MLB standings: Playoff picture entering Wednesday, Sept. 28
Days left in the season: 5
Tuesday’s big mover: St. Louis. The Cardinals hit five homers in a 12-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, none more meaningful than Aledmys Diaz’s fourth-inning grand slam in his first game back after the death of his childhood friend Jose Fernandez.
Tuesday’s big loser: Seattle. The Mariners failed to take advantage of the Orioles’ loss and of having Felix Hernandez on the mound. Hernandez gave up eight runs – four earned – in an 8-4 loss to the Houston Astros, who stayed in the hunt while keeping Seattle two games behind Baltimore.
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Oh oh, it’s magic: With their magic number down to one, the Red Sox get two more chances to clinch the AL East on Yankees soil.
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Today’s can’t-miss game: Orioles at Blue Jays, 7:07 ET. The Orioles will call on Chris Tillman, who has a 4.73 ERA this month, to keep Toronto from running away with the first wild card. Jays starter Francisco Liriano has gone at least six innings with no more than two earned runs allowed in his last three starts.
AL East
Red Sox (92-65) – Magic number: 1
Blue Jays (86-70) – 5.0 GB
AL Central
Indians (91-65) – Clinched division
AL West
Rangers (93-65) – Clinched division
***
NL East
Nationals (92-65) – Clinched division
NL Central
Cubs (101-56) – Clinched division
NL West
Dodgers (90-67) – Clinched division
AL Wild Card
Blue Jays (87-70) – +2.0 game
Orioles (85-72) –
Tigers (84-73) – 1.0 GB
Mariners (83-74) – 2.0 GB
Astros (83-75) – 2.5 GB
NL Wild Card
Mets (84-74) -- +0.5
Giants (83-74) --
Cardinals (82-75) -- 1.0 GB
GALLERY: TEAMS CELEBRATING POSTSEASON BERTH