MLB Wrap: Angels snag majors' first playoff bid

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels became the first team in the major leagues to clinch a playoff spot on Monday night, with Matt Shoemaker pitching five-hit ball into the eighth inning of an 8-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

David Freese and Brennan Boesch homered for the big league-leading Angels (94-56), who reduced their magic number to three in the AL West race with their 11th victory in 12 games. Los Angeles is assured of at least a wild card berth in its first postseason since 2009.

Albert Pujols left the game in the third inning with a left hamstring cramp after hitting a three-run double off Hisashi Iwakuma (14-8) for Los Angeles' first runs.

The Mariners (80-69) dropped two games behind Kansas City for the second AL wild card spot with their fifth loss in six games (see full recap).

Nats move closer to NL East crown
ATLANTA -- Stephen Strasburg threw seven scoreless innings to end a long run of frustration against Atlanta, and the Nationals beat the struggling Braves 4-2 on Monday night to move to the verge of the NL East title.

The Nationals can clinch the division by beating the defending champion Braves on Tuesday night.

Strasburg (12-11) ended a streak of eight winless starts against Atlanta since 2012. He had been 0-3 with a 7.17 ERA against the Braves this season, including a 6-2 loss at Washington last Wednesday.

Wilson Ramos hit his 11th homer in the fifth. The Nationals led 4-0 before the Braves scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

The Braves (75-75) have lost four straight to fall to .500 for the first time since they were 1-1. They trail Pittsburgh for the second NL wild-card spot (see full recap).

Orioles one win away from AL East title
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles moved to the brink of claiming their first AL East title in 17 years, using a resilient pitching performance by Wei-Yin Chen to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 Monday night.

Baltimore can clinch the division crown with a win over Toronto on Tuesday. That would assure the Orioles their second playoff berth in three years following a run of 14 consecutive losing seasons.

Baltimore (90-60) leads the AL East by 12 1/2 games, its biggest advantage since 1979.

Chen (16-4) allowed two runs on nine hits over 5 2-3 innings to become the first Orioles lefty to win 16 games since Jimmy Key in 1997 -- the year Baltimore last won the AL East. Although he yielded at least one hit in every inning but the second, Chen improved to 13-2 in 23 starts since May 9.

Zach Britton worked the ninth for his 35th save in 39th opportunities (see full recap).

Dodgers ride big sixth inning to win
DENVER -- Pinch hitter Justin Turner ignited an eight-run sixth inning with a tiebreaking two-run double, and the surging Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 11-3 on Monday night.

It was the most runs the Dodgers have scored in an inning since Aug. 30, 2011, against San Diego.

Los Angeles showed no signs of a letdown after a big series win in San Francisco, where the Dodgers took two of three to extend their lead in the NL West.

Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer. and Adrian Gonzalez had three RBIs. Yasiel Puig showed more signs of getting back on track with two hits.

Jamey Wright (5-4) earned the win.

The Dodgers broke out in the sixth against Christian Bergman (2-4) and two relievers. They produced seven hits, including Turner's double to right that started the scoring spree (see full recap).

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