MLB Playoff Picture: 3 things to know from Thursday

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

McCutchen-less Pirates swept

The Milwaukee Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 5-3 victory. The loss dropped the Pirates 6 1/2 games behind the National League Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals, who will host Pittsburgh for three games beginning Friday. The Pirates also saw their 4 1/2-game lead over the Chicago Cubs for the top NL wild-card spot trimmed to four games by the defeat. More troubling for the Pirates, Andrew McCutchen sat out with Achilles tightness.

Rosario's slam not enough for Twins

The Minnesota Twins had an incredible opportunity to close the gap in the American League wild-card race, but couldn't capitalize on an Eddie Rosario grand slam and fell 6-4 to the Chicago White Sox. The Twins slipped 1 1/2 games behind the idle Texas Rangers for the second and final wild-card spot with the loss, and now begin a daunting nine-game road trip with stops in Houston, Kansas City, and Chicago.

Nationals gain ground on idle Mets

Washington hammered the lowly Atlanta Braves 15-1 to cut its deficit to six games behind the first-place New York Mets in the NL East. MVP candidate Bryce Harper suited up despite a glute injury and scored four times on four walks. The Nationals have an excellent opportunity to crawl back into the postseason picture if they can continue to pound on the Braves over the weekend before a crucial three-game set with the Mets early next week.

If the playoffs started today: