Eight teams in the National League are vying for four post-season spots heading into the regular season’s final weekend.
The Marlins, Phillies, Cardinals, Reds, Brewers and Giants are the top teams still in contention — and they are packed tightly with slots available for one team from the NL East, another from the NL Central and then two wild cards.
The Mets (26-31) and Rockies (25-31) are mathematically eligible, but need to win out just to have a shot.
Photo: AP
Only one playoff spot remains open in the American League, and Michael Brantley and the Astros are on the verge of clinching it.
BLUE JAYS 4, YANKEES 1
Hyun Jin-ryu (5-2) pitched seven shutout innings as Toronto clinched their first post-season spot since 2016, beating the Yankees on Thursday and further damaging New York’s chances of hosting a first-round playoff series.
Photo: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY
New York lost for the fourth time in five games and remained two games behind the slumping White Sox for the fourth seed.
Toronto secured at least an AL wild-card spot and ensured their eighth trip overall to the post-season.
The Blue Jays trail the Yankees by two games for second place in the AL East. Both teams have three games remaining.
ROCKIES 5, GIANTS 4
Raimel Tapia hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 11th inning as Colorado rallied to keep San Francisco from gaining ground in the National League wild-card race.
Jairo Diaz earned his fourth save by getting Austin Slater to ground into a game-ending double play.
The Giants (28-28), winners of three of their past five, dropped behind idle Cincinnati for the first NL wild card.
INDIANS 5, WHITE SOX 4
Jose Ramirez delivered a go-ahead, two-run double in the seventh inning as Cleveland beat Chicago for a four-game sweep in a matchup of playoff-bound teams.
The victory pulled the Indians within one game of Chicago for the fourth seed and home-field advantage in the first round of the post-season.
Idle Minnesota lead the White Sox by one game in the AL Central with three to play.
CARDINALS 4, BREWERS 2
Yadier Molina singled twice to reach 2,000 career hits as St Louis began a five-game series between playoff contenders by beating Milwaukee.
Rookie Dylan Carlson homered, doubled and drove in three runs as the Cardinals (28-26) kept their slim lead over Cincinnati (29-28) for second place in the NL Central.
In other games on Thursday, it was:
‧ Marlins 4, Braves 2
‧ Pirates 7, Cubs 0
‧ Mets 3, Nationals 2
‧ Dodgers 5, Athletics 1
‧ Astros 12, Rangers 4
‧ Orioles 13, Red Sox 1
‧ Royals 8, Tigers 7
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