The door was open for the Toronto Blue Jays to move up into a playoff spot but they couldn't find a way through it.
The Blue Jays lost 6-5 Monday to remain one game back of the Cleveland Guardians for the final wild-card spot. The Guardians also lost, 7-3, to the Chicago White Sox, to squander a chance to overtake Chicago for the AL Central Division lead.
With the losses, both the idle Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles, winners over the New York Mets, were able to tighten the gap.
Here is where the American League playoff race stands after Monday's action.
Cleveland: vs. Chicago White Sox, 6:40 p.m., Sportsnet+
Toronto: vs. Detroit, 7:07 p.m., Sportsnet and Sportsnet+
Baltimore: vs. NY Mets, 7:10 p.m.
Minnesota: vs. NY Yankees, 7:40 p.m.
Texas: vs. Boston, 8:05 p.m., Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet+
MONDAY'S RESULTS
TIGERS 6, BLUE JAYS 5
TORONTO - Zach McKinstry scored on Louis Varland's fielding error in the ninth inning as the Detroit Tigers slipped past the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Monday.
Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle grounded to Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., with Varland running from the mound to cover the base. Varland missed Guerrero's throw and as Toronto's closer chased it down McKinstry raced home.
Brett Callahan's single up the left-field line tied it 5-5 in the eighth to help Detroit (71-79) win its fifth straight. Max Clark had a two-run double in the seventh and Spencer Torkelson drove him in with another double. Dillon Dingler had an RBI single earlier in the inning.
Troy Melton gave up two runs on five hits and four walks, only lasting 2 2/3 innings and striking out three. Relievers Beau Brieske, Tyler Holton, Kyle Finnegan, Tyler Kinley (7-5) and Kenley Jansen followed him to the mound.
Kazuma Okamoto's three-run homer in the seventh restored Toronto's (75-76) lead it had given up in the top of the inning. Alejandro Kirk had an RBI single and George Springer scored on a wild pitch for an early 2-0 lead in the first.
Jose Soriano was superb for the first six innings of the game, but his no-hit bid went sour in the seventh when he gave up four runs with one out. He struck out five and allowed five hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Paul Sewald, Joe Mantiply and Varland (5-6) came out of the Blue Jays' bullpen.
WHITE SOX 7, GUARDIANS 3
CLEVELAND — Tristan Peters fouled off 12 pitches in an 18-pitch plate appearance that keyed Chicago's six-run outburst in the sixth inning and the White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 on Monday night to stay atop the AL Central.
Kyle Teel hit a two-run double and Miguel Vargas connected for a two-run homer following Peters' lengthy plate appearance — the longest in MLB this season, and tied for the third longest since 2000.
The White Sox, who lost 102 games and finished last in 2025, won the opener of the showdown series to push their lead over the Guardians to 1 1/2 games. Chicago has led the division since July 4.
Sean Burke (9-7) didn't allow an earned run in five innings and Chicago's bullpen kept the Guardians in check as the White Sox improved to 7-4 against Cleveland to clinch the season series and tiebreaker.
The Guardians altered their rotation so Gavin Williams (13-8) could start the opener, and the right-hander gave them five solid innings. They needed six.
Chicago chased Williams and scored six in the sixth, helped by Peters' scrappiness in the batter's box and an error.
ORIOLES 2, METS 1
NEW YORK — Pete Alonso went hitless in his return to Citi Field but Gunnar Henderson launched a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning Monday night that lifted the Baltimore Orioles to a 2-1 win over the New York Mets.
Henderson went deep against Dedniel Núñez (1-1) immediately after Alonso struck out, helping the Orioles pull within three games of Cleveland for the last American League wild card.
Heston Kjerstad had an RBI double in the second.
A.J. Ewing homered for the Mets (69-81), who were eliminated from playoff contention and assured they won't have a winning season after starting the year with a record payroll of $358.4 million.
The Mets aired a nearly two-minute video tribute to Alonso, the franchise home run leader, shortly before first pitch. The 31-year-old slugger, who agreed to a $155 million, five-year contract with Baltimore last December after New York didn’t push to re-sign him as a free agent, doffed his cap and made a clapping motion as the crowd of 35,800 gave him a standing ovation.
Alonso was also greeted with standing ovations and chants of “Pete Alonso!" prior to each plate appearance. He flied out in the first and walked in the third, when he hooked his potential 300th career homer foul into the upper deck in left field, before grounding out in the fifth.
YANKEES 8, TWINS 3
MINNEAPOLIS — Aaron Judge hit his first home run since May 24 as the New York Yankees clinched their record 61st postseason berth and ninth in 10 years on Monday night.
Spencer Jones was batting with two outs in the eighth inning of an 8-3 win against Minnesota when Toronto lost to Detroit, assuring the Yankees of at least an AL wild card berth
Judge, who returned last week after missing more than three months because of a fractured rib, hit a three-run homer off A.J. Minter earlier in the six-run eighth to give the Yankees a 7-2 lead. Before the homer, the Yankees captain had been 3 for 20 with 11 strikeouts since returning.
New York began the night four games behind AL East leader Tampa Bay, which clinched a postseason berth on Friday.
The Yankees are seeking their first World Series title since 2009.
ANGELS 6, MARINERS 4
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Reid Detmers struck out eight over six innings, and Jose Siri and Denzer Guzman each drove in two runs to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the fading Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Monday night.
Detmers (6-8) allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk as third-place Seattle (70-81) dropped 5 1/2 games behind AL West-leading Houston with 11 to play.
Ryan Watson pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Ben Joyce walked two in the ninth before retiring J.P. Crawford on a lineout to first base for his fifth save.
Mike Trout had a one-out single in the first off Mariners rookie Kade Anderson (1-2). Siri hit an RBI double and stole third before scoring on Vaughn Grissom's sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.
DODGERS 4, REDS 1
CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their 14th consecutive playoff berth with a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night behind Tarik Skubal's seven shutout innings and home runs by Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández.
Los Angeles tied the record set by Atlanta from 1991 through 2005.
The two-time defending World Series champions cut their magic number to three for a fifth straight NL West title and 13th in 14 seasons. The Dodgers became the third team assured of a playoff spot after Milwaukee and Tampa Bay.
Skubal (10-7) allowed three hits, struck out nine and walked one as he gained his second win against Cincinnati in seven days. Skubal allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings in a 3-2 victory on Sept. 8.
He is 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA in eight starts since the Dodgers (91-59) acquired him from the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 2.
Elly de la Cruz hit a 457-foot homer to center off Evan Phillips in the ninth, the longest homer by a Cincinnati player this season and the longest this year at Great American Ballpark.
CUBS 7, BRAVES 3
CHICAGO — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 42nd homer to match the Cubs record for a left-handed batter and finished with four hits and four RBIs to power Chicago past the Atlanta Braves 7-3 on Monday night.
Crow-Armstrong’s two-run shot to right in the sixth inning off AJ Smith-Shawver pulled him even with Hall of Famer Billy Williams’ mark from 1970. Crow-Armstrong has 102 RBIs, putting the All-Star center fielder over 100 for the first time in three full seasons.
David Peterson (8-8) allowed one run on three hits over six-plus innings. Chicago has won three of four and moved one-half game ahead of idle Philadelphia for the top NL wild card.
Crow-Armstrong also hit a two-run double in his seventh four-hit game this season. Nico Hoerner had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run.
CARDINALS 2, GIANTS 1
ST. LOUIS — Quinn Mathews took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Alec Burleson had an RBI single to lead St. Louis to a victory over San Francisco.
Rookie catcher Leo Bernal also singled home a run for the Cardinals. Mathews (2-3) retired his first 10 batters before walking Bryce Eldridge in the fourth and didn’t give up a hit until Grant McCray doubled leading off the sixth.
The 25-year-old rookie left-hander struck out eight and allowed a run on four hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings — the longest of his seven major league starts.
Ryne Stanek stranded two in a scoreless eighth and Riley O’Brien retired Christian Koss on a groundout with runners at second and third for his 37th save in 45 opportunities.
Thomas Saggese singled with one out in the fifth off Giants starter Landen Roupp (9-14) and stole second. Iván Herrera walked to chase Roupp, and Burleson singled on the first pitch from Reiver Sanmartin for his 110th RBI and 61st hit with runners in scoring position — both totals top the majors.
PADRES 8, ROCKIES 7
DENVER — Manny Machado and Fernandez Tatis homered, helping the San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 8-7 Monday night to match their longest winning streak this season at eight games.
San Diego (82-68) clinched a fifth straight winning season for the first time in club history. The Padres began the night with a 2 1/2-game lead over Arizona for the NL’s final wild card.
Colorado has lost eight games in a row for the first time since August 2025 is 5-21 since Aug. 16. The Rockies (55-95) must win at least eight of their last 12 games to avoid becoming the first team with four-consecutive 100-loss seasons since the New York Mets from 1962-65.
San Diego is 9-1 against the Rockies this season and has won 19 of its last 23 games against the Rockies.
San Diego, which was outhit 14-13, led 6-1 in the fifth inning only for the Rockies to close 6-5 in the sixth. Each team scored a run in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Mason Miller pitched a one-hit ninth for his 37th save in 39 chances. He is tied for the NL saves lead with the St. Louis Cardinals' Riley O’Brien.
Machado hit his 28th homer of the season and 397th of his big league career in the first and TJ Rumfield had a tying RBI single in the bottom half. Jake Cronenworth hit a go-ahead single in a four-run second that included Freddy Fermin's sacrifice fly and Tatis' two-run homer, a 449-foot drive.
DIAMONDBACKS 8, MARLINS 7
PHOENIX — Corbin Carroll hit a winning, two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied from a late three-run deficit to beat the Miami Marlins 8-7 on Monday night and keep pace in the National League playoff race.
Carroll pulled a splitter from reliever Jack Ralston (0-1) over the right field fence for his 21st homer of the season. It was big moment for the star outfielder, who has struggled since the All-Star break with a .214 batting average.
The D-backs are still 2 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres — who have won eight straight — for the final NL wild card.
Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks started the ninth, but walked leadoff hitter Gabriel Moreno and threw one pitch to Geraldo Perdomo before leaving with an apparent injury. Ralston entered and retired Perdomo on a sacrifice bunt before Carroll's homer that stayed just inside the right field foul pole.
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