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September 12, 2026

3:56 PM PDT

ONE WIN by EITHER ARI or SD Now Enough for KO !

UPDATE - SD W, NATS OUT @ 3:48 PM PDT (Details Below)

webmaster@pennantsolutions.com

WHY IS (THIS) SAT. NOT LIKE FRI. (& ALL OTHER DAYS) ?

2026 :Links not updated yet

BECAUSE IT'S ONE & DONE for NATS on SATURDAY

For More Details,

1. Entering FRI., ARI or SD GUARANTEED 80 W, due to Their 3 Games on Final Wkend

Click on the Links Below

2. BOTH WON FRI., Pushing MinWin to 81 (79 + 79 + 3 = 161, One at 81 W, One at 80 W)

NL DIVISION STDGS

3. So Entering SATURDAY, NATS Still Have a Path to 2-Way TIE & NATS Hold TB vs. ARI

NL WILD CARD STDGS

4. BUT HERE'S THE SATURDAY DIFFERENCE:

A. It Took BOTH WINS on FRI. to ADVANCE MinWin from 80 to 81 (Sum from 159 to 161)

AL DIVISION STDGS

B. And It Will Take BOTH WINS on SAT. to Push SUM to 163, MinWin to 82, Outright ELIM

AL WILD CARD STDGS

C. BUT ONE WIN Pushes SUM from 161 to 162 -

That subtle change Means ARI & SD BOTH WIN 81, or One Wins 82.

If BOTH WIN 81, REQUIRES NATS to Win 3-TEAM TB, They Can't

5. THREE-TEAM TIE-BREAKER

There are 2 paths here:

1. IF 3 Tied Clubs Have Identical Records vs. Each Other

(Not OUR Case, because ARI & SD are Div Rivals, Play 13 g, but only 6 g vs. NATS)

2. IF Records NOT Identical:

a. Then IF One Team Holds BOTH 2-Tm TBs, They Win (NOT NATS - only 2-4 vs. SD)

b. IF NO Team Holds BOTH, Best Combined Win Pctg. Among Tied Tms Wins

NOT NATS - 6-6 = .500, with SD at 9-7, ARI 7-9, 3 to play.

IF SD Goes 1-2, They Finish 10-9 (>.500);

IF SD can't win 1, AZ Sweeps, They Finish 10-9 (>.500)

c. NO MORE IF's - NATS OUT of PLAYOFFS

May Have to Wait for ARI Game to Finish - BUT NATS L or (SD OR ARI W) Dooms NATS

End SAT 11:15 AM PDT Update

SAT. UPDATE for Western Insomniacs, Eastern Early Risers

Headline Below About Fri. Elimination was Accurate When Posted (shortly after 7 pm PT Friday),

BUT Friday's Late Results (WINS by BOTH ARI, SD) Changed (ALMOST) Everything

1. Washington's 8th Inning Fri. Comeback PREVENTED FRI. ELIMINATION

2. BUT NATS' Fragile 2-Handed Grip on the Ledge Has Slipped to ONE !

HERE'S WHAT I MEAN BY THAT:

A. Entering FRI., NATS Could Still Win Playoff Spot OUTRIGHT at 81-81,

or TIE w/ ARI at 81-81 (and NATS hold that 2-Team Tiebreaker)

B. Now Entering SAT., NATS Still Need to WIN to Remain Alive - BUT

ONE WIN by EITHER ARI or SD Now Enough for KO !

Now to Bed, Details in Post Later Today (hopefully before play resumes at 1pm PT) -

It's All in the (3-Team) Tie-breaker Rules

End SAT 3:26 AM PDT Update

NATS Could Be OUT as Early as Fri. or Sat. -

Even if Magic/Tragic No. Still Two !!

No secret that the Nationals are close to Playoff Elimination - But You May Not Be Aware

that it could happen as "Early" as Fri. Night, 9/11 !!

Here's Why That's Possible:

1. Nats enter Friday with 81 L, while SD & ARI are Tied for WC3 w/ 78 W.

2. 78 W + 81 L = 159; when that sum reaches 163, Nats are Eliminated Outright from WC3,

i.e couldn't even Tie for WC3. Hence the Magic (Tragic) Number Now sits at 4 = 163 - 159.

3. But it turns out, the Nats situation is ALREADY worse than that. That's because

EITHER SD or ARI is ALREADY GUARANTEED to win AT LEAST 80, because

ARI finishes the season playing 3 GAMES at PETCO. That REDUCES MN of 4

to a PENNANT SOLUTION (c) of TWO. That means 2 L by Nats (Fri., Sat.) & They're DONE.

4. How Does That Explain ELIM on FRI. ? It doesn't. But if GUARANTEED MinWin for WC3

Rises from 80 to 81, and the Nats go to 82 L, that also totals the PS Elim total of 163.

And an INCREASE of MinWin to 81 COULD HAPPEN on Fri. All it requires is that ARI & SD

BOTH WIN on Friday. If the NATS LOSE #82 to the Angels, & MinWin Goes to 81, that's 163 -

Season Over.

5. SUMMARY:

A. Friday Night OUTRIGHT ELIM from WC3 & PLAYOFFS Possible for NATS

B. Requires ALL 3 Outcomes on FRI. - NATS' L, ARI & SD W's

C. Won't Know Until Late Games are Completed

D. If 1 or More of These Outcomes Does Not Occur, NATS REMAIN ALIVE - UNTIL SAT. !!!

WE ARE BACK and OFF TO THE (2026 PENNANT) RACES !!!

(NEW content for 2026 only began on SUN. 9-06 with GIANTS "EARLY" ELIM,

so NONE of the links in the right-hand column have been updated for 2026.

My apologies, but I hope to correct that soon).

Question from 2017:

Why did NL Office take 2 tries to Decide LA had Clinched Playoffs 9-12-2017?

(according to Bill Shaikin of the L A Times)? We may never know.

Previous Headlines

Posted Fri. SEPT. 11, 2026, 3:26 AM PDT

SAT. UPDATE for Western Insomniacs, Eastern Early Risers

Posted Sun. SEPT. 6, 2026, 7:13 pm PDT

BULLETIN:

GIANTS w/ One Foot in Grave - Now It's Two !!

or as Yogi might say, "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over - But NOW IT IS OVER !!

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