The Reds beat the Giants 5-2 in Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday night, their first playoff win in 17 years.

Cincinnati hadn't won a playoff game since Game 3 of their 1995 NLDS series against the Dodgers.

"It's been that long?" Brandon Phillips asked. "It feels good, shows the fans that we will be playing more games in Cincinnati. All you can do is win for the city and for your teammates. And we all have the same mission: to get the ring. And I want to keep on doing that until I get the ring."

The Nationals closed the regular season with a win over the Phillies, securing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

"It's quite an accomplishment," Ryan Zimmerman said. "Obviously winning the division was a goal and now we've done that and we have a chance to go do some stuff in the playoffs. This is a great season, a great team, a good group of guys, and we accomplished a lot that we should be proud of."

Washington's 98 wins were the most in baseball this season.

A team from the nation's capital hasn't participated in Major League Baseball action beyond the regular season since the Senators lost the 1933 World Series.

The Oakland A's defeated the Texas Rangers by a final score of 12-5 to win the American League West.

"It's kind of like the story of our whole season," reliever Sean Doolittle said of Wednesday's comeback win. "At the end of June, we were 13 games back, we had injuries, young guys stepping up, and we were never out of it.

"It wasn't if we were going to do it. It was how or when we were going to do it."

The A's are only the third team in history to win a division or pennant while holding first place for only one day as the Twins did in 2006 and the Giants in 1951.

The Cardinals lost to the Reds on Tuesday night, but still clinched a playoff berth a few hours later when the Dodgers lost to the Giants.

St. Louis will face Atlanta on Friday in the new one-game Wild Card playoff.

"It's a great feeling. It's a wonderful accomplishment," John Mozeliak said. "I couldn't be more proud of these guys and especially Mike Matheny for what he was able to do with his leadership."

The Orioles have clinched their first playoff berth since 1997.

Baltimore defeated Boston 6-3 on Sunday and later clinched the berth when Texas defeated Los Angeles in the second game of a double-header.

The Orioles are tied with the Yankees, who also clinched at least a Wild Card berth, for first place in the American League East. Baltimore will close the season with three games against Tampa Bay.

At 92-67, Baltimore already has 23 more wins than they did in 2011.

The Rangers clinched a playoff berth with an 8-7 win over the Angels on Sunday night, clinching a playoff berth in the American League.

Texas hasn't locked up the AL West title yet, but they will at least be a Wild Card entrant. They need just one win in their season-ending series against Oakland to ensure a division title.

The victory was marred by Adrian Beltre's exit in the seventh inning. He reaggravated a left shoulder strain.

"Hopefully it's nothing serious, and I'll be back out there tomorrow," Beltre said. "I knew it was pretty sore, but I couldn't afford to sit. I didn't say anything to anybody. I tried to get through it but [Ron Washington] didn't let me finish."

The Yankees rallied from an early deficit against the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon to win 9-6 and later clinch a postseason berth.

New York has been to the playoffs in 17 of the last 18 seasons.

"Tonight was a season-defining game for us," Nick Swisher said. "We could have gone down big like that and just packed it in, but that's not this team's M.O. That's not how we approach it."

The Yankees and Orioles are tied for first place in the American League East with three games left. New York is assured of at least a Wild Card spot.