MLB Playoffs: Day 6

Here's what happened in almost 12 hours of baseball:

1.  In Cincinnati, the San Francisco Giants beat the Reds for the third day in a row, becoming the first NL team to come from a 2-0 deficit to advance in the NLCS.  This was SF's fourth consecutive post-season series victory, as they won three series en route to the 2010 World Championship.

2.  In Washington, the Nats -- despite having been outscored 23-9 by the World Champion Cardinals -- are still alive after a pulsating 2-1 victory.  The Nats had two big heroes:  Ross Detwiler, their fifth starter, who only got to pitch today because of the decision to shut down Strasburg, and Jayson Werth, whose home run won the ball game.

3.  In New York, the Yankees' ALDS woes continued as their offense continued to be woeful.  The Yankees have now scored 6 runs in the last 34 innings against Baltimore pitching, and two of those runs came from home runs by Raul Ibanez, who doesn't normally play.  Meanwhile, the Orioles are now 17-4 in extra inning games this year.

4.  In Oakland, Justin Verlander was the difference between Detroit and Oakland.  He dominated the A's in his two starts, and that's the main reason the Tigers are going back to the ALCS for the second straight year.  Detroit beat Oakland 6-0.  Amazingly, this was the fifth time that a Billy Beane A's team has lost in Game Five of the ALDS.

So here's where things stand:

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISIONAL SERIES (Best of 5):
Washington and St. Louis are tied 2-2
San Francisco beats Cincinnati 3-2

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISIONAL SERIES (Best of 5):
New York and Baltimore are tied 2-2
Detroit beats Oakland 3-2

Amazingly, all five of the divisional series went five games this year; I'm pretty sure that's the only time this has ever happened.

The Divisional Series will wrap up tomorrow night (home teams listed first):

5 PM EDT:  New York v. Baltimore (TBS)
8:30 PM EDT:  Washington v. St. Louis (TBS)