C.C. Sabathia and the Yankees are back in the playoffs

There are three games left in the MLB regular season and playoff berths are being solidified. Only one spot remains in the 2015 playoff picture, as champagne popped twice again last night to signify a playoff spot being clinched. These playoff spots being locked down will open this daily update for October 2, 2015.

Recap

Yankees clinch playoff berth
Greg Bird clubbed an eighth-inning home run to open up a 3-1 lead for the Yankees, finishing 1-for-4 in the Yankees’ 4-1 win. Bird has 11 home runs in 149 at-bats this season, providing stability and power at first base without Mark Teixeira, and has a .914 OPS against right-handed pitchers this season. Carlos Beltran opened the scoring with a second inning home run off of Red Sox starter Rich Hill, finishing 1-for-4 and moving his modest hitting streak to five games. Beltran only has a lone hit in each of those games, but has an extra-base hit and RBI in each of his last three games, moving his OPS to .803 for the season. Robert Refsnyder provided ninth inning cushion with a solo home run, finishing 1-for-4. Refsnyder has garnered playing time with Stephen Drew out of the lineup with a concussion and has faired well, registering hits in six of his last seven games, including three extra-base hits and a stolen base.

Mookie Betts had another solid outing for the Red Sox, even with a wind-aided flyout that would have been a home run on a less windy night, finishing 2-for-4 with a RBI. Betts has seven multi-hit games in his last 10 games, posting a .367 batting average over the last seven days and has scored 10 runs while posting nine extra-base hits over the last 10 games.

Rangers outpace Angels to clinch playoff berth
Adrian Beltre finished 2-for-3 with a walk, double, and three RBI to end the Angels’ AL West title hopes and clinch at least a wild card berth. Beltre has 32 RBI since the beginning of September and has seven multi-hit games in his last 10 games, including seven extra-base hits and 15 RBI. Elvis Andrus finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and two stolen bases to fuel the bottom of the Rangers lineup. Andrus may only have a .257 batting average this season, but his 41 extra-base hits and 23 stolen bases have made him a top-10 SS for the season. Derek Holland won his fourth game of the season, pitching six innings and allowing three runs on three hits while walking three batters and striking out six. Holland has alternated looking brilliant and sluggish in his 57 2/3 innings since returning from the disabled list, mixing four quality starts with four straight outings where he allowed four runs or more.

Albert Pujols hit his 39th home run of the season, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, RBI, and two runs scored in a 5-3 loss. Pujols looks to top 40 home runs for the first time since 2010 over the weekend and has four home runs and seven RBI over his last 10 games.

Two Manny Machado home runs enough for Orioles to beat Blue Jays
Machado hit two home runs as a part of his 3-for-4 outing with a walk, two stolen bases, three RBI, and three runs scored. Machado now has 33 home runs and 20 stolen bases on the season and, with a .287 batting average, is a top-three 3B. Chris Davis finished 1-for-2 with three walks, a double, and a run scored after hitting two home runs yesterday. Davis is a top-five 1B and his OF eligibility only adds value for the big slugger, who has 45 home runs and 112 RBI for the season. Steve Pearce finished 1-for-4 with a walk, double, run scored, and RBI in the 6-4 Orioles win. Pearce has hits in three straight games after going four straight games without a hit and has two extra-base hits in his last three games to move his season total to 28.

Dalton Pompey finished 3-for-4 with a walk, double, and run scored in a losing effort, his fifth multi-hit game in 33 games this season. Pompey was seen as a sleeper rookie standout for 2015, but struggled early and played most of the season in Triple-A Buffalo, where he had a .307 batting average and 23 stolen bases.

Royals tie Blue Jays for AL’s best record
Mike Moustakas finished 2-for-5 with a double, run scored, and two RBI for the Royals, giving him hits in eight of his last 10 games. Moustakas also has six extra-base hits in his last seven games, moving his season total to 56, and has become a top-10 3B this season. Jonny Gomes finished 1-for-3 with three RBI for the Royals, providing his usual solid performance off of the bench. Gomes only has a .671 OPS this season, but does have a .830 OPS against left-handed pitchers and can be relied on for a cheap option in DFS if he starts against a left-handed pitcher. Kris Medlen was solid in six innings of work, allowing one earned run on four hits while walking three batters, moving his record to 6-2. Medlen has not been flashy in his 58 1/3 innings this season, posting a 4.01 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, but has allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts.

Jose Abreu finished 2-for-4 with two RBI to top 100 RBI for the second consecutive season of his career, as he has 101 RBI so far this season. Abreu has had three multi-hit games in his last four games and is 8-for-25 over the last seven days.

Phillies hand Mets shutout loss
Jerad Eickhoff pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only four hits and one walk while striking out 10 batters to even his record at 3-3. Eickhoff has 10 strikeouts with one walk allowed in each of his last two starts, has pitched at least seven innings in his last four starts, and has a 2.65 ERA in 51 innings pitched this season. Darin Ruf finished 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI for the Phillies, his third straight game with an extra-base hit. Ruf has 12 home runs in 259 at-bats this season and could be a decent play in 2016 with 1B/OF eligibility and 25-plus home run potential. Jeff Francoeur finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and double and has three extra-base hits in his last two games. Francoeur has five hits over his last five games, but had went five games without a hit coming into this hot streak and is not worthy of a look in late season DFS contests.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis finished 3-for-4 with two doubles for the Mets, his second game of 2015 with multiple extra-base hits. Nieuwenhuis was hitless in nine straight games coming into Thursday and has six hits since returning from the disabled list on September 1.

What to watch for

The best matchup of the evening is the NL East matchup of Noah Syndergaard and Gio Gonzalez. Syndergaard struck out 11 batters without allowing a walk in his last start and has 27 strikeouts while allowing only one walk in 20 2/3 innings over his last three starts. Gonzalez has allowed two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts and has a 3.84 ERA in the second half. Jake Arrieta, Dallas Keuchel, and Jaime Garcia will also pitch today.

This will be the last daily update for the 2015 season. I would like to thank everyone for a great season and I hope that everyone was able to use FantasyPros for fantasy baseball success. We will continue our coverage of the NFL, NBA, and NHL and see everyone in 2016.

Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.