The hunt for October continues to develop as many playoff spots remain up for grabs as September comes to a close.
All three American League divisional races are far from over as teams like the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics continue to scale the mountain to close the gap between their respective division leaders.
In the National League, the race for the NL West and the final wild-card spot have stolen the show, as teams continue to fight hard to snag the remaining spots and a chance at a World Series berth.
Here’s a look at today’s slate of games as team’s make a final playoff push. Keep checking back for updated scores and recaps throughout the evening as the games go final.
American League
Toronto Blue Jays 3, New York Yankees 2: F
The Yankees dropped an important one in Toronto as they would have had an opportunity to clinch a spot with a win and a Los Angeles Angels loss. However, the Yankees struggled to produce runs and the Blue Jays bullpen combined to blank the Yankees from the fourth inning on.
New York now holds the slimmest of leads in the East, as the Orioles are only a half-game back. The Yankees will need to start producing some offense if they want to secure their position. They now have two runs in two games against the Blue Jays.
Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers: Rain Delay
The Los Angeles Angels get a key opportunity to keep their divisional hopes alive while gaining ground on the AL Wild card chase when they take on the division leading Rangers. This game is currently in rain delay.
Detroit Tigers 6, Minnesota Twins 4: F
Justin Verlander made another strong case for a Cy Young Award, notching his 17th win on the year to help the Tigers take another step toward clinching the AL Central title.
The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead early and added to that lead with a four-run eighth inning that was promptly matched by the Twins before Jose Valverde effectively closed out the Minnesota rally in the ninth. The Tigers appeared to be running on all cylinders as October approaches.
Oakland Athletics 7, Seattle Mariners 4: F/10
It took extra innings, but the A’s showed that they have the poise to make some noise in the playoffs. It’s these types of games that makes September baseball so exciting. The Athletics were battling a deficit nearly the entire game before tying the game up 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, and eventually scoring three runs in the 10th on a walkoff homer from Brandon Moss.
The Athletics are now only 2.5 games ahead of the Angels for the second wild-card spot.
Tampa Bay Rays 10, Chicago White Sox 4: F
In a true do-or-die game, the Tampa Bay Rays came up big in keeping their wild-card hopes alive while effectively eliminating Chicago from the running for the second wild card.
The Rays’ offensive explosion was spearheaded by Matt Joyce, as he drove in four runs as a pinch hitter for Ben Francisco on two hits. Tampa now moves within three games of the Athletics for the second wild-card spot.
Baltimore Orioles 4, Boston Red Sox 3: F
The Orioles came up huge against the Boston Red Sox with a one-run victory at home that officially has the Orioles tied with the New York Yankees atop the AL East.
The Sox got a great effort from starting pitcher Felix Doubront as he threw seven innings and fanned 10 Baltimore batters while allowing only three earned runs. However, Baltimore was able to show the resolve that will serve them well as they fight for the playoffs, coming up with two clutch home runs from Chris Davis and Manny Machado that propelled the offense.
American League Standings
AL West
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB |
Texas Rangers | 92 | 65 | .586 | — |
Oakland Athletics | 90 | 68 | .567 | 3.0 |
Los Angeles Angels | 86 | 70 | .551 | 5.0 |
AL Central
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB |
Detroit Tigers | 84 | 73 | .535 | — |
Chicago White Sox | 83 | 75 | .526 | 2.0 |
AL East
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB |
New York Yankees | 91 | 67 | .576 | — |
Baltimore Orioles | 91 | 67 | .576 | — |
Tampa Bay Rays | 86 | 71 | .548 | 4.5 |
AL Wild Card
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB |
Baltimore Orioles | 91 | 67 | .573 | — |
Oakland A’s | 90 | 68 | .567 | — |
Los Angeles Angels | 87 | 70 | .554 | 2.0 |
Tampa Bay Rays | 87 | 71 | .548 | 3.0 |
Chicago White Sox | 83 | 74 | .529 | 6.0 |
National League
Milwaukee Brewers 9, Houston Astros 5: F
The Brewers absolutely needed to win this game and they kept their chances alive and they did just that with an offensive barrage that gave them a nine-run cushion heading into the final frame.
Turns out the Brewers would need that cushion as the Astros offense came alive—Houston generated five runs in the final frame before the Brewers were able to retire the side and secure the victory. The Brewers are now 4.5 games away from a wild-card spot.
Atlanta Braves 2, New York Mets 0: F
The Braves tightened their vice grip atop the NL wild card race with a 2-0 shutout of a New York Mets team that is now 6-4 in their last ten games.
The Braves got an exceptional start from Mike Minor who went 6.1 innings while only giving up three hits and no walks. If the Braves can get those kind of numbers from deep in their rotation, they’ll be a very legitimate threat in the playoffs.
Washington Nationals 6, St. Louis Cardinals 4: F/10
The Cardinals were unable to pull out a game that would have been a huge boon to their playoff chances, dropping a 6-4 game to the Nationals in extra innings.
The Nationals broke open an early 4-0 lead in the first frame but the Cardinals didn’t give up as they slowly chipped away at the lead before scoring a tying run in the bottom of the ninth. However, it was the Nationals that came through when it mattered most, taking a 6-4 lead in the tenth off of a Kurt Suzuki double.
The Cardinals failed to answer in the home half as they leave the door open for the Dodgers to take the final spot in the wild card race.
Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Colorado Rockies 0: F
The Dodgers successfully seized the opportunity to put some more pressure on the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL wild card race as posted a shut out over the Rockies 3-0. The Dodgers rode a huge start from starting pitches Joe Blanton who gave them six innings of scoreless baseball before turning it over to the bullpen who continued the shutout effort.
With the win the Dodgers are now just two games away from the Cardinals and appear poised to make a run as they extend their record in the last ten games to 7-3.
National League Standings
NL East
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB |
Washington Nationals | 95 | 62 | .605 | — |
Atlanta Braves | 92 | 66 | .580 | 3.5 |
NL Wild Card
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB |
Atlanta Braves | 92 | 66 | .580 | — |
St. Louis Cardinals | 85 | 73 | .541 | — |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 83 | 75 | .522 | 2.0 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 81 | 77 | .510 | 4.5 |
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