Playoff Picture: 9th inning heroics lift Tigers and Royals to dramatic wins

Every night we take a look around the league and recap pennant and wild card races in baseball.

Here's a look at how Monday's slate affected the playoff picture in the majors:

American League

• The Baltimore Orioles reduced their magic number down to 1 following a 5-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. 

• Detroit blew a six run lead only to be bailed out by back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning courtesy Miguel Cabrera and Torii Hunter, as the Tigers knocked off the Minnesota Twins 8-6. 
• Kansas City had some late-game heroics of their own, scoring a pair of ninth inning runs off a wild pitch and an infield single to stun the Chicago White Sox 4-3 and keep pace with the Tigers in the division. 

• Los Angeles pounded Seattle 8-1 to clinch a playoff berth, however they lost first baseman Albert Pujols to a hamstring cramp. 

If the postseason started today ... 

Wild Card: Royals at Athletics

Division Series: Wild Card at Angels I Tigers at Orioles

• Toronto, New York and Cleveland were dealt significant blows to their playoff aspirations as all three dropped their respective games on Monday.
• Idle Oakland saw their lead for home-field advantage in the wild card game shrink to one game following the Royals come from behind win. 

National League

• Washington extended its lead in the NL East to a laughable 11.5 games over Atlanta and are expecting to get Ryan Zimmerman back in time for the last week of the season. A flu seems to be going around the Nationals clubhouse though, with Bryce Harper the latest to fall victim. 

• All three teams had Monday off so the NL Central standings remain unchanged. 
• St. Louis and Milwaukee open up a three-game series Tuesday while Pittsburgh host the Boston Red Sox. 

• The Dodgers stretched their division lead to four games after blowing out the Colorado Rockies 11-3 thanks to an eight run sixth inning.
• San Francisco activated Brandon Belt from the disabled list but scratched Angel Pagan prior to a 6-2 loss to the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks. 

• The Braves fell back to .500 for the first time since April 1 after losing to the Nationals 4-2; their seventh loss in the last eight games. 

If the postseason started today ... 

Wild Card: Pirates at Giants

Division Series: Wild Card at Nationals I Cardinals at Dodgers