Skip to content

MLB Playoff Picture: 3 things to know from Wednesday

Denis Poroy / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Every night we look around the league and identify the three things you need to know about the playoff races. Here's what happened Wednesday:

Reeling Nats losing Harper

Plagued by injuries all season, the Washington Nationals entered their series finale at Busch Stadium with just an 8.2 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason, the product of an 18-26 record since the All-Star break. While the Nationals snapped a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals on Wednesday, the club's fleeting playoff hopes might have suffered an insurmountable blow when Bryce Harper was lifted in the fourth inning with tightness in his left glute. Though the diagnosis wasn't overly concerning, the Nationals have all but played their way out of wild-card contention and sit 6 1/2 games behind the division-leading Mets. With a pivotal three-game set against New York beginning Monday, the Nationals can't afford to lose the MLB leader in WAR for, really, any amount of time.

Kershaw, Dodgers widen gap

The Giants arrived at Chavez Ravine on Wednesday facing the prospect of a three-game sweep at the hands of Los Angeles Dodgers, who extended their division lead over San Francisco to 5 1/2 games with victories in each of the previous two nights. A win in the rubber match, though, would've brought the Giants that much closer to their division leader, a team they're closer to in the standings than the Chicago Cubs, who boast a six-game lead over the second wild-card berth. Clayton Kershaw, however, simply wasn't going to let that happen. Vying for his fourth Cy Young award in the last five seasons, Kershaw was typically brilliant, allowing only 6 hits while striking out 15 batters, setting a new career high in strikeouts in a season (251) in the process. He gave up one run over nine innings, throwing a 132-pitch complete game, leading the Dodgers to a 2-1 victory and sending the Giants to a crushing fifth straight loss.

Rangers closing in on Astros

The Houston Astros have a problem: their in-state rivals the Texas Rangers. The Rangers continued their excellent play away from home Wednesday, defeating the Padres 4-3 in 10 innings in San Diego. The victory was Texas' 38th on the road, tops in the American League. The win, coupled with Houston's 8-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners, moved the Rangers to within two games of the Astros in the AL West. Paced by ace Cole Hamels, who gave up three earned runs in seven innings, striking out eight, the Rangers continued their second-half surge. They went 18-10 in August and are undefeated in two September games.

If the playoffs started today:

Series Away Home
AL WC Rangers Yankees
NL WC Cubs Pirates
ALDS TEX or NYY Royals
ALDS Astros Blue Jays
NLDS CHC or PIT Cardinals
NLDS Mets Dodgers

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox