>>> Down 13 games at one point, and five games back just over a week ago, the Oakland Athletics faced an intriguing possibility entering the final series of the season: sweep the Texas Rangers, and win the AL West. Well, they're two-thirds of the way there, after Derek Norris' two-run single (and a defensive misplay by Nelson Cruz in October, stop me if you've heard this before) helped deliver the A's a 3-1 win. The two teams are now tied atop the AL West at 93-68. Oakland has the widest possible range of potential outcomes on Wednesday: if they lose to the Rangers and the Orioles win, they're the second wild card and face a cross-country trip to Baltimore for a one-game playoff the next day. But if they beat the Rangers, and the Yankees lose to Boston, the A's will be the number one overall seed in the American League. Astonishing. Winner-take-all for the AL West on Wednesday: Ryan Dempster vs. A.J. Griffin.
>>> After looking dead for eight innings against the listless Red Sox, the New York Yankees were saved by their clutch cult icon of this season (Raul Ibanez) and of seasons past (Francisco Cervelli). Ibanez's two-run game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth and walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the twelfth (scoring Cervelli in his first appearance of the season) kept the Yankees in first place over the victorious Orioles. The 4-3 win lowered New York's magic number to one, meaning they control their own destiny: a win on Wednesday, with Hiroki Kuroda facing Daisuke Matsuzaka, clinches them the AL East, a Division Series appearance, and home-field advantage until the World Series. A loss coupled with an Orioles win means a one-game playoff in Baltimore to decide the division.
>>> Even though it meant nothing with his team eliminated, James Shields still pitched the game of his life against the Baltimore Orioles: a complete game, two-hit, 15-strikeout masterpiece. The only run he gave up was a massive solo bomb by Chris Davis (who has now homered in six straight games). And because these are the 2012 Baltimore Orioles, that was just enough. The O's hung on to win 1-0 and keep their AL East hopes alive. On the final day of the season, their hottest pitcher of the hour, Chris Tillman, faces Jeremy Hellickson. For the last three years Tillman has languished in the minors as a disappointing, failed prospect. He's now starting Game 162 for the O's with perhaps the division on the line. Welcome to Baltimore's season. The Orioles WILL be playing a one-game playoff at some point; it'll either be Thursday for the AL East against the Yankees or Friday for the wild card berth against the loser of the Rangers-A's game.
>>> Heading into the day, the Los Angeles Dodgers had to beat the Giants, and needed the St. Louis Cardinals to lose, just to extend their season into Game 162. The Cardinals held up their end of the bargain, losing to the Reds and giving LA a sliver of playoff hope. They failed to extend their season thanks to a crushing 4-3 loss. The Cardinals, as a result, officially clinched 2012's final playoff spot and can start planning for a one-game playoff against the Atlanta Braves. Kris Medlen starts for the Braves, and either Kyle Lohse or Adam Wainwright will do the same for St. Louis.
>>> And finally, the Washington Nationals can clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs by winning on Wednesday. The Cincinnati Reds can steal it with a Nationals loss and a win of their own against the Cardinals.
So heading into Game 162, the AL West will be decided by nine innings, the AL East can either be won or sent to a one-game playoff, almost every home-field advantage scenario is in play, and Thursday's wild card game's participants are still unknown. What we do know is that the 2012 World Series is going to be won by one of the following teams: Nationals, Reds, Giants, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees, Tigers, Rangers, Athletics, or Orioles.
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