Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer to become the first Dodgers player in 70 years to lead the NL in home runs and RBIs, and Los Angeles held off a late rally to beat the playoff-bound Arizona Diamondbacks 7-5 on Wednesday night. Kemp hit his 39th homer in the seventh inning to pass Milwaukee's Prince Fielder for the league lead and finished with 126 RBIs, second-most in Dodgers history to Tommy Davis' 153 in 1962.

Jose Reyes, in the lead for the NL batting crown, delivered a bunt single to lead off the bottom of the first inning of the Mets' 3-0 win over the Reds. He then was pulled as Mets manager Terry Collins adhered to the shortstop's request to be removed if he singled. Reyes' strategy paid dividends, as Milwaukee's Ryan Braun went 0-for-4 to finish at .332, five points behind Reyes' .337. Reyes becomes the first player in Mets history to win a batting title, finishing the season with 181 hits in 537 at-bats.

The Rays clinched the AL wild card with a stunning rally Wednesday night, overcoming a late seven-run deficit and then beating the Yankees 8-7 on Evan Longoria's home run in the 12th inning. The Rays' win came four minutes after Boston blew a one-run lead in the ninth at Baltimore and lost 4-3. The Red Sox, who held a nine-game lead over the Rays in early September, and Tampa Bay began the final day of the regular season tied for the wild card.

Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals completed one of baseball's greatest comebacks, clinching the NL wild card Wednesday night with an 8-0 win over the Astros and a later loss by the Braves. The Cardinals got their playoff spot when the Braves fell to the Phillies 4-3 in 13 innings. St. Louis trailed Atlanta by 10 1/2 games on Aug. 25. The Cardinals won 23 of their last 31 games. The Cardinals will open the postseason on Saturday at NL East champion Philadelphia. In the other NL playoff matchup, Arizona visits Milwaukee.

The Cardinals missed out on a chance to tie the Braves in the National League Wild Card race on Monday night. St. Louis lost 5-4 to Houston on a walk-off hit in the 10th inning. The Phillies had defeated the Braves 4-2. The Cards had won 15 of 20 to close the gap on the Braves, who have dropped 16 of 25 games in September following Monday's loss to Philadelphia. "If you've watched us over the last two weeks, everything's been perfect," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "We've had some really hard games that most of the time, we win. We've only had a couple get away." "I kept liking the way we went after it and created situations," he added. "You just tip your cap when they made pitches and got us out."

The Rays defeated the Yankees 5-2 on Monday night, allowing them to pull even with the Red Sox in the American League Wild Card race. The Red Sox fell 6-3 to the Orioles on Monday night. "It's great. We're really into it. We feel good about this. We like our chances," Tampa Bay mananger Joe Maddon said. "There's a real strong believability about what we're trying to accomplish right now," the manager added. "It means something to be that far back at the beginning of this month and now we're tied with a couple of games to go. That's quite an accomplishment in and of itself. But when you get to this point, you really want to finish things off." If the Red Sox and Rays are tied at the end of the regular season, there will be a one-game playoff on Thursday in Tampa.

Jacoby Ellsbury slugged a three-run home run in the top of the 14th inning at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night to allow the Red Sox to maintain a one-game lead over the Rays in the American League Wild Card race. The win snapped a four-game losing streak. There are three games left in the regular season. Boston held a nine-game lead over the Rays entering play Sept. 4 but has gone 5-16 since then. They held a 1.5-game lead going into Sunday's action. The Rays beat the Blue Jays and the Red Sox lost the first game of a double-header against the Yankees. "We just put ourselves in a good position, that's all we can do," Ellsbury said after the game.

The Orioles kept Justin Verlander from recording his 25th win of the season by hammering him for five runs in the first three innings on Saturday. Verlander ended up with a no-decision in Detroit's 6-5 comeback victory. He had won his previous 12 starts. He would have been the first 25-game winner in 20 years. "Our guys were really trying to get back into the game and help Justin get that win, but in some ways, it is better that it is over," manager Jim Leyland said. "Now he doesn't have to answer questions every day about the streak and he doesn't have to answer questions about 25 wins. He can just get ready for his first start in the playoffs." Verlander, who last lost on July 15, was bidding to become the first pitcher to win 13 starts in a row since Ellis Kinder of the Red Sox in 1949.

The Yankees rallied late against the Rays on Wednesday afternoon to win 4-2 in New York and clinch a playoff berth. New York's magic number was two prior to the game, with the team needing a win and a Tampa Bay loss to get in. The Yankees can wrap up the American League East title on Wednesday night if they win Game 2 of their double-header and the Red Sox fall to the Orioles.

Chipper Jones lost Emilio Bonifacio's two-out chopper in the lights before Omar Infante hit a game-ending homer off Craig Kimbrel, giving the Marlins a 6-5 victory Monday night. Atlanta now has dropped three of four, and its NL wild-card lead is down to 2 1/2 games over St. Louis, which beat Roy Halladay and the Phillies 4-3 in Philadelphia.