Neil Walker said the Pirates are “not going away.” He meant that in the big picture sense of perennial contention. But he could also have been referring to the inset of the 2014 playoffs, at the end of which the Bucs could be the last team standing for five reasons.

Pitching coach Mike Maddux is hoping to interview for the Rangers managerial opening and general manager Jon Daniels expects to sit down with him at the end of the season.

With the Mariners mathematically alive for an American League Wild Card berth, manager Lloyd McClendon said Wednesday he expects Felix Hernandez to make his final scheduled start Sunday against the Angels.

The A’s came surging back against the Angels in the seventh inning on Wednesday, cutting a five-run deficit to one. But they stopped just shy of completing the comeback, falling, 5-4, in their final regular-season home game of 2014.

It fell to general manager John Mozeliak to reconstruct the Cardinals’ lineup, and he’s done that, even if his two biggest moves weren’t exactly popular ones.

Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon informed right-handed reliever Tom Wilhelmsen on Wednesday afternoon that he’ll be the starter for Thursday’s series finale against the Blue Jays in the 1:07 p.m. PT game at Rogers Centre.

Hector Santiago bounced back with a scoreless outing, Howie Kendrick continued to produce from the cleanup spot and the Angels held on to beat the A’s, 5-4, on Wednesday afternoon, taking two of three at O.co Coliseum. With the win, the Angels maintained a 2 1/2-game lead on the Orioles for the best record in the Majors and trimmed their magic number to lock up home-field advantage throughout the postseason to 2.

Baltimore, which clinched the American League East Division on Sept. 16, has proved its recent lull was no more than a temporary dip with a strong offensive showing in back-to-back games in the Bronx. On Wednesday, the Orioles used an 11-batter, six-run fourth inning to top the Yankees, 9-5, and officially eliminate New York from postseason contention.

If things go well during instructional games in Arizona, there’s a possibility infielder Christian Colon, who is on the disabled list, could be activated if the Royals reach the playoffs.

Raul Ibanez has experienced entry into the Major League postseason in six different seasons. Now, he might be headed toward a seventh with the 2014 Royals and the 19-year veteran was asked if he’d given his younger teammates advice on how to celebrate such occasions. No, he hasn’t.

Braves president John Schuerholz has made it very apparent that he would like his good friend John Hart to serve as the club’s general manager on a full-time basis. But Hart has not yet provided any indication that he has altered his preference to continue handling the role on an interim basis.

Derek Jeter will play his final game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night, and he could, as Mariano Rivera did last season, choose to let his Bronx sendoff stand as the final moment of his career.

Phil Hughes ended his season on a high note and set Major League Baseball’s single-season strikeout-to-walk ratio in the process, as he tossed eight strong innings to lead the Twins to a 2-1 win over the D-backs on Wednesday afternoon in the last home game of the year at Target Field.

Benches and bullpens cleared during Wednesday afternoon’s series finale between the White Sox and Tigers at Comerica Park after Chris Sale hit Victor Martinez with a pitch with one out in the sixth inning.

With the Yankees now officially eliminated from playoff contention, Carlos Beltran’s debut season in the Bronx is complete, and manager Joe Girardi said after Wednesday’s 9-5 loss to the Orioles that he is not sure if Jacoby Ellsbury or Mark Teixeira will take the field in the club’s remaining four games.

Mike Trout exited Wednesday’s series finale against the A’s after four innings, but it wasn’t because of an injury — the Angels’ superstar center fielder merely had a stomach illness.

The Twins’ Phil Hughes set a Major League record for strikeout-to-walk ratio for a season in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over the D-backs, passing Bret Saberhagen’s mark with the 1994 Mets.