Four teams determined not to relinquish their chances of a division title forced Major League Baseball to an unprecedented extra day of the season. Not one, but two winner-take-all games loom on Monday to determine the champions of the National League’s West and Central division, after the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers played Game 162 with a playoff-like urgency – and steamrolled their competitors by a combined score of 48-5. The anticlimactic Sunday will yield to a taut pair of Game 163s on Monday – with a quartet of division rivals finally face to face. It will be the first time in baseball history two divisions will be determined by one-game playoff. And it’s the first time since MLB went to a two-wild card format in 2012 that a division winner was determined by playoff. Up first: The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, from Wrigley Field at 1:05 p.m. ET. Chicago defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Sunday as the Brewers routed the Detroit Tigers 11-0. The second leg: The Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers, from Dodger Stadium at 4:08 ET/1:08 PT. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN. A closer look at what looms: Brewers at Cubs (1:05 ET/12:05 CT) Records: 95-67 How they got here: The Cubs needed to win four of their five final games to stave off the Brewers, who swept the Tigers to erase a one-game final-weekend deficit. Head-to-head: The Cubs were 11-8 against the Brewers, with Milwaukee winning four of the six games between the clubs in September. Likely pitching plan: The Cubs will start lefty Jose Quintana, while Milwaukee did not announce a starter. Jhoulys Chacin is on turn to start, but manager Craig Counsell could opt for a "bullpen" game, as he did earlier this week in a key game at St. Louis. At stake: The winner will play host to the wild-card winner in the NL Division Series, starting Thursday. The loser must win a home wild-card game on Tuesday against the Rockies-Dodgers loser. Rockies at Dodgers (4:08 ET/1:08 PT) Records: 91-71 How they got here: The Dodgers swept their rivals in San Francisco, including by a 15-0 count on Sunday, to overcome a one-game divisional deficit this weekend. Colorado beat Washington 12-0 on Sunday, capping a stirring 9-1 finish. Head-to-head: The Dodgers went 12-7 against the Rockies, including a 6-3 mark at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles swept three from Colorado Sept. 17-19 to build what seemed a sturdy 2 1/2-game lead. Likely pitching plan: The Dodgers will start dominant rookie Walker Buehler, while the Rockies have German Marquez lined up. At stake: The winner will play host to the first two games of an NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, beginning Thursday. The loser travels to the Brewers-Cubs loser.<doc-sep>The final day of the 2018 regular season is in the books and several National League postseason spots remain up for grabs. As per recent tradition, every game started at approximately 3 p.m. ET on Sunday to maximize drama. It's was a fun day, baseball fans. Here's everything you need to know about Sunday's MLB action. Sunday's scores Two tiebreaker games on tap Monday For the first time in baseball history, there will be two Game 163 tiebreaker games the day after the end of the regular season. The 162-game regular season was not enough to decide the NL Central and NL West races. Going into Sunday, the Cubs needed a win and a Brewers loss to clinch the NL Central. The Brewers needed a win and a Cubs loss to clinch. The same applied in the NL West. The Dodgers and Rockies needed a win while the other team lost to clinch the division title. So what happened? The Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, and Rockies all won Sunday. Handily too. The combined score of those four games: 48-5. Never underestimate the "they're all playing teams that have been eliminated and just want to go home" aspect of the final day of the regular season. Because the Brewers and Cubs are tied atop the NL Central and the Dodgers and Rockies are tied atop the NL West, there will be two Game 163 tiebreaker games Monday. The schedule: 1:05 p.m. ET: Brewers at Cubs (winner wins NL Central, loser hosts the Wild Card Game) Brewers at Cubs (winner wins NL Central, loser hosts the Wild Card Game) 4:09 p.m. ET: Rockies at Dodgers (winner wins NL West, loser is road team in Wild Card Game) It is entirely possible the Dodgers' path to the NLDS will involve winning in San Francisco on Sunday, losing in Los Angeles on Monday, and winning in Chicago or Milwaukee in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday. The two tiebreaker games Monday will be MLB's first tiebreaker games since the Rays beat the Rangers in Game 163 in 2013 to claim the second wild-card spot. Monday's games will determine the NL Central champion, the NL West champion, and the two wild card teams. Total chaos. Can't wait. Yelich still has a chance at Triple Crown Thanks to Monday's tiebreaker game, Brewers outfielder and MVP candidate Christian Yelich will still have a chance to win the first Triple Crown in the National League since Hall of Famer Joe Medwick with the 1937 Cardinals. Game 163 goes into the books as a regular season game. The stats count. Here's where Yelich sits in the Triple Crown categories: Batting average: .323 (leads by 14 points) .323 (leads by 14 points) Home runs: 36 (one behind Nolan Arenado for NL lead) 36 (one behind Nolan Arenado for NL lead) Runs batted in: 109 (trails Javier Baez by two for NL lead) The batting title is in the bag. Hitting two home runs to pass Arenado and picking up three runs batted in to pass Baez will be awfully tough. To make it even tougher, Arenado and Baez are both playing in tiebreaker games Monday as well! So they can still pad their season totals. Maybe the Game 163 aspect makes it unfair, but winning the Triple Crown is really cool, and Yelich still has a chance to do it Monday. Blackmon hits for the cycle In what amounted to a must-win game for the Rockies, Charlie Blackmon delivered the first ever Game 162 cycle in baseball history on Sunday. Blackmon had a triple in the first inning, a homer in the third inning, an infield single in the fifth inning, and a double in the eighth inning. Here's the homer: Blackmon's cycle is the fourth in baseball this season. Mookie Betts hit for the cycle in early August and Yelich hit for the cycle twice in the span of 20 days recently. Blackmon had the ninth cycle in Rockies history and the first since Arenado hit for the cycle last August. A's Davis finishes with .247 average For the fourth consecutive season, Khris Davis is a .247 hitter. Davis went 0 for 2 on Sunday before being removed from the game as part of the A's mass exodus in the meaningless regular season finale. Here are his batting averages the last four years carried out another decimal point: 2015: .2474 .2474 2016: .2468 .2468 2017: . 2473 2473 2018: .2465 So, technically, Davis hit .247 for the fourth straight season and also finished with his lowest batting average in those four years. Still a pretty neat bit of symmetry. When you've hit 40-plus home runs in three straight seasons like Davis, walking around with a .247 batting average 24/7 is A-OK. Andujar ties AL rookie record Yankees rookie third baseman Miguel Andujar strengthened his Rookie of the Year case with his 47th double of the season Sunday afternoon. The high fly ball clanked in and out of Brock Holt's glove near the Green Monster. Andujar's double is notable because it tied Fred Lynn's American League rookie doubles record. Here are the most doubles among AL rookies all-time: Miguel Andujar, 2018 Yankees: 47 Fred Lynn, 1975 Red Sox: 47 Hal Trosky, 1934 Indians: 45 Roy Johnson, 1929 Tigers: 45 Shoeless Joe Jackson, 1911 Naps: 45 Andujar broke Joe DiMaggio's franchise rookie record with his 45th double early in the season. As recently as last Opening Day, DiMaggio held he rookie franchise record for doubles (44) and home runs (29). Now those records are held by Andujar (47) and Aaron Judge (52), respectively. Flaherty finishes with impressive strikeout rate Cardinals rookie righty Jack Flaherty did not finish his season on a strong note Sunday -- he allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings to the Cubs -- but it was an overall excellent season for the 22-year-old. He threw 151 innings with a 3.34 ERA in 28 starts. Flaherty also posted the fourth highest strikeout rate in history for a rookie pitcher (min. 150 innings): Kerry Wood, 1998 Cubs: 33.3 percent of batters faced Doc Gooden, 1984 Mets: 31.4 percent Hideo Nomo, 1995 Dodgers: 30.3 percent Jack Flaherty, 2018 Cardinals: 29.6 percent Noah Syndergaard, 2015 Mets & Jose Fernandez, 2013 Marlins: 27.5 percent That is some company for Mr. Flaherty. Heck of a rookie season for him. Orioles one-hit Astros The 47-115 Orioles closed out their season on a high note. Three Orioles pitchers (Jimmy Yacabonis, Paul Fry, Mychal Givens) combined to one-hit the defending World Series champion Astros on Sunday. Granted, the Astros subbed out most of their regulars in the early innings and played more to not get hurt than win, but still. A one-hitter is pretty cool. Even with the one-hit loss, the Astros just wrapped up one of the most dominant regular seasons in baseball history. Beyond their 103-59 record, they finished with one of the best runs scored to runs allowed differentials in baseball since World War II. The list: 1969 Orioles: 1.51 2018 Astros: 1.49 1954 Indians: 1.48 1948 Indians: 1.48 2001 Mariners: 1.48 The Astros are a juggernaut. I'm not sure there's a team I'd rather face less in a short postseason series than Houston. Quick hits Relive updates from Sunday's regular season final If the live blog does not load properly, please click here.<doc-sep>The final Tuesday of the 2018 regular season brought us a rain-shortened slate of big league games. Here's an update on the postseason races and here's everything you need to know about Tuesday's MLB action. Tuesday's scores Brewers inch closer to Cubs The NL Central race might go down to the wire, folks. Tuesday night the Brewers routed the Cardinals thanks to NL MVP candidate (favorite?) Christian Yelich, who had a three-run triple and a three-run home run. He went into Tuesday's game hitting an insane .360/.427/.732 with 21 home runs in 59 games since the All-Star break. While the Brewers were busy beating up on the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, the Cubs were shut out by the Pirates at Wrigley Field. Here are Chicago's runs scored totals in their last six games against the Pirates: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0. Huh. The Cubs won two of those six games, so I guess it could've been worse. The Brewers reduced their magic number for a postseason spot to one and Tuesday's outcomes mean they are a half-game behind the Cubs in the NL Central. Here is each team's remaining schedule: Brewers: One game vs. Cardinals, three games vs. Tigers. One game vs. Cardinals, three games vs. Tigers. Cubs: Two games vs. Pirates, three games vs. Cardinals. The Cubs have already clinched a postseason berth. They don't have to worry about that. But their magic number to clinch the NL Central title remains five with five games to play, and given how well the Brewers are playing (not to mention their remaining schedule), the Cubbies just might need to win out to win the division. Rockies move into wild-card position With an assist from the Brewers, the Rockies jumped over the Cardinals and into the second wild-card spot. They blew the Phillies out at home to hold up their part of the bargain. David Dahl clubbed a three-run home run to break the game open early. Tuesday's win was the fifth straight win for the Rockies and, because the D-Backs walked off with a win over the Dodgers, Colorado is now a half-game back of the NL West lead. The Rockies and Dodgers are tied in the loss column. Here are the remaining schedules for the three clubs: Cardinals: One game vs. Brewers, three games vs. Cubs. One game vs. Brewers, three games vs. Cubs. Dodgers: One game vs. D-Backs, three games vs. Giants. One game vs. D-Backs, three games vs. Giants. Rockies: Two games vs. Phillies, three games vs. Nationals. As a fan of chaos, I hope the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Rockies all finish with an identical record this season. In that case the Dodgers and Rockies would play a tiebreaker game to decide the NL West champ, then the loser of that game would play a tiebreaker with the Cardinals to determine the second wild-card team. Fun! Scherzer hits strikeout milestone For the first time since 2002, a right-handed pitcher has struck out 300 batters in a season. That pitcher: Max Scherzer. The Nationals ace fanned 10 Marlins on Tuesday night to give him 300 strikeouts on the nose this season. He's the first righty pitcher with 300 strikeouts since Curt Schilling (316) in 2002. Max Scherzer WAS • SP • 31 September 25 vs. Marlins IP 7 H 5 R 1 ER 1 BB 0 K 10 View Profile Scherzer is only the third pitcher in the last 15 years to strike out 300 batters in a season. Here are the last five 300-strikeout seasons: Max Scherzer, 2018 Nationals: 300 strikeouts 300 strikeouts Chris Sale, 2017 Red Sox: 308 strikeouts 308 strikeouts Clayton Kershaw, 2015 Dodgers: 301 strikeouts 301 strikeouts Randy Johnson, 2002 D-Backs: 334 strikeouts 334 strikeouts Curt Schilling, 2002 D-Backs: 316 strikeouts It's unclear whether Scherzer will pitch again this season. He could start on normal rest Sunday, on the final day of the regular season, though the Nationals have already been eliminated from postseason contention and may simply shut Scherzer down rather than have him make a meaningless start. Although strikeouts are at an all-time high -- MLB is on pace to set a new single-season strikeout rate record for the 13th time in the last 14 years -- 300-strikeout seasons are becoming few and far between because pitchers simply don't throw as may innings as they once did. It takes a special blend of durability and dominance to get there. Scherzer's one of the few who have it. Astros win 100th game For the 100th time this season, the Astros were victorious Tuesday night. Houston improved to 100-57 on the season with crisp 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. Alex Bregman strengthened his MVP case with a two-run home run in the first inning The Astros went 101-61 en route to winning the World Series last season and they are the first team to win 100-plus games in back-to-back seasons since the 2004-05 Cardinals. St. Louis went 105-57 in 2004 and 100-62 in 2015 More importantly, the Astros are on the verge of clinching their second straight AL West title. Tuesday's win knocked their magic number down to one, meaning their worst case scenario right now is a Game 163 tiebreaker with the Athletics to decide the division crown. Sanchez breaks out for Yankees Was Tuesday night Gary Sanchez's long-waited breakout? The Yankees backstop has endured a brutal season -- he went into Tuesday hitting .180/.280/.386 with an MLB leading 17 passed balls in 85 games around a series of groin injuries -- but, Tuesday night, he went 2 for 4 with a walk and a three-run home run to break the game open. Tuesday's win lowered New York's magic number for home field advantage in the Wild Card Game to three. Assuming they do clinch home field advantage at some point, it'll be the third time in the last four years the AL Wild Card Game will be played at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees lost to the Astros in 2015 and beat the Twins in 2017. Mauer sets a franchise record No player in history has reached base more times as a Minnesota Twin than Joe Mauer. Tuesday night, Mauer laced a first inning leadoff single to become the franchise's all-time leader in times on base. Here's the list: Joe Mauer: 3,073 and counting (.388 on-base percentage) Harmon Killebrew: 3,072 (.383 OBP) Kirby Puckett: 2,810 (.360 OBP) Rod Carew: 2,718 (.393 OBP) Kent Hrbek: 2,613 (.367 OBP) It should be noted this covers the Minnesota Twins years only, not the Washington Senators years (pre-1961). If we include the Senators years, the franchise leader in times on base is Sam Rice (3,623). Mauer is top five in Twins history in basically every significant offensive category. Quick hits Live team updates<doc-sep>
You said you wanted chaos? We’re giving you chaos. Sunday might be the final day on the MLB regular season schedule, but 162 games won’t be enough to decide the NL Central and NL West races. The Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies were all victorious Sunday, meaning both divisions will be decided in Game 163 on Monday. The Brewers and Cubs will play a Game 163 tiebreaker for the NL Central on Monday. (Getty Images) Brewers hold serve in NL Central The Brewers and Cubs also started the day tied atop the NL Central. The Brewers held up their end of the bargain, rolling the Detroit Tigers 12-0 at Miller Park. Milwaukee broke the game open with a six-run seventh inning, highlighted by Ryan Braun’s bases clearing double. Jesus Aguilar and Travis Shaw both homered in support of Gio Gonzalez, who tossed five scoreless innings. Most notable to the Brewers, they were able to rest every key member of their bullpen heading into Monday’s possible Game 163. Cubs will host Game 163 The Cubs did their part too, rallying from an early deficit to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-5. Chicago puts up four spots in the third and fifth innings to take control of the game. Anthony Rizzo fittingly drove home the go-ahead run with a double, giving him 100 RBI on the season. Willson Contreras applied the finishing touches with a two-run home run. Whereas Milwaukee rested its key relievers, Joe Maddon emptied out his bullpen to secure the win. Cubs relievers recorded the final 20 outs. That’s something to note for Monday. The Cubs will host the Brewers in Game 163 on Monday at 1:05 p.m. ET. The Dodgers and Rockies are headed for an NL West showdown in Game 163. (Getty Images) Dodgers seek sixth straight division title The Dodgers roller coaster season has led them to a familiar position. With a victory against the Colorado Rockies in Monday’s NL West tiebreaker game at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers can lay claim to their sixth straight division championship. Los Angeles got there by completing a sweep of the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. The Dodgers jumped on Giants pitching for 14 runs in the first five innings. From there, Los Angeles rode its pitching staff led by Rich Hill. The veteran left-hander tossed seven scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. The Dodgers won the game 15-0. Story continues Rockies force Game 163 in NL West It wasn’t much different in Colorado. The Rockies took advantage of the Washington Nationals decision to scratch Max Scherzer by torching Eric Fedde and the Nationals bullpen. Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story both homered, while fellow All-Star Charlie Blackmon hit for the cycle in a 12-0 victory. The Rockies forced a Game 163 in the NL West, where they’ll seek the first division championship in franchise history. The game will be played at 4:09 p.m. ET and broadcast on ESPN. Postseason Matchups Wild-card games: A’s at Yankees; NL West runner up at NL Central runner up ALDS: Indians vs. Astros; wild-card winner vs. Red Sox NLDS: Braves vs. NL West winner; wild-card winner vs. NL Central winner More from Yahoo Sports: • Ryder Cup: Americans left scrambling after getting trounced in afternoon session • Kimberley A. Martin: Rams’ star power strong enough to contend in L.A. • FBI investigating MLB over dealings with international players • Pete Thamel: Rapid rise of OSU QB Dwayne Haskins is phenomenal