Some of the pennant races in Major League Baseball come down to today’s final day of the regular season.
In the American League East, New York maintains a one game lead over Baltimore after both teams won Tuesday; the Yankees beat Boston 4-3 while Baltimore blanks Tampa Bay 1-0 despite a brilliant pitching performance from Tampa Bay’s James Shields who fanned 15 in a losing effort. New York wraps up the AL East if it can beat Boston or the Orioles lose to the Rays; if the opposite happens, there will be a one game playoff to determine the AL East winner.
In the AL West, Texas and Oakland are tied for the lead after the A’s beat the Rangers 3-1 yesterday. They play for the AL West title today. And it looks like Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera will become baseball’s first Triple Crown winner since 1967.
In the National League, Washington and Cincinnati are tied for the best league record going into today’s action. The Nationals host Philadelphia while the Reds are in St.Louis. The Cardinals clinched the final wild card spot despite losing to the Reds 3-1 because Los Angeles lost 4-3 to San Francisco to eliminate the Dodgers.