MLB Games for 9/21

There are some great matchups today. Here are the games for the day.

American League

Oakland Athletics (85-64) vs. New York Yankees (86-63) 7:05 PM ET  

Minnesota Twins (62-88) vs. Detroit Tigers (79-70) 7:05 PM ET

Toronto Blue Jays (66-82) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (80-70) 7:10 PM ET

Baltimore Orioles (85-64) vs. Boston Red Sox (68-83) 7:10 PM ET

Cleveland Indians (62-88) vs. Kansas City Royals (68-81) 8:10 PM ET

Chicago White Sox (81-68) vs. Los Angeles Angels (81-69) 10:05 PM ET

The Los Angeles Angels are losing ground in the American League wild-card race and need Mike Trout to break out of a slump as they open a three-game series against the visiting Chicago White Sox. The Angels have slipped to 4 1/2 games behind Baltimore and Oakland for the wild-card spots. Trout has gone 10 games without an RBI and has just three all month. Chicago leads Detroit by two games in the AL Central.

The White Sox hope to have Paul Konerko’s bat in the lineup after he missed Thursday’s loss to Kansas City due to back soreness. Konerko is 5-for-7 at Angel Stadium this season and has 23 career homers against the Angels. Chicago had won five straight before losing back-to-back games to the Royals. Los Angeles scored just three runs while losing its last two games to the Texas Rangers. Trout is 1-for-14 over the last four games and first baseman Albert Pujols has just one homer and five RBIs in 16 September games.

Texas Rangers (89-60) vs. Seattle Mariners (70-80) 10:10 PM ET

National League

St. Louis Cardinals (80-70) vs. Chicago Cubs (58-92) 2:20 PM ET

Atlanta Braves (86-64) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (76-74) 7:05 PM ET

Milwaukee Brewers (77-72) vs. Washington Nationals (91-58) 7:05 PM ET

Miami Marlins (66-84) vs. New York Mets (66-83) 7:10 PM ET

Los Angeles Dodgers (77-73) vs. Cincinnati Reds (91-59) 7:10 PM ET

The Cincinnati Reds clinched at least a wild-card spot on Thursday and can sew up their second National League Central crown in three years when they open a three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. Cincinnati’s magic number is two and the clinching could occur Friday if the Reds win and the St. Louis Cardinals lose to the Chicago Cubs. The Dodgers have lost 10 of 14 games and their wild-card hopes are fading.

Reds manager Dusty Baker missed the last two games of Cincinnati’s four-game winning streak after being hospitalized in Chicago due to an irregular heartbeat. Baker isn’t expected to manage Friday but will return to Cincinnati. Bench coach Chris Speier is 6-0 as a fill-in manager since 2008. The Dodgers are three games behind the Cardinals for the NL’s second wild card. Los Angeles is struggling on offense despite a lineup that includes first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and outfielders Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Shane Victorino. The Dodgers have scored just 48 runs in 17 September games, a paltry average of 2.8 per outing.

Pittsburgh Pirates (74-75) vs. Houston Astros (48-102) 8:05 PM ET

Arizona Diamondbacks (74-75) vs. Colorado Rockies (58-91) 8:10 PM ET

San Diego Padres (72-78) vs. San Francisco Giants (87-63) 10:15 PM ET

Check the latest MLB Scores and Odds