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We made it! After six months of triumphs and defeats, thrills and bloopers, we've reached the final weekend of the 2017 regular season. Friends have become enemies, enemies have become friends, cats and dogs have at least agreed to live near each other.

So let's take one final spin through the league before the start of the playoffs. We're #KeriingThe10 for one last time, starting...now!

1. Don't sleep on the Astros

Cleveland is the toast of baseball right now, and for good reason. An American League-record winning streak, a loaded roster and a chance to break the longest title drought in baseball make for a fascinating story. All of it has also diverted attention away from the team that might still be the scariest of all October opponents: Houston.

The Astros lead the majors in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. They've hit more home runs than all but three teams, yet they've also struck out less often than any team in baseball. Their deep bullpen has generated the second-highest strikeout rate. And after weeks of wondering what the playoff rotation might look like after Dallas Keuchel, we now have our answer -- Justin Verlander looks like his old MVP self.

Verlander tossed six innings Wednesday, allowing just two runs, striking out 11 and walking none ... and that the worst of his five starts as an Astro. Through five starts with Houston, he has fired 34 innings, punched out 43 batters, walked five, allowed 17 hits and flashed a microscopic 1.06 ERA. In June, his worst month of the season, opponents batted .321 against his fastball, and a gigantic .438 against his slider; in September, they've hit .125 and .138 against those two pitches.

Throw in the Astros sitting just a game behind Cleveland with a chance to reclaim home-field advantage through the AL playoffs, and the league's big favorite might not even be its best team.

2. The new Andrew Miller ...

... might be David Price. The $217 million lefty spent two stints of nearly two months each on the disabled list this season with elbow injuries. So when he returned to the mound Sept. 17, the Red Sox figured they would transition him to a role that could mean less damage to his arm, but still allow him to pitch important innings. That's how David Price became the latest big-talent pitcher to transition to a high-leverage, multi-inning relief role, along the lines of Andrew Miller.

So far, the gambit has worked brilliantly. In his three relief appearances this season, Price has pitched 2, 2 2/3 and 1 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, one walk and no runs while striking out nine. After watching his fastball dip to 94 mph for much of the summer, it has ticked up a notch to 95 now that he's free to air it out in shorter stints. But unlike most relievers, Price is still using his full repertoire, with hitters not knowing which of his five pitches to expect. The Red Sox look like they might have a new, lethal weapon to deploy out of the pen.

They might really need him too. Rick Porcello has given up four runs or more in four of his past seven starts, including an 11-run bombardment Aug. 25 against the Orioles. Drew Pomeranz's fastball looks like it's on life support, making him an iffy play for the postseason. Even Chris Sale has hit a rough patch, posting a mediocre 4.30 ERA over his past eight starts, with opponents slugging a scary .489 against him in that span. If those trends continue, Price might not have the luxury of coming in for late-game situations -- he might have to save the day much earlier, if his former rotation mates can't turn things around.

3. You know nothing, Washington Nationals

4. Now you can be the Nacho Man

Plus-10 points to Addison Russell for gamely chasing this foul popup into enemy territory in St. Louis, at the expense of a fan's plate of nachos. Plus-50 for buying that fan a new batch of nachos. Plus-100 if Russell threw in some extra jalapenos.

5. The next Twins/Rockies/D-Backs/Brewers ...

... could be the White Sox. If that happens, Lucas Giolito could be a big reason why. The 23-year-old right-hander was a first-round pick in 2012. Huge and intimidating with his 6-foot-6, 255-pound frame, giddy-up fastball and heartbreaking curve, Giolito seemed destined for instant stardom.

Then, 2016 happened. He walked nearly a batter every two innings over 14 starts in Double-A and ended the season with more command problems, plus a sharp drop in fastball velocity. The Sox pulled the trigger on him anyway, acquiring Giolito as part of a multiplayer deal with Washington. Then he scuffled for parts of this season too, again walking nearly a batter every two innings in Triple-A, and posting a 4.48 ERA. When his White Sox debut on Aug. 22 resulted in the Twins smashing him for three home runs, you had to wonder if it might take a while for Giolito to harness his powers.

He has put it all together since then. In his past six starts, Giolito has fired 39 1/3 innings, striking out 30 batters, allowing just 25 hits and putting up a 1.83 ERA. Combine Giolito's emergence with the development of Yoan Moncada and Carlos Rodon, the potential of rookie right-hander Reynaldo Lopez and the deep stable of prospects the Sox collected through both internal player development and trades, and the rebuilding process on the South Side could start to bear fruit sooner than we might think.

6. Fake press conference celebrations are the new market inefficiency

7. Not a great season for the Detroit Tigers ...

... though the Robocop potential here is off the charts.

8. The New Wizard

No defensive player in the game today combines breathtaking athleticism with impeccable instincts as well as Andrelton Simmons. Really, you could argue that we haven't seen a defender like Simmons since the heyday of Ozzie Smith. Watch this incredible recent deke play, then see if you can avoid the temptation to watch it another 10 times.

9. National Treasure

Max Scherzer is the favorite to win the NL Cy Young award this season. But the Nationals' No. 2 starter has been one of the league's most dominant pitchers in his own right. Our ace pitching correspondent Nick Pollack of PitcherList.com checks in with his final regular-season report for this column. Thanks to Nick for his invaluable contributions throughout the season!

Through 27 starts, Stephen Strasburg ranks fourth in the majors with a 2.68 ERA, backed by an elite 29.1 strikeout percentage. Strasburg has been a bonafide ace on a team that doesn't need one.

This wasn't the case in 2016. Strasburg failed to accrue 150 innings as he battled injuries, and the time that was spent on the hill returned a pedestrian 3.60 ERA. His peripheral numbers were fantastic (30.6 percent strikeout rate, 7.4 percent walk rate), but Strasburg underperformed and left us scratching our heads.

Those rate stats aside, Strasburg has been radically different in 2017. Let's look at the two elements of Strasburg's game that have dramatically changed in 2017 to turn him into one of the stingiest pitchers in the National League.

If you've watched Strasburg pitch this season, you might already know the first difference. Strasburg has had difficulty in the past performing at a high level with men on base, making a popular talking point for the oft-scrutinized flamethrower.

To combat this problem, Strasburg went with an unconventional method: He forced himself to always pitch from the stretch.

Here's his windup with the bases empty from 2016:

And here it is now in 2017:

You might be wondering why this could be effective. Considering that he struggled pitching from the stretch last season, why would he want to do that more often instead of limiting it? The answer is simple: By always featuring the same motion, Strasburg doesn't have to make an adjustment when the situation changes, allowing him to get into a better rhythm through the course of the game.

The results have been staggering. Not only does 2017 mark the first season he has held a sub-.200 batting average with men on base (a fantastic .189 clip to be exact). It's also the first season batters are hitting worse with runners on. Strasburg has turned one of his weaknesses into a strength.

Strasburg has also significantly altered his pitch mix. This season, he has reduced his fastball and slider usage by a combined 16 points in favor of more changeups and curveballs. That is a massive swing, creating a different look for Strasburg than we've seen in the past.

Take his changeup, for example. The pitch has delivered an elite 26.5 percent swing-and-miss rate this season, its highest mark since 2012. His new approach to use the slow ball as a chase pitch off the plate is working wonders, inducing a low 12.7 percent line-drive rate, with just two extra-base hits in 484 thrown this season. One look at its incredible movement from the middle of the plate to the dirt and you'll understand why Strasburg has the right idea to use the pitch as bait:

Then there's his curveball. Hitters' contact rate against it has dropped from 73.4 percent in 2016 to just 60.7 percent this year, with batters hitting just .154 off the pitch in 2017. No wonder he has nearly doubled its usage to 23.1 percent in 2017.

Lastly, Strasburg's added focus on secondary pitches gives him the freedom to get ahead with his heater, raising its zone rate to a massive 62.4 percent. Batters are wary of his excellent changeup and curveball, allowing Strasburg to pound the zone with that 96 mph fastball, getting ahead early and putting hitters on the defensive.

It all comes together to produce a pitcher who has found his groove. Strasburg might be known as the No. 2 arm in Washington, but he can be the difference-maker that propels the Nationals through the playoffs and deep into October.

10. Burning Question of the Week

Three simple reasons, Doug.

First, the Dodgers feature the best quartet of starting pitchers among all playoff teams, with Clayton Kershaw backed by Yu Darvish and highly underrated lefties Rich Hill and Alex Wood.

Second, the Dodgers have addressed their bullpen woes in a more effective manner than we've seen in recent years. Kenley Jansen remains a super-elite closer capable of dominating in both the regular season and postseason. But Brandon Morrow, Tony Cingrani and Luis Avilan lead a revamped batch of setup and middle men who miss tons of bats and perplex opposing hitters with their many different looks.

Third, the Dodgers trotted out the most potent attack in the National League this year, with slugging rookie Cody Bellinger complementing Corey Seager and Justin Turner in a deep offense that's even dangerous off the bench.

And finally, momentum means nothing. Specifically, how a ballclub fares in September has no correlation with how it will fare in October (once you adjust for other variables, such as the overall quality of said teams).

The Dodgers were an excellent bet to challenge for their first World Series in 29 years before they recently came unglued for a few weeks. They remain excellent bets to do so even after that rough patch.