behind Philadelphia with the Phillies still playing and now just 1 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee in the NL Wild Card. David Wright did hit his 32nd home run while Carlos Delgado hit number 37. Those two can't do this alone.

The bullpen really killed them in this one, giving up four runs in three combined innings. Scott Schoeneweis picks up the blown save as he gives up two of the runs.

AL Central showdown

The White Sox-Twins series this week likely decides whether the last regular season series means anything. With a 2 1/2 game lead going in, the White Sox need a sweep to clinch, while a Twins sweep steals first away from Chicago.

Both teams won on Sunday, and both will treat this like a mini playoff series. Buckle up! The first meeting comes Tuesday night.

It's not in the Cards

The Chicago Cubs' "B" team beat St. Louis handily at Wrigley Field, 5-1. Only one regular starter, Kosuke Fukudome (who recently lost his spot in right field), was in the lineup. The Cubs did throw Ryan Dempster, but he only worked five innings in picking up his 17th win.

The hapless Cardinals produced just one run on seven hits. They can be eliminated from the postseason as early as Tuesday.

One more note: I understand Tony La Russa likes to tinker with lineup ideas, but Ryan Ludwick batting second and Jose Lopez hitting cleanup makes no sense to me.

Lewis wins third start

Cleveland's 10-5 win over Detroit is a study of pitchers headed in opposite directions. On Cleveland's side, the young Scott Lewis finally gets touched up, yielding three runs in five innings after two scoreless starts to start his career. Lewis only went five, meaning this is his first non-quality start, but thanks to a shaky outing from Dontrelle Willis, he's a perfect 3-0.

Willis, making his first start since September 9th, when he, too, threw five innings and gave up three runs, never had a chance. He gives up three in the first and three more in the third, never finishing the inning as his ERA balloons to 10.61.

Fantasy Impact: Keep an eye on Lewis. He's young enough with enough pedigree for a good future at the major league level. Willis is on the forgotten heap, but could always be comeback player of the year with what he's offered in the past. Don't lose sight of him in spring training 2009.

Brewers holding hope

Desperately needing wins after falling 2 1/2 games back in the National League Wild Card race, Milwaukee finally rights the ship against Cincinnati. Prince Fielder opened the game with a home run off of Bronson Arroyo, and the Brewers cruise, 8-1. They've won just five times in 20 times in the month of September.

Now they wait to see if they can earn another half game with a Mets loss. The Mets's magic number is six.

Rays of nope

A day after they partied over a playoff berth, the Tampa Bay Rays come right back with a loss to Minnesota, 4-1. Meanwhile, the second place Red Sox were busy beating Toronto, 3-0. That leaves Boston 1 1/2 games back with a magic number of seven.

Boston's got a great chance to catch the Rays, and winning the East is huge. The winner likely faces the White Sox in the first round of the playoffs. The loser gets the Angels. Nobody wants to see them.