The Nationals bounced back from Sunday’s loss and pounded the Brewers, 12-2, at Nationals Park on Monday afternoon. The two clubs split the four-game series.

The numbers say there’s no way this should be happening, but the Orioles are one game out of first, leading for a Wild Card spot and are 10 games from bringing the postseason back to Camden Yards for the first time since 1997.

It’s a story that plays out every year to some degree: In late September and into October, situations will arise, and there’s a hero sitting on someone’s bench. Nobody knows who it is yet, not even the hero. But he’s there, helping the clinched play out the season and doing his gig for teams still hunting for a playoff spot. Come October, we’ll all know who he is.

As we enter the last full week of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season, all American League divisions are still out there for the taking.

At this point in the Wild Card races, the teams on the outside looking in have gone into full-out survival mode. And that’s exactly what the Brewers, Dodgers and Angels all did on Sunday — survive.

Adrian Gonzalez slugged a pair of homers to help beat the Reds, 5-3, and keep the Dodgers three games back for the second Wild Card berth with nine games to play.

Engel Beltre scored the tie-breaking run on Yunesky Sanchez’ two-run single up the middle in the 10th inning of a nearly five-hour epic, sending Spain to the World Baseball Classic with a 9-7 win over Israel in the qualifying-round final Sunday night at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla.

Tim Hudson allowed just two hits and one unearned run over 7 1/3 innings as the Braves inched closer to a playoff berth with a 2-1 victory over the Phillies on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park.

I like the Triple Crown. Really, I love its place in baseball history and how it’s one of the exclusive clubs of the immortals. I also like giving the Most Valuable Player Award to the best player in the league.

The Cardinals, winners in six of their last seven games, downed the Cubs, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon in front of 33,354 at Wrigley Field. The victory sent the club off to Houston with a 2 1/2-game lead over the Brewers for the NL’s second Wild Card spot.

A workman-like outing by Jered Weaver and some timely hitting against Gavin Floyd gave the Angels a 4-1 victory and a three-game sweep over the first-place White Sox on Sunday at Angel Stadium.

With Yovani Gallardo limiting damage early, the Brewers got some help from the sun and some tricky shadows in a 6-2 win over the Nationals on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park.

The Giants’ regular season wasn’t just a race against their National League West foes. It also was an obstacle course. And they scaled every hurdle and skirted each obstruction better than anybody could have envisioned.

The Giants’ regular season wasn’t just a race against their National League West foes. It also was an obstacle course. And they scaled every hurdle and skirted each obstruction better than anybody could have envisioned.

Each day, MLB.com selects one player from each game whose performance stands out.

Each day, MLB.com selects one player from each game whose performance stands out.

The playoff picture became a little clearer after Saturday’s contests, especially in the National League, as the Reds were crowned NL Central champions in Cincinnati after a 6-0 win over the Dodgers and the Giants joined them as champs later in the night, beating the Padres, 8-4, for their sixth straight win to clinch the NL West.