Mets extend Wild Card lead over Giants, Cardinals

Despite their loss to the Yankees on Wednesday, the Red Sox clinched the American League East championship by virtue of the Blue Jays’ loss to the Orioles. That means that with four days to go on the regular-season schedule, all six division crowns have been claimed.

Still, both Wild Card races rage on, in addition to the fights for home-field advantage, so there is plenty that remains unsettled.

Here’s where we stand heading into today:

National League Wild Card The Mets grabbed control of this three-team race on Wednesday, as Jay Bruce and James Loney hit two-run homers in a 5-2 victory at Miami. The defending NL champions stretched their lead over the Giants to 1 1/2 games and also hold the tiebreaker after winning the season series. In other words, San Francisco must finish ahead of New York — which is idle Thursday — to claim home-field advantage in a potential Wild Card Game matchup.

The Giants’ 2-0 loss to the Rockies at AT&T Park also prevented them from widening their lead on the Cardinals for the second Wild Card berth. Earlier, St. Louis had dropped a tough one of its own, suffering a 2-1 home loss to Cincinnati while going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

The Giants still sit one game ahead of the Cardinals, who won the teams’ season series and would host a tiebreaker game in the event they finish knotted up for that second Wild Card spot.

American League Wild Card Orioles pinch-hitter Hyun Soo Kim whacked a go-ahead two-run homer off Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna in the top of the ninth inning at Rogers Centre, leading Baltimore to a 3-2 comeback victory. That evened the teams’ three-game series and pulled the O’s …

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