We have reached the final full day of action in Major League Baseball, Game 162 on the schedule. But for six teams, Sunday might not be the last day of the regular season.
2014 MLB playoffs: Sunday clinch scenarios
Duane Burleson
There are two divisions still up for grabs -- the National League Central and American League Central -- as well as the final American League wild card spot. Here is a summary of what each team needs on Sunday.
NL Central
The St. Louis Cardinals (89-72) had a chance to clinch the division on Saturday night but instead were turned away in Arizona by a pair of home runs by Mark Trumbo. St. Louis holds a one-game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates (88-73).
After the Pirates loss in Cincinnati on Saturday,i there was talk of saving second-year right-hander Gerrit Cole, who was 11-5 with a 3.78 ERA in 21 starts, with 126 strikeouts in 131 innings for Pittsburgh this season, for the Wild Card Game on Wednesday. But with the division still in play, Cole might start on Sunday.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was not ready to reveal his plan on Saturday.
“I can’t imagine why we wouldn’t wait until the Cardinals game,” Hurdle told reporters, per Tom Singer of MLB.com. “We’ll let you know what we’re going to do tomorrow after tonight plays out.”
St. Louis will go with ace Adam Wainwright in its series finale in Phoenix (4 p.m.), which starts three hours after the Pirates and Reds in Cincinnati.
Bottom line: The Cardinals clinch the division with a win OR a loss by the Pirates. Pittsburgh needs a win over the Reds AND a loss by the Cardinals to force a one-game playoff in St. Louis, decided by the Cardinals winning 11 of 19 games with Pittsburgh this season.
AL Central
The Detroit Tigers (89-72) could have clinched the division on Saturday but were drilled by Minnesota at home, 12-3. They hold a one-game lead over the Kansas City Royals (88-73), who lost on Saturday to the White Sox, 5-4 in Chicago.
The Tigers will send David Price to the mound on Sunday (1 p.m.) against the Twins, while the Royals finish off their series against the White Sox (2 p.m.) with Yordano Ventura starting Game 162.
Detroit’s magic number to clinch the division is one.
Bottom line: The Tigers can clinch the division with a win OR a loss by the Royals. Kansas City needs both a win in Chicago and a Tigers loss to force a one-game tiebreaker, which would be held in Detroit.
AL wild card
After losing 30 of 45 games, what is one more day for the Oakland Athletics to have to wait to clinch a playoff spot? Oakland holds a one-game lead over the Seattle Mariners, and a magic number of just one to clinch the 10th and final playoff spot.
The A's will send Sonny Gray to the mound in Texas (3 p.m.), while Seattle will turn to ace Felix Hernandez against the Angels (4 p.m.). Hernandez on Saturday night was rather pumped for the game.
Me to Felix as he walked by in the clubhouse: "You ready?" Felix stone faced: "Hell yeah" and he kept on walking.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) September 28, 2014 Bottom line: Oakland clinches a wild card spot with either a win over the Rangers OR a Mariners loss to the Angels. Seattle needs to beat the Halos AND have the A's lose to force a one-game tiebreaker for the final wild card spot, which would be held in Seattle.
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