In 2000, the only other time the Indians were in a battle for the AL Wild Card, Steve Woodard had the best stretch of his relatively unremarkable career in September, winning several key games down the stretch.
Scott Elarton seems to be following the same script. In September, his ERA is under 1, and tonight he pitched a 7.1 shutout innings to help give Cleveland a crucial series win in Chicago.
Travis Hafner is on fire, and it's a great time for him to be hot. He smoked two homers in the last two innings; the first came after a long protracted at-bat against Jon Garland, and was the backbreaker.
The Indians obviously remain the leader in the Wild Card race, but now the team chasing them is the Boston Red Sox, one game out. The Yankees are still one-half game behind the Indians, but now they're in first place in the AL East. Again, you are rooting for the East to be in play going into the final weekend, and for the Indians to have a better record than both Boston and New York.