Welcome to USA Today's coverage of the wild-card races. The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays entered the day tied for the final playoff spot in the AL, while the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals are also deadlocked and seeking the last berth in the NL.
BOX SCORES: �MLB scoreboard
TIEBREAKER: �Times set for potential wild-card games
If any of the berths are not decided, a one-game playoff would be played Thursday.
The Daily Pitch will keep you posted on all the significant developments of the night: (Note: All times ET):
Boston at Baltimore: Probables: Jon Lester (15-9, 3.49 ERA) vs. Alfredo Simon (4-9, 4.85 ERA)
N.Y. Yankees at Tampa Bay: Probables: Dellin Betances vs. David Price (12-13, 3.35 ERA)
Philadelphia at Atlanta: Probables: Joe Blanton (1-2, 5.03 ERA) vs. Tim Hudson (16-10, 3.23 ERA)
St. Louis at Houston: Probables: Chris Carpenter (10-9, 3.59 ERA) vs. Brett Myers (7-13, 4.31 ERA)
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8:06 p.m.: Hardy's towering homer to left puts Orioles ahead 2-1 in third.
8:04 p.m.: Uggla's two-run homer gives Braves a big lift right after Bourn gets caught stealing.
7:55 p.m.: Teixeira grand slam puts Yankees up 5-0 and evokes a small ovation from Red Sox fans watching the game and the scoreboard at Camden Yards.
7:50 p.m.: Red Sox start peppering Simon, laying off the breaking ball and jumping on his fastball. Pedroia RBI single puts Boston ahead 1-0 in third.
7:40 p.m.: Ben Zobrist had made just five errors in 130 games at second base this season before booting that routine Cano grounder that allowed the Yankees to score in the first.
7:29 p.m.: The same way shutdown innings have a big psychological impact on teams to keep momentum, responding right away after falling behind has the same effect, so it was important for the Braves to tie the game in the bottom of the first.
7:25 p.m.: Jon Lester was 0-3 with a 10.54 ERA in his last three starts, but he looks sharp in the first inning despite allowing an opposite-field double to J.J. Hardy.
7:19 p.m.: Ryan Howard slices a single to left field to put Phillies up 1-0 in first inning. Bad omen for a team like Atlanta that has to be doubting itself.
7:18 p.m.: Simon works around walk to David Ortiz by getting Adrian Gonzalez to ground out.
7:01 p.m.: Hudson is 9-3 w/ a 1.99 ERA and .194 opp. avg. in his past 16 home starts, including 4-0 w/ a 1.00 ERA in his past 5.
6:44 p.m.: 6-foot-8 prospect Dellin Betances to start for the Yankees against Rays.
6:38 p.m.: The Rays have made up nine games on the Red Sox in the standings since Sept. 3. The Cardinals have made up 10 1/2 on the Braves since Aug. 25.
6:35 p.m.: Alex Rodriguez was scratched from the Yankees lineup with a sore right knee.
6:25 p.m.: Red Sox sticking with rookie C Ryan Lavarnway behind plate (2 HRs on Tuesday)
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