With the afternoon games over
Devin Bush Jersey , it’s time to reshuffle the playoff scenario deck. The AFC contenders, followed by the NFC contenders, are listed below, along with a
description regarding what needs to happen in order to qualify and/or maximizing
postseason positioning.Chiefs (11-4): The Chiefs have clinched a playoff berth.
A win over the Raiders next weekend or a Chargers loss to the Broncos clinches
the AFC West. A win over the Raiders also delivers the No. 1 seed in the AFC. A
loss to the Raiders plus a Chargers win results in the Chiefs landing in the No.
5 seed.Patriots (10-5): They’ve clinched the AFC East for the 10th straight
time. A win against the Jets next weekend would give New England its ninth
straight first-round bye. A win over the Jets and a Chiefs loss to the Raiders
would give the Patriots the No. 1 seed.Texans (10-5): The Texans have clinched a
playoff berth, thanks to Pittsburgh’s loss to the Saints. The Texans now need a
win against the Jaguars and a loss by the Patriots to the Jets to secure a bye.
If the Chiefs and the Patriots lose next week, and the Texans win, the Texans
would be the No. 1 seed. Losing next weekend would also result in losing the
division crown to the winner of the Colts-Titans game. A Colts-Titans tie would
deliver the AFC South to the Texans.Ravens (9-6): Thanks to that victory over
the Chargers, the Ravens are in with a win next week over Cleveland or a
Pittsburgh loss to the Bengals. Thanks to the Titans and Colts winning, the
Ravens are out with a loss and a Pittsburgh win.Chargers (11-4): The Chargers
can still win the AFC West by beating the Broncos in Denver, if the Chiefs lose
at home to the Raiders. Absent that
http://www.steelersfootballauthentics.com/diontae-johnson-jersey-authentic , the Chargers will be the No. 5 seed.Titans (9-6): With Pittsburgh losing, next
Sunday night’s game against the Colts becomes a win-and-in scenario. The Titans
could win the division by beating the Colts, if the Texans lose to the
Jaguars.Colts (9-6): The Colts have the same scenario as the Titans.Steelers
(8-6-1): The Steelers are screwed, thanks to their loss to the Saints. They need
to beat the Bengals and root for the Browns to beat the Ravens. If the Steelers
win and the Browns and Ravens tie, the Steelers would win the tiebreaker with
the Ravens based on a better division record.Dolphins (7-8): Their loss to the
Jaguars eliminated Miami from playoff consideration.Saints (13-2): The win over
Pittsburgh gives the Saints the No. 1 seed.Rams (12-3): They’ve won the NFC
West, but nothing more yet. They’ll secure a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed
with a win over the 49ers or a Bears loss to the Vikings. If the Rams lose and
the Bears win, the Rams will fall to the No. 3 seed.Bears (11-4): The Bears can
become the No. 2 seed if they beat the Vikings, and if the Rams lose to the
49ers. Otherwise, Chicago is locked in as the No. 3 seed.Cowboys (9-6): They’ve
clinched the NFC East, and they’re locked in as the No. 4 seed.Seahawks (9-6):
The Seahawks have clinched a playoff berth. A win next week over Arizona makes
Seattle the No. 5 seed. If they lose and the Vikings beat Chicago
Justin Layne Jersey , the Seahawks would be the No. 6 seed.Vikings (8-6-1): The win over the Lions, combined with Philly’s win over the Texans,
requires the Vikings to win next weekend to nail down a playoff berth, unless
Eagles lose to Washington.Eagles (8-7): A win next weekend at Washington plus a
Vikings loss would give the Eagles the No. 6 seed.Washington (7-8): The wins by
the Vikings and Eagles have eliminated Washington.Panthers (6-9): The Panthers
were eliminated by their loss to Atlanta. Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch
watched his team load the bases in front of hot-hitting Evan Gattis, and all he
wanted was the big designated hitter to send a drive to the outfield and keep
the line moving.
Hinch had to settle for one that cleared the fence.
Cleared the bases, too.
Gattis crushed a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning Friday night, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa also went deep, and the Astros rolled past the Kansas
City Royals 7-3 for their ninth straight win.
”We’re shaking hands after a lot of his at-bats,” Hinch said of Gattis, who has five homers in the first eight games of the Astros’ road trip. ”When guys
are hot
http://www.steelersfootballauthentics.com/benny-snell-jr.-jersey-authentic , there’s a ton of energy and a ton of fun.”
Charlie Morton (8-1) overcame another bout of wildness, at one point walking three straight batters, to last six innings for Houston. He allowed four hits
and four walks while striking out nine.
Brad Peacock, Tony Sipp and Collin McHugh each contributed a scoreless inning in relief to wrap up the Astros’ latest win. All but one during their streak has
come away from Minute Maid Park.
”I think our guys are just methodically going through their days,” Hinch said. ”This is a long road trip and it’s a lot more fun when you’re
winning.”
The Royals, meanwhile, have lost four straight and 10 of 11.
Jakob Junis (5-7) served up all three Houston homers, getting tagged for six runs on seven hits and a walk. It was his fourth straight loss, his last win
coming against the New York Yankees on May 18.
”We were putting some really good swings on it. We were hitting some balls hard,” Morton said with a grin. ”Really
Zach Gentry Jersey , I was just waiting for the dam to break.”
The Royals gave Junis some support early, jumping ahead 2-0 in the third on a two-out double by Mike Moustakas. It was a buoying at-bat considering the
meek-hitting Kansas City lineup managed a single run in getting swept by
Cincinnati during a two-game set this week.
It appeared the lead might stand, too, the way Junis breezed through the first three innings.
Bregman changed all that with his ninth homer of the season, a shot that just skirted the left-field foul pole. Correa added his 455-foot home run two batters
later to tie the game.
Morton’s wildness allowed the Royals to regain the lead in the fifth, but Junis coughed it back up in the sixth. He gave up three straight one-out singles
to load the bases for Gattis, whose soaring, 405-foot grand slam was the second
of his career and third by the Astros this season.
It was also the second slam permitted by the Royals in their last two games.
”I was hoping we would get either a flyout or a mishit. I didn’t think I left it right over the plate,” Junis said. ”I thought it was up and away. He just put
a good swing on it.”
ASTROS MOVES
Houston recalled 3B Tyler White from Triple-A Fresno and placed LHP Reymin Guduan on the paternity leave list. White was hitting .338 with 13 homers and a
.444 on-base percentage, the second-highest in all of Triple-A. Guduan can miss
no more than three games while on the paternity list.
ROYALS MOVES
Kansas City selected the contract of RHP Brandon Maurer from Triple-A Omaha and optioned RHP Jason Adam to the same club. Maurer was 0-2 with a 12.46 ERA
for the Royals before he was sent outright to the minor league club on May 3.
He’s worked 11 straight scoreless appearances at Omaha.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros RHP Joe Smith (elbow inflammation) rejoined the team
L.J. Collier Jersey , and Hinch said the reliever is ”pain free and the next step is to initiate a throwing program.” That could happen by the end of
the weekend.
Royals OF Jorge Soler left after stumbling out of the batter’s box in the sixth. He was taken for X-rays that revealed a broken left foot. ”It will be
awhile when your feet are hurt,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”They’re going to
give it a CT scan or whatever. We’ll have a better idea. X-rays showed a
positive break. We don’t think it’s a surgical thing right now. The CT scan will
give us more of a look.”
UP NEXT
Struggling LHP Dallas Keuchel (3-8, 4.45 ERA) starts for the Astros and LHP Danny Duffy (3-6, 5.28) gets the nod for the Royals for a Saturday matinee with
temperatures expected to approach triple digits.
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