Playoff Picture: Mariners, Pirates close gap in wild-card races
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Every night we take a look around the league and recap pennant and wild card races in baseball.
Here's a look at how Tuesday's slate affected the playoff picture in the majors:
American League
- Baltimore clinched the American League East with an 8-2 win over Toronto. It was the Orioles' first pennant since 1997.
| AL Central | Record | GB | Games Left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tigers | 84-67 | - | 11 |
| Royals | 82-68 | 1.5 | 12 |
- J.D. Martinez once again delivered late-game heroics for the Tigers, but Joe Nathan blew his career-high 7th save of the season in a 4-3 walk-off loss to the Twins.
- Kansas City failed to gain ground on Detroit after losing 7-5 to the White Sox.
- The Angels suffered a rare blow out loss to the Mariners, who helped their wild-card hopes with a 13-2 win. It was just the Angels' fourth loss over their last 21 games.
| AL Wild Card | Record | GB | Games Left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | 83-67 | +1 | 12 |
| Royals | 82-68 | - | 12 |
| Mariners | 81-69 | 1 | 12 |
| Blue Jays | 77-73 | 5 | 12 |
| Indians | 77-73 | 5 | 12 |
| Yankees | 76-74 | 6 | 12 |
- Seattle took advantage of Oakland and Kansas City losses to gain a full game on both wild-card leading teams.
- The Indians also picked up a game on the strength of Corey Kluber's career-high 14 strikeouts.
If the postseason started today ...
Wild Card: Royals at Athletics
Division Series: Wild Card at Angels | Tigers at Orioles
National League
- The Nationals clinched the NL East for the second time in three years with a 3-0 win over the Braves.
| NL Central | Record | GB | Games Left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 83-68 | - | 11 |
| Pirates | 80-70 | 2.5 | 12 |
| Brewers | 79-72 | 4 | 11 |
- The Pirates stayed hot by shutting out the Red Sox 4-0 and gaining a game on the Cardinals, who lost to the Brewers 3-2 in the 12th inning of Tuesday's series opener.
| NL West | Record | GB | Games Left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dodgers | 86-65 | - | 11 |
| Giants | 83-68 | 3 | 11 |
- San Francisco closed the gap in the West by edging Arizona 2-1, coupled with the Dodgers' 10-4 loss to the Rockies.
| NL Wild Card | Record | GB | Games Left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 83-68 | +2.5 | 11 |
| Pirates | 80-70 | - | 12 |
| Brewers | 79-72 | 1.5 | 11 |
| Braves | 75-76 | 5.5 | 11 |
- Atlanta suffered the only loss Tuesday in the wild-card race, and it cost the Braves ground against everyone. Washington's 3-0 win marks the first time Atlanta has been under .500 since opening day.
If the postseason started today ...
Wild Card: Pirates at Giants
Division Series: Wild Card at Nationals I Cardinals at Dodgers