An interesting final race

This is part of what baseball brings us and sometimes we don't have a way to explain it: the Mets-Braves series will probably decide one of the last tickets to the postseason. Arizona (88-72), the Mets (87-71) and the Braves (87-71) have arrived at this last weekend of the regular season fighting for a Wild Card spot.

Arizona has one more victory, but has taken the series 2-5 against the Braves and 3-4 against the Mets this year. That's fatal, because this year there will be no extra games. So a tie would not be viable for the D-Backs, who will try to return to the playoffs after having reached the World Series last season.

Arizona's challenge will be against the San Diego Padres in their last two games of the regular season. Atlanta will have to face Kansas City, which will bring its aces: Seth Lugo will pitch this Saturday night, and left-hander Cole Ragans tomorrow Sunday. The Mets will face the Brewers this weekend, and on Monday they will close the regular season against the Braves.

This will be an interesting finale. And, as the pressure invades the dugouts of each contender, the presence of the Cuban players has been key. Outfielder Jorge Soler and right-handed closer Raisel Iglesias are trying to propel the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card race, while Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (has 18 homers and 74 RBI) has again been a key hitter in the Snakes' offensive formula.

What do you think of Yuli Gurriel's resurgence with the Royals? That's been an interesting story of overcoming that we will analyze here before the Wild Card series. Despite some nagging injuries, Gurriel, 40, is slashing .260/.361/.320 with a .681 OPS and six RBIs in his first 61 plate appearances since last October. The Royals have seen some of the impact Gurriel made this year in the minors with the Atlanta Braves. From what we’ve seen, at least during this short emergency run, it appears Gurriel’s swing still has some life left in it.

Either way, the Royals aren’t just hopeful that Gurriel’s swing can hit. His defense could contribute, too. But at its core, the point here is that Gurriel’s experience on the postseason stage for seven straight years will be a major factor in the Royals’ young clubhouse. Among active players, Gurriel ranks third in postseason games played (86), behind former Astros teammates José Altuve (103) and Alex Bregman (97), and tied with former Dodger Justin Turner.