major league baseball
The Tampa Bay Rays continue their arduous road trip that started Sunday in Toronto, as they head to Boston for their Game 1 match-up against the Red Sox in the American League Division Series. Matt Moore (17-4 with 3.29 ERA) will pitch for the Rays against the Red Sox Jon Lester (15-8 with a 3.75) in Friday afternoon's game.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, still riding the momentum from their raucous home crowd in the 6-2 National League Wild Card game victory over the Cincinnati Reds, head to St. Louis for the start of their National League Division Series against the Cardinals, who ended the season with three games ahead of Pittsburgh for the National League Central title and the best record in the National League
Cleveland will start 23-year-old rookie Danny Salazar in Wednesday night's winner-takes-all American League Wild Card game against the Tampa Bay Rays; Salazar will duel with Rays' pitcher Alex Cobb, who is 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA for the month of September
Also, the Cleveland Indians clinch the top wild-card berth and will host the winner of Monday night's Texas Rangers-Tampa Bay Rays one-game tiebreaker game, after both teams ended the season tied for the last playoff spot.
Check five of New York Yankee closer Mariano Rivera, as he prepares for his last game against the Houston Astros Sunday afternoon.
Mariano Rivera - Major League Baseball's all-time save leader - took to the mound one last time at Yankee Stadium, breaking down in tears when longtime teammates Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte pulled him from the game in the top of the ninth inning.
The Detroit Tigers won their third consecutive American League Central division title after defeating the Minnesota Twins 1-0 Wednesday night, on the strength of Cy Young candidate Max Scherzer's commanding eight-inning performance, striking out ten batters.
The New York Yankees were officially eliminated from the American League (AL) Wild-card chase, marking the first time since since 2008 and the the second time in 19 years the Yankees miss the postseason. The Kansas City Royal were also eliminated Wednesday night, losing 6-0 to the Seattle Mariners.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have punched their ticket into the playoffs, along with the Cincinnati Reds, after the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Washington Nationals; Cardinal rookie pitcher Michael Wacha holds Nationals to one hit in nine innings Tuesday night as St. Louis tries to stay ahead of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in the NL Central race
Tampa Bay Rays, who currently hold the first American League Wild Card spot, continue to add to the Texas Rangers' woes over the weekend, while Cleveland Indians sweep the Houston Astros to stave off the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and New York Yankees for the second wild-card spot
Metallica made an appearance at the New York Yankees ceremony honoring closer Mariano Rivera - Major League Baseball's all-time save leader, as he winds down his Major League Baseball career.
The Washington Nationals loss to the Florida Marlins, in Game 1 of their double-header, clinched a playoff berth for the St. Louis Cardinals - guaranteeing themselves at least a wild-card - and the National League East division title for the Atlanta Braves. The Nationals kept pace winning Game 2, five games behind the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Tampa Bay Rays take the top spot in the AL Wild Card standings after beating the Texas Rangers Monday night while the Kansas City Royals continue gaining ground beating Cleveland 7-1.
Also, the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays continue to struggle as the American League wild-card race heats up.
The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays are the current leaders in the wild card race, but the New York Yankees, Oakland A's, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals are nipping at their heels with less than a month left in the season.
