The hottest team in baseball has nothing to play for, but it remains to be seen if that will help the visiting Baltimore Orioles when they face the Tampa Bay Rays in the second of a three-game series Tuesday. The Rays, despite winning 11 of their last 12 games, were eliminated from postseason contention Monday night when the Oakland Athletics

The St. Louis Cardinals are closing in on a National League wild-card berth as they face the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Monday. The Cardinals have a two-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers with three games to play and their magic number sits at two. Cincinnati is tied for the NL’s top record and will have manager Dusty Baker back in the dugout. Baker

The Los Angeles Angels have managed to stay in the race this long, and are hanging on for dear life. The Angels trail the Oakland Athletics by 2 1/2 games for the final American League wild card spot with five contests left. TheTexas Rangers are on the verge of securing at least a wild card spot and have a magic number of three

The Baltimore Orioles crushed the dreams of the Boston Red Sox in the final game of 2011. This season, the Orioles are hoping the Red Sox can help them out a little bit. Boston, which plays two more against Baltimore before closing the season at the New York Yankees, has an opportunity to determine the American League East winner. The Orioles, who beat the

The margin for error is as slim as it can be for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have to win their final six games and have St. Louis lose its last six – along with some other help – to make the playoffs. The Diamondbacks do have one thing going for them, however, as they’re set to host a three-game series against

How the Los Angeles Angels perform against the Seattle Mariners may determine whether the Angels can land a playoff berth. The Angels open a three-game series against visiting Seattle on Tuesday in the first of six games against the Mariners over the regular season’s final nine days. One of the wild card teams the Angels are attempting to chase down is the Oakland Athletics,

Kyle Kendrick has an opportunity to hand his hometown team its second straight 100-loss season on Saturday as the Philadelphia Phillies right-hander takes the mound to face the Houston Astros. Kendrick has righted the ship after winning two of his first 10 decisions by going 5-1 and yielding just under an earned run and a half (1.49) in his last six outings. Just

The Toronto Blue Jays seek a season-best fifth consecutive victory when they open a three-game series against the visiting Seattle Mariners on Tuesday. The Blue Jays are coming off a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox that lifted them out of the American League East cellar. Toronto starter Brandon Morrow is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA against Seattle, the organization with which he

The Philadelphia Phillies haven’t been four games under .500 in nearly 2 1/2 months, and their recent stretch of 10 wins in 14 games has them within seven games of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild card spot in the National League. While the odds are not in their favor, the Phillies will play their next 12 games against sub-.500

Ryan Braun is two RBIs shy of his fifth consecutive 100-RBI campaign as theMilwaukee Brewers face the Miami Marlins in Wednesday’s third contest of the four-game set. Braun drove in two runs in Milwaukee’s win on Tuesday to increase his National League-leading total to 98. The reigning MVP’s career high for RBIs is 114 set in 2009. The Brewers have won 12 of