Latest Scores and Standings from MLB Playoff Race on Sept. 15

With a thrilling playoff race going down in both leagues, there are more games being played with serious playoff implications than those without. 

The postseason is up for grabs, and the way this is going, it is likely to stay that way until the final out of the regular season. 

Consider this your Saturday guide to keeping up with all the action. 

American League

New York Yankees 5, Tampa Bay Rays 3

With New York playing during the day and the Orioles at night, the Yankees put the pressure to keep up on Baltimore by earning a half-game lead in the AL East with a nice win over the Rays—not to mention expanding their lead over Tampa.

The win is not the only thing positive that came out of this game, either. Making his first start after being sidelined with a shoulder injury since Aug. 21, Ivan Nova gave up just two runs over six innings, and he looked strong while picking up eight strikeouts. 

Yankees: 82-63 (first in AL East)

Rays: 78-67 (third in AL East, fourth in wild card)

Detroit Tigers 5, Cleveland Indians 3

Needing a win to stay in the thick of the race, the Tigers' Anibal Sanchez took a no-hitter to the mound with two outs in the seventh inning. 

Sanchez did not record another out, but his seven-strikeout, two-earned-run performance was enough to help his team get this pivotal win. 

It also officially ended any hope the Indians had, as they are now mathematically eliminated from the postseason. 

Tigers: 77-67 (second in AL Central, fifth in wild card)

Chicago White Sox 5, Minnesota Twins 3

In a weird coincidence, the other key AL Central battle also had a no hitter squashed in the seventh inning. 

The White Sox's Francisco Liriano baffled his former team before Trevor Plouffe hit a two-run home run with two outs in the seventh.

Liriano ended up going seven innings, striking out nine and walking just two. This was a great sign for the White Sox, who would undoubtedly love the wildly inconsistent pitcher to get hot for the stretch run. 

White Sox: 78-66 (first in AL Central)

Seattle Mariners 8, Texas Rangers 6

The Mariners scored a single run in the eighth and ninth inning while blanking Texas in those two frames to earn a two-run victory. 

Rangers starter Scott Feldman pitched just 2.2 innings and gave up six runs, all earned. 

The loss is not too costly for Texas, but the hard-charging A's now trail the Rangers by just two games. 

Rangers: 86-59 (first in AL West)

Oakland Athletics 5, Baltimore Orioles 2

The Oakland Athletics' improbable run continues, as they dealt a disheartening blow to the Baltimore Orioles.

The A's accomplished all of their scoring in the third inning of this game. Stephen Drew jacked a home run and Chris Carter had a two-run double.

Starting A's pitcher Jarrod Parker improved to 11-8 by allowing just two runs off of seven hits in seven innings. 

Orioles:81-64 (second in AL East, second in wild card)

Athletics: 84-61 (second in AL West, first in wild card)

National League

Atlanta Braves 5, Washington Nationals 4

Fighting to stay in the race for the NL East, Andrelton Simmons had his uniform just loose enough for the incoming Ryan Mattheus pitch to brush against it. 

This not only gave Simmons a free pass to first in the eighth inning, but it also pushed home what proved to be the winning run. 

The Braves have now won the first two games of this key series. 

Braves: 83-63 (second in NL East, first in wild card)

Nationals: 89-56 (first in NL East)

Pittsburgh Pirates 7, Chicago Cubs 6

Mired in a seven-game losing streak, the Pittsburgh Pirates held on by their fingernails to preserve this 7-6 win. 

The Pirates' Joel Hanrahan allowed two runs in the ninth before recording a strikeout for the game's final out. 

Andrew McCutchen hit his 28th home run in this one, as Pittsburgh tried to get its Pirate ship going in the right direction. 

Pirates: 73-71 (third in NL Central, fourth in wild card)

Houston Astros 5, Philadelphia Phillies 0 

Needing a win in the worst way, the Philadelphia Phillies were easily handled by the Houston Astros, 5-0. 

Kyle Kendrick took the hill for Philly in this one and gave up four runs, all earned, in five innings. Meanwhile, the Astros used five pitchers to combine for the shutout. 

Phillies: 73-73 (third in NL East, sixth in wild card)

Miami Marlins 6, Cincinnati Reds 4 

Carlos Lee powered the Marlins, as he jacked a home run and drove in three runs.  

Mark Buehrle pitched 7.2 innings of strong baseball for Miami, giving up four runs and striking out seven for his 13th win. 

Johnny Cueto, now 17-9, picked up the loss for Cincinnati, as he gave up six runs, all earned, in just 4.1 innings. 

Reds: 87-59 (first place in NL Central)

San Francisco Giants 3, Arizona Diamondbacks 2

Buster Posey jacked a two-run shot in the fifth inning to cap off the Giants' scoring on the day at three. That was all they needed.

Giants starter Barry Zito, now 12-8, went 6.2 innings and allowed just six hits and one run while striking out four and walking one. 

Giants: 83-62 (first place in NL West)

Diamondbacks: 71-74 (third in NL West, seventh in wild card)

Milwaukee Brewers 9, New York Mets 6

In fifth place in the NL wild-card race, the Brewers have little margin for error. So it did not look good when they faced an early 4-1 deficit in the fourth inning. 

However, the Brewers erased that deficit with a five-run inning that was highlighted by Rickie Weeks' two-run blast. 

This was the 19th win in the last 25 games for the red-hot Brewers. 

Brewers: 73-72 (fourth in NL Central, fifth in wild card)

Los Angeles Dodgers 4, St. Louis Cardinals 3 

Juan Rivera pinch hit for catcher A.J. Ellis and hit an infield single to cap off a two-run bottom of the ninth for the Dodgers and hand Los Angeles a 4-3 win. 

With the big win, the Dodgers and Cardinals have the exact same record and are tied for the second and final NL wild-card spot. 

Jason Motte surrendered the Cardinals' two ninth-inning runs, both of which were earned. 

Cardinals: 76-70 (second place NL Central, tied for first in wild card)

Dodgers: 76-70 (second place in NL West, tied for first in wild card)

Standings

American League

AL EAST	W	L	GB
NY Yankees	82	63	-
Baltimore	81	64	1
Tampa Bay	78	67	4
AL CENTRAL	W	L	GB
Chicago Sox	78	66	-
Detroit	77	67	1
AL WEST	W	L	GB
Texas	86	59	-
Oakland	84	61	2
LA Angels	79	66	7.5

AL Wild Card	W	L	GB
Oakland	84	61	-
Baltimore	81	64	-
LA Angels	79	67	3
Tampa Bay	78	67	3.5
Detroit	77	67	4

National League

The race for the National League divisions is all but over. You can see that for yourself here. The race for the wild card, however, is alive and well. 

NL Wild Card	W	L	GB
Atlanta	83	63	-
St. Louis	76	70	-
LA Dodgers	76	70	-
Pittsburgh	73	71	2
Milwaukee	73	72	2.5
Philadelphia	73	73	3
Arizona	71	74	4.5