Mike Napoli Drives in Six for Rangers; Carlos Beltran Gets Cards Closer to Wild Card

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 30, 2012

American League

With only three games remaining in the regular season, it's getting down to elimination time in the AL.

At the end of the day Sunday, only three teams have qualified for the playoffs: the Yankees, Orioles and Rangers, but their actual positioning is yet to be determined.

Oakland continues to make the case for post-season play as either a wild card or West division champs, coming through with their third straight win, sweeping their series against Seattle with a 5-2 victory.

Mike Napoli

Oakland's win left them two games behind the Rangers in the division, as Texas split a double header with the Angels, winning the second game, 8-7, mostly thanks to the bat of catcher Mike Napoli, who homered twice and doubled, driving in six runs as the Rangers erased an early 4-0 lead. Napoli has 23 home runs and 55 RBI on the year.

Still in contention, though barely, are the White Sox, Angels and Rays, each of which can now only tie. Chicago trails Detroit in the Central by three, with just three games left. Tampa Bay and LA would have to win their remaining games and have the A's lose all three of their games, hosting the Rangers to finish the season.

In the final three days, the Rays host Baltimore, the Sox are at Cleveland and the Angels travel to Seattle. The Yankees host the Red Sox while Detroit plays their lest three at Kansas City.

National League

Carlos Beltran

Positioning for the National League's post-season is nearly complete, with just one division (NL East) and the second wild card still to be sorted out.

Carlos Beltran homered twice and singled in the final run for St. Louis as the Cardinals edged closer to the second wild card with a 10-4 win over Washington. Beltran drove in five runs as the Cards prevented the Nats from clinching the NL East.

St. Louis needs just one more victory to capture the second wild card. Los Angeles is two game back with three to play. The magic number for the Nats is still one, as the Braves topped the Mets, 6-2, to close to three games behind Washington in the East, though the Braves are already assured of the top wild card spot.