Wild Card

The next time the Dodgers lose, they will be officially eliminated from postseason contention. Another victory by the St. Louis Cardinals would produce the same outcome. But this dreary forecast didn't affect how the Dodgers celebrated their a 3-2 walk-off victory over the San Francisco Giants on Monday night. The win was the Dodgers' sixth in a row. A.J. Ellis tackled Elian Herrera, who pushed in the deciding run in the ninth inning by lining a single off the glove of second baseman Marco Scutaro.

The New York Yankees, $210-million payroll and all, found themselves in a fight for their playoff lives Sunday. They rallied from a four-run fifth-inning deficit for a 9-6 victory over Toronto that kept them tied with Baltimore atop the American League East with three games to go. Robinson Cano's two-run double keyed a three-run seventh inning that tied the score, 5-5, Derek Jeter capped a two-run eighth with a run-scoring single, and New York pulled...

Recent events have convinced Matt Kemp that the Dodgers could do something special in the postseason. "The way we're playing, I would like our chances against any team that we play," Kemp said. Here's the problem: Short of a miracle, the Dodgers won't be there. They are on the brink of elimination, even after extending their winning streak to five games Sunday with a sweep-sealing 7-1 victory over the downtrodden Colorado Rockies. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals, 10-4, to maintain their two-game lead over Dodgers for the second of two National League wild-card spots.

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Angels shuffled off the field, their season over every way but mathematically, surrounded by the sights and sounds of joy. The Texas Rangers did not dance in the faces of the Angels, but the public address announcer shouted deliriously into the night air. "With tonight's win, the Texas Rangers have clinched a spot in postseason play," he said. The crowd went nuts. Mike Napoli appeared on the video board, the slayer of the Angels wearing a contented smile, and the crowd went nuts again.

Wearing the red road uniform of the Washington Nationals and playing about 1,500 miles from Dodger Stadium, Kurt Suzuki was as valuable to the Dodgers on Saturday night as Matt Kemp or Hanley Ramirez. Kemp hit two home runs and Ramirez had three hits in a 3-0 Dodgers victory over the Colorado Rockies, but if not for Suzuki's two-run double in St. Louis, the Dodgers wouldn't have moved any closer to a postseason berth. Suzuki's 10th-inning drive lifted the Nationals to a 6-4 victory over the Cardinals, whose lead over the Dodgers for the second of two National League wild-card spots was reduced to two games.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Torii Hunter saved the day for the Angels, and maybe the season. Hunter's two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning Sunday gave the Angels a 5-4 victory over the Texas Rangers in the first game of a doubleheader. "That is, no doubt, the biggest hit of our season so far," Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. The victory moved the Angels to within two games of the Oakland Athletics for the final American League wild-card spot, with four games to play. The A's are playing the Seattle Mariners on Sunday afternoon, and the Angels and Rangers conclude their doubleheader at 4 p.m. PDT. The victory, at the very least, guarantees the Angels will remain alive in the wild-card race beyond Sunday.

A team can win some and lose some, and then there are those odd days when they both win and lose. Days like Sunday for the Dodgers, when they did their part by winning their fifth consecutive game, 7-1, to  sweep their three-game series with the Colorado Rockies before an announced fan appreciation day crowd of 35,607. Trouble was, long before the Dodgers had won, so had the  Cardinals. And the St. Louis win alone dropped the magic number for eliminating the Dodgers from the postseason race to two games with just three left to play.

The Baltimore Orioles' surprising run toward their first playoff appearance since 1997 continued Friday with another unlikely star. Pitcher Chris Tillman, who started the season at triple-A Norfolk and owned a career 7.15 earned-run average before this season, limited the Boston Red Sox to one hit through eight innings as the Orioles won, 9-1. Baltimore retained its three-game lead in the American League wild-card race with five to play and...

The Dodgers have figured out how to score runs, but they might have to learn to how to stop time in order to reach the playoffs. They won their third consecutive game with an 8-0 blowout of the last-place Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium, but their chances of playing in the postseason were significantly reduced by what transpired Friday. The team the Dodgers are pursuing for the second of two National League wild-card spots, the St. Louis Cardinals, defeated the Washington Nationals, 12-2.

Mike Scioscia fell in love with Garrett Richards' power arm in August, moving the rookie to the bullpen believing he could provide the kind of boost starter-turned-reliever Kelvim Escobar gave the Angels during their 2005 run to the American League championship series. That love, at times, has gone unrequited. In a span of four batters during the decisive seventh inning Thursday, Richards walked Trayvon Robinson with the bases loaded, gave up a run-scoring single to Kyle Seager, a sacrifice fly to Jesus Montero and an RBI double to John Jaso.