Astros Minor League Playoff Picture - 8/31 Update

Today's Playoff Action
Greeneville will take on the Kingsport Mets for the first game in a best-of-three tonight starting at 6:00 CST at home.

Note on Regular Season Games
The DSL and GCL are both finished for the year. Greeneville finished the regular season last night and starts the playoffs tonight. Oklahoma City, Corpus Christi, Lancaster and Quad Cities all play three more regular season games with their final game on Monday. Tri-City plays five more regular season games with their final game on Wednesday.

Oklahoma City - In Playoffs (Won Division)
Oklahoma City was the fourth Astros minor league affiliate to make the playoffs and will host the American Northern Division winner at home on Wednesday, September 4th and Thursday, September 5th to start a best of five series. Omaha and Memphis are currently tied for the lead in that division, three games in front of the Iowa Cubs who are on the brink of elimination. The RedHawks play three more against Memphis at home.

Corpus Christi - In Playoffs (Won first half; tied for lead in second half)
The Hooks are in the playoffs by virtue of winning the first half of the season. The schedule for the first four games has already been set with the first two against San Antonio at home on Wednesday, September 4th and Thursday, September 5th and the next two at San Antonio on that Friday and Saturday. The Hooks host the Missions for the final three games of the season starting Saturday. The Hooks and Missions both lost on Friday, keeping the Hooks in a tie with that team in their quest for a second half title. The Hooks lead the Missions by three and a half games for the season.

Lancaster - In Playoffs (Won first half and second half)
The JetHawks are also in the playoffs by virtue of winning the first half and have clinched the second half title as well. The schedule for the first four games has been set with Lancaster playing at home on Saturday, September 7th and Sunday, September 8th (and will be attended by yours truly) and on the road the following Monday and Tuesday. What is still to be determined is the JetHawks opponent. They will play the winner of a mini-series between the #2 and #3 seeds. Inland Empire has clinched one of the mini-series playoff berths. The second team is still to be determined.

Quad Cities - In Playoffs
Quad Cities became the third Astros minor league affiliate to clinch a playoff spot with Sunday's win over Burlington. The first playoff game is scheduled for September 4th at Modern Woodmen Park against Cedar Rapids. The best of three series will then move to Cedar Rapids starting Thursday.

Tri-City
The ValleyCats are making this difficult. After another loss on Friday, the Tri-City squad is now on a four-game losing streak while Lowell has won four in a row and has climbed to a half game behind the division-leading 'Cats. As a reminder, only the division winners in the three divisions and one wild card make the playoffs. Their record puts them in second place for the wild card berth, a half game back, should they fall out of first place in the division. The 'Cats magic number stubbornly remains at 5 with 5 games left to play. They will play two on the road against Lowell starting tonight.

Greeneville - In Playoffs
Greeneville was the fifth Astros affiliate to make the playoffs, and it is the first time Greeneville has been in the playoffs since 2004. They finished their season last night with a 38-30 record, second in their division. They will face the Division winning Kingsport Mets in a best of three series starting tonight at home. The final two (if necessary) games will be played on the road on Sunday and Monday.

GCL Astros - Eliminated
The GCL club has been eliminated from playoff contention. They ended the season with a 27-33 record and are the only Astros affiliate that ended the 2013 season with a losing record.

DSL Astros - Eliminated
The DSL team was also eliminated from contention. They ended their season on Saturday with another win to cap off a four-game win streak and a 39-31 record for the season.