Washington Nationals players high five as fans celebrate the Nationals' 4-1 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers, clinching Washington a playoff spot, after their baseball game at Nationals Park, in Washington, on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Washington Nationals players high five as fans celebrate the Nationals' 4-1 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers, clinching Washington a playoff spot, after their baseball game at Nationals Park, in Washington, on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Washington Nationals Manager Davey Johnson, center, leaves the field after his team clinched a playoff spot with a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers during a baseball game at Nationals Park, in Washington, on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Alfredo Simon, right, shakes hands with catcher Ryan Hanigan after beating the Chicago Cubs 5-3 in a baseball game in Chicago on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Cherney)
Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun, left, Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez, right, and Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Norichika Aoki (7) celebrate after a 9-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Here's how the pennant races look with under two weeks to go:
? TWO IN: The Nationals brought postseason baseball back to the nation's capital for the first time since 1933, earning a playoff spot with a 4-1 win over the Dodgers. Washington joined Cincinnati in the NL field after the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 earlier in the day to become the first team in the majors to clinch a playoff berth.
Washington was last in the postseason 79 years ago, when player-manager Joe Cronin and the Senators lost to the New York Giants in five games in the World Series.
? POTENT BREW: Milwaukee rallied for a 9-7 victory over Pittsburgh, continuing its push for a playoff spot. The Brewers have won five straight, eight of nine and 15 of 19 to climb into the postseason race. They remained 2? games back of St. Louis for the second NL wild-card slot.
? DIVISION RACES: Cincinnati's magic number in the NL Central is two games, and San Francisco trimmed its magic number to clinch the NL West to three. The rest of the leaders are facing a longer road to division titles.
? NEXT UP: Left-hander CC Sabathia (13-6, 3.63 ERA) gets the ball when the New York Yankees host the Oakland Athletics in the opener of a weekend series. Chris Carpenter also makes his 2012 debut when the St. Louis Cardinals face the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon.
? CHASE CHATTER: "That last inning we dug deep and ... it says a lot. We can definitely cash it in, but we're not, and we're going to finish this thing out strong. You never know what's going to happen," said B.J. Upton, who hit a game-ending homer in Tampa Bay's dramatic 7-4 victory over Boston.
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