Every night we take a look around the league and recap pennant and wild card races in baseball.
Here's a look at how Thursday's slate affected the playoff picture in the majors:
American League
- The Baltimore Orioles previously clinched the AL East.
- The Los Angeles Angels previously clinched the AL West
AL Central | Record | GB | Games Left |
---|---|---|---|
Tigers | 84-68 | - | 10 |
Royals | 83-68 | 0.5 | 11 |
- Detroit and Kansas City were both off Thursday. The pair begin a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium on Friday, with Jason Vargas (11-9, 3.41 ERA) for the Royals and Justin Verlander (13-12, 4.81 ERA) for the Tigers taking the hill for the opener.
AL Wild Card | Record | GB | Games Left |
---|---|---|---|
Royals | 83-68 | +0.5 | 11 |
Athletics | 83-69 | -- | 10 |
Mariners | 82-70 | 1 | 10 |
Indians | 79-73 | 4 | 10 |
Yankees | 78-74 | 5 | 10 |
Blue Jays | 77-75 | 6 | 10 |
- Oakland dropped a third straight game to the Texas Rangers to continue its September collapse and now hold a slim one-game lead in the second wild card.
- A walk-off error gave New York a 3-2 win over Toronto in a game that saw Derek Jeter belt his first home run at Yankee Stadium this season.
- Cleveland knocked off Houston 2-1 in 13 innings to keep their thin playoff hopes alive. Indians pitchers are doing their part, as they've allowed six runs in their last four games.
- Logan Morrison broke a scoreless tie with a three-run home run in the ninth inning as the Mariners beat the Angels 3-1.
If the postseason started today ...
Wild Card: Oakland at Kansas City
Division Series: Wild Card at Los Angeles I Detroit at Baltimore
National League
- The Washington Nationals previously clinched the NL East.
NL Central | Record | GB | Games Left |
---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 85-68 | - | 9 |
Pirates | 82-70 | 2.5 | 10 |
Brewers | 79-74 | 6 | 9 |
- Tony Cruz hit a walk-off single in the 13th inning as St. Louis put a serious dent in Milwaukee's playoff aspirations with a 3-2 win.
NL West | Record | GB | Games Left |
---|---|---|---|
Dodgers | 87-66 | - | 9 |
Giants | 84-68 | 2.5 | 10 |
- The Los Angeles Dodgers piled on five runs in the seventh inning to stage a come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Cubs and gain a half-game on the idle San Francisco Giants.
NL Wild Card | Record | GB | Games Left |
---|---|---|---|
Giants | 84-68 | +2 | 10 |
Pirates | 82-70 | - | 10 |
Brewers | 79-74 | 3.5 | 9 |
Braves | 76-76 | 6 | 10 |
- Pittsburgh held on to a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox to put a 3 1/2-game lead between them and the Milwaukee Brewers.
If the postseason started today ...
Wild Card: Pirates at Giants
Division Series: Wild Card at Nationals, Cardinals at Dodgers