Baseball

With just days remaining in MLB's regular season, the American League playoff race is getting down to the nitty-gritty with only eight teams in the running to grab one of five postseason spots.

When an actor gives a poor performance on Broadway, unflattering reviews and an unsatisfied audience usually follow.

That is the natural order of consequences. All an actor can do in response is prepare and come out the next time, and give a better performance. That is the extent of what fans and critics can ask.

Before we inject some Debbie Downer realism into the Los Angeles Dodgers' champagne-soaked celebration, let's pause to appreciate what they've accomplished.

For the third consecutive season, the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the National League West by virtue of Tuesday's 8-0 victory over the archrival San Francisco Giants.

Despite the amount of success the Dodgers organization has enjoyed over the years in both Los Angeles and Brooklyn, this marks the first time it has won three straight division titles. 

The 2015 season is a lost cause for the San Diego Padres, and they received more unfortunate news Tuesday when Matt Kemp was forced to leave the game against the Milwaukee Brewers with an injury.

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Justine Siegal made MLB history Tuesday, as the Oakland Athletics announced she would serve as a guest instructor for their Instructional League club, making her the first woman to coach in big league history.

An already frustrating season in San Diego took another hit earlier this month when Major League Baseball fined the San Diego Padres an undisclosed amount for holding an illegal international workout this summer, according to Bleacher Report sources.

Kim Ng, MLB senior vice president, declined to comment when reached Monday. Padres president Mike Dee also declined to comment, saying he considers it a "closed matter."

The Cincinnati Reds are reportedly considering several options for their 2016 coaching staff, including whether to retain manager Bryan Price. No final decisions are expected until after the regular season comes to a close.  

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Three years ago, the Houston Astros lost 107 games, and the Chicago Cubs lost 101. The Kansas City Royals were finishing their fourth straight 90-loss season, their eighth in nine years. The Pittsburgh Pirates were making North American sports history with their 20th-straight losing season.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber may have suffered through another rough outing, but his first strikeout in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins made him the Indians' first right-handed pitcher since Bob Feller (1940-41) to record 500 or more strikeouts over a two-year span, per MLB Stat of the Day.