AL Picture Might Not Clear Up Until Tuesday

Three teams are battling for two remaining American League playoff berths entering the final day of the regular season, but there are eight different post-season scenarios that could emerge this afternoon involving Oakland, Seattle and Cleveland.

Four would end with the same result. If the A’s, Mariners and Indians all win today; if all three lose; if the A’s and Mariners win and the Indians lose, or if the A’s win and the Mariners and Indians lose, Oakland would be the AL West champion and Seattle would win the wild card. The Mariners would travel to Chicago for the playoffs, and the A’s would host New York.

If Oakland and Cleveland win and Seattle loses, the A’s would win the West, and the Mariners and Indians would play a one-game playoff Monday at Seattle to determine the wild-card winner.

If Seattle wins and Oakland and Cleveland lose, the A’s would travel to Tampa Bay for a makeup game Monday. If Oakland beats Tampa Bay, it would be the division champ and the Mariners would win the wild card. If the A’s lose to the Devil Rays, Seattle is the division champ and Oakland the wild card.

If Cleveland wins and Oakland and Seattle lose today, the A’s go to Tampa Bay Monday. If the A’s win that game, they are West champs, and Seattle and Cleveland would play Tuesday at Seattle for the wild card.

If the A’s lose in Tampa Bay, creating a three-way tie between Oakland, Seattle and Cleveland, the Indians would get the wild card and the A’s and Mariners would play Tuesday at Seattle for the West championship, with the loser eliminated.

Finally, if Seattle and Cleveland win and Oakland loses today, the A’s would go to Tampa Bay Monday. If the A’s win there, they’d be division champs and the Mariners would win the wild card. If the A’s lost in Tampa Bay, Seattle would be the division champ, and Oakland would host Cleveland Tuesday to determine the wild-card winner.

Don’t worry, there will be no quiz.

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Angel outfield Darin Erstad continued his climb up baseball’s all-time single-season hit list with a single and a double Saturday, giving him 239 hits this season.

That tied Erstad with Rod Carew for 13th place on the all-time list. Carew, the former Angel batting instructor, had 239 hits in 1977. With two more hits today, Erstad would have the highest single-season hit total in 70 years and move into a tie for ninth on the all-time list.

Erstad and Troy Glaus also tied the Angel franchise record for runs in a season when both scored their 120th on Glaus’ two-run homer in the third Saturday. Don Baylor (1979) and Jim Edmonds (1995) also share the record.

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Seattle left-hander John Halama’s victory Saturday improved his record to 4-0 against the Angels in four career starts. . . . Seattle tied a club record with its 90th win, equaling the mark set in 1997. . . . Mariner shortstop Alex Rodriguez has hit 40 home runs or more in three consecutive seasons.

TODAY

ANGELS’

SCOTT SCHOENEWEIS

(7-10, 5.45 ERA)

vs.

MARINERS’

AARON SELE

(17-10, 4.54 ERA)

Edison, Field, 1

Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--The Mariners have their best pitcher on the mound in Sele, a curveball specialist who is 4-0 in September, and if they carry even a portion of the offensive momentum they gained Saturday into today’s game, they have to feel good about their chances of clinching a playoff spot. Schoeneweis will look to put a good ending on what has turned into a nightmare of a season for the left-hander, who won his first four decisions in April but is 3-10 since. Schoeneweis has given up 17 runs on 16 hits in nine innings of his last three starts, losses to Minnesota, Kansas City and Oakland.

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