With San Francisco’s loss to Arizona, the Cardinals became the first team to clinch a playoff spot, but the Cardinals have their sights set on the Central Division and the best record in the National League. The Cardinals lost again to the Cubs 5-4, and Pittsburgh rallied to beat the Dodgers 3-2, keeping the magic number in place.
Cardinals magic number to clinch the Central Division — 11
Cardinals 92-56
Pittsburgh 88-60
Former Missouri Tiger Ian Kinsler hit a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to push the Detroit Tigers past the Royals 6-5 late Saturday night. The Royals are only getting help from the fact that the Twins dropped a doubleheader to the Angels on Saturday, knocking two games off the magic number. The Royals, one-time big leaders for the best record in the American League now just own a one-game lead over Toronto who sits at 85-63 heading into Sunday.
Royals magic number to clinch the Central Division — 4
Royals 86-62
Minnesota 75-73
The magic number is determined by taking 163 and subtracting the number of wins for the Cardinals (or Royals) and subtracting the number of losses for the Pirates (and Twins) respectively.