The Pirates clinch a postseason berth for the first time since 1992 with a 2 – 1 win over the Cubs, thanks to Starling Marte’s tie-breaking 9th-inning homer. The Reds soon join them with a 10-inning, 3 – 2 win over the Mets, secured on Shin-Soo Choo’s game-ending single. With the Cardinals having clinched a postseason slot a few days earlier, it will be the first time that three teams from the same division play together in the postseason. The three teams have been bunched up all season, and their order of finish is still to be determined.

The Orioles suffer a double blow in their postseason chase when they lose, 5 – 4, to the Rays on James Loney’s 9th-inning walk-off pinch homer. In the 7th inning, young 3B Manny Machado suffers a season-ending injury when he steps awkwardly on first base and twists his knee.

Struggling all month in their bid to lock up a wild card slot, the Rangers annihilate the woeful Astros, 12 – 0, as Alex Rios hits for the cycle and Derek Holland pitches a complete game shutout, striking out 9. Rios only needs 6 innings to complete his feat, and then leaves way for Engel Beltre with Texas already ahead, 11 – 0. For the Astros, it is loss number 106, one shy of the franchise record.

Felix Hernandez, making his first appearance since suffering a strained oblique, sets a record for strikeouts in a start lasting four or fewer innings when he whiffs ten batters before the fifth frame in the Mariners’ 3-2 victory at Angel Stadium. The fans aren’t the only ones buzzing during King Felix’s performance as a swarm of bees in the outfield delays the contest for 23 minutes during the third inning.

Two teams clinch division titles today. The Athletics secure their second straight AL West crown with an 11 – 7 win over the Twins as Coco Crisp hits a three-run homer and Jed Lowrie and Daric Barton add solo shots, negating a homer and 6 RBIs by Twins rookie Oswaldo Arcia. In the NL East, Atlanta wins its first title since 2005 as its closest pursuers, the Nationals, lose, 4 – 2, to the Marlins. The Braves then defeat the Cubs, 5 – 2, as they now set their eyes on finishing the year with the best record in the National League.

With most of the interest now focused on the wild card races, the Indians compete a four-game sweep of the Astros with a 9 – 2 win to hold on to one of the two spots available in the American League. The Indians become the first team since the 1961 Yankees to record six four-game sweeps in one season.

Mariners left fielder Raul Ibanez’s 29th round-tripper, his 300th career home run, ties him with Ted Williams for the most hit in a season by a player who is 41 or older. The ‘Splendid Splinter’, in his final year as a major leaguer, hit that many in 1960 playing with the Red Sox.

The Pirates defeat the Reds, 4 – 2, behind A.J. Burnett’s 12-strikeout performance. Jason Grilli records his first save since going on the disabled list in late July to put the Bucs one game ahead of the Reds.

The Rays need 18 innings to defeat the Orioles, 5 – 4, on David DeJesus’s RBI single after a major league record 21 pitchers are used in the game. The win puts the Rays in sole possession of the first wild card spot in the American League. Cleveland beats Houston, 2 – 1, in a game ended by rain after 6 1/2 innings to move into the second spot, a half-game behind Tampa. Four other teams are still in the hunt: Texas, now one game back of Tampa after a 2 – 1 loss to the Royals, who themselves are tied with Baltimore, three back of the Rays, and the Yankees, who trail those two by a half-game.

Boston also clinches a postseason slot after defeating the Orioles, 3 – 1, as John Lackey pitches a two-hit complete game. The Sox’s magic number to ensure they win the AL East title is down to 1.