Monday off day open thread

The Braves are taking a well-deserved rest day after a doubleheader on Sunday, but there’s lots of relevant MLB action to follow.

The Diamondbacks gave a bunch of other teams an opening by blowing multiple leads against the Yankees in a 6-4 defeat. They blew a 2-0 lead, then a 3-2 lead, and then turned a 4-3 lead in the eighth into a two-run loss with a sequence that involved walking in the tying run. The loss puts Arizona in a tie with the Cubs for the last two Wild Card spots; Miami lurks a game out, the Reds are 2.5 out, and the Padres and Giants are vaguely present but five games back.

The big action still to come is in the AL West, where you have three teams vying for two spots. Currently, the Rangers have a 2.5-game lead over the Astros and a 3.0-game lead on the Mariners. The Rangers “only” have to play the Angels to move forward, but the Mariners and Astros start a key series in Seattle tonight. Justin Verlander will go for Houston, while Seattle counters with Luis Castillo.

The Padres and Giants are also going head-to-head tonight, in a series where neither team will probably make anything of it even if they win out... but there’s a glimmer of hope there for both of them.