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For the 11th time since the 2000 season, the St. Louis Cardinals are heading to the postseason.*
Despite falling 7-2 to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday night, the Cardinals were able to enjoy a playoff berth for the fourth straight season and 27th time in franchise history. Jay Bruce hit two of the Reds' four home runs. Cincy broke open a close game against St. Louis's bullpen with four runs in the eighth, notably on a three-run homer by Devin Mesoraco.
No matter. With the Milwaukee Brewers losing at Pittsburgh earlier in the day, Team Fredbird's going to the World Series tournament.
"October baseball is where the fun's always at," right-hander Adam Wainwright told ESPN. "We're excited to be there for sure, but the road to where we want to go, being the eventual World Series champ — hopefully — we know that comes easier through winning our division."
PIRATES IN COMMAND OF WILD CARD:*The Brewers fell 1-0 to the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, ensuring Milwaukee cannot win the NL Central and won't make the playoffs at the expense of the Cardinals. They lead the division by 2 1/2 over the Bucs and seven over the Brewers.
Brewers slugger Carlos Gomez got caught in a rundown to short-circuit a rally in the ninth inning after Pirates right-hander Vance Worley pitched eight shutout innings.
''If I continued to run, it would have been really easy to make it to third because everybody broke for that ball and nobody was on third,'' Gomez said. ''So I don't know why I stopped. It's just a mistake that you learn from.''
Not that Milwaukee has much time. The Brewers are 9-21 since Aug. 20, and they trail the Pirates and San Francisco Giants by 4 1/2 games with a week to play. Pittsburgh is in position to make the playoffs for a second straight years after sustaining a record 20 straight losing seasons.
ROYALS AVOID SWEEP AGAINST TIGERS:*



Their prospects to win the AL Central were weakened significantly after dropping back-to-back games, but the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 5-2 at Kauffman Stadium to keep hope alive for some kind of playoff spot. It would be their first since 1985, when they won the World Series.
Nori Aoki broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run triple in the fourth, knocking Detroit starter Rick Porcello from the game. Royals right-hander Jeremy Guthrie allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings, and Kansas City's bullpen — Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland — combined to allow one hit over 3 2/3 scoreless.
Royals outfielder Alex Gordon made one of the more impressive catches of his career, a head-first dive into foul territory that ended with a hard smack into the fence. His shoulder appeared to be OK.
Kansas City trails by 1 1/2 games in the division, but a Royals-Tigers tie at the end of the regular season would give Detroit the title based on a 13-6 head-to-head record. The Royals also have to complete a suspended game Monday night against the Indians, whom they trail 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth.
DONALDSON COMES THROUGH FOR A'S:


The Oakland Athletics 8-6 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies won't be heading to any museums, but it might be enough to light a fire under them for the final week of the regular season. Slugger Josh Donaldson broke a tie in the bottom of the 10th with a majestic two-run home run to center against Miguel A. Gonzalez, keeping the A's a half-game ahead of the Royals for the top wild-card spot.

Via the Associated Press:
''Those are the moments I always want to be in,'' Donaldson said after his third game-ending homer of the year, matching, among others, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson for the franchise mark in a season.
Sean Doolittle pitched two innings for the victory, capping a strong bullpen performance overall, after left-hander Scott Kazmir struggled again. He has a 6.67 ERA in 10 starts since Aug. 3. Overall since Aug. 28, the A's are 7-16.
The Royals and A's got some help from the Houston Astros, who beat the Seattle Mariners 8-3. The M's dropped two of three games at Minute Maid Park and trail the Royals by 1 1/2 games (two in the loss column) in the wild-card race. The Indians, Yankees and Blue Jays also are alive for the wild-card spot,*
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter!
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