Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani came up short in his bid to become the first National League player to win the Triple Crown since 1937.

Ohtani, who led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs this season, was trying to chase down Luis Arraez of the San Diego Padres for the batting title Sunday afternoon.

But Arraez went 1-for-3 before exiting Sunday’s 11-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks to end the regular season with a .314 average and place himself on the verge of wrapping up his third straight batting title. Marcell Ozuna (.304) of the Atlanta Braves has a slight mathematical chance with his team slated to play a doubleheader Monday against the New York Mets to complete the regular season.

Once the season is officially over, Arraez can set history by becoming the first player in major league history to win the batting title in three straight seasons with three different teams.

Arraez exited shortly after hitting a double into the right-center field gap in the sixth inning of Sunday’s game. It was his 200th hit of the season, the second straight campaign in which he reached that milestone.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 and stole his 59th base in the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies. He finished the season at .310.

“I didn’t think about the Triple Crown or how close I was to it today,” Ohtani said through a translator. “Today, I was focused on having quality at-bats.”

Joe “Ducky” Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals was the last NL player to earn the Triple Crown. He batted .374 with 31 homers and 154 RBIs in that 1937 season.

The last American League player to earn the Triple Crown was Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers in 2012. He batted .330 with 44 homers and 139 RBIs and was the first player in either league to have a Triple Crown season since Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox in 1967.

Arraez won the 2022 AL batting title with the Minnesota Twins and the NL crown last season with the Miami Marlins. The Padres acquired him from the Marlins in early May.

Arraez will be the first San Diego player to win the batting title since Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn in 1997. That was the last of eight batting crowns for the legendary Gwynn.

The NL batting champion award is named after Gwynn.

Ozuna was hitless in four at-bats Sunday when the Braves lost 4-2 to the Kansas City Royals. He will need to go 9-for-9 Monday to raise his average to .31466 and pass Arraez (.31397).

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

The final weekend of the 2024 MLB regular season is over — but wins for the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets paired with an Atlanta Braves loss on Sunday means we get a bonus Monday of playoff-impacting baseball.

While those three teams battle for the final two wild-card sports, the remainder of the playoff field is set. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have the top seeds in the National League and the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres have the next two seeds. In the American League, the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians have the top seeds, with the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals joining them.

Where do the current playoff matchups stand? What does the playoff schedule look like? We have everything you need to know as the regular season comes to a finish.

Watch: Mets-Braves doubleheader, starting Monday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Key links: Full MLB standings | Wild-card standings | Passan’s World Series prediction

Who will secure the final two playoff spots?

There were several potential outcomes depending on the results of Sunday’s games, but with the Braves falling to the Royals and the Mets and Diamondbacks notching wins over their respective opponents, both games of Monday’s doubleheader between Atlanta and New York will take place. The winner of the first game of the doubleheader is automatically in. If the loser of the first game wins the second, that team is in as well and the D-backs would be eliminated. However, if either the Mets or Braves are swept in the doubleheader, that team would be out and the Diamondbacks would be in.

Who is in?

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers clinched the season’s first playoff spot, when they secured the NL Central crown for the third time in four seasons.

New York Yankees

The Yankees clinched a playoff spot on with a win against the Seattle Mariners and followed by clinching the AL East title.

Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians clinched a playoff spot with a win over the Minnesota Twins and followed by clinching the AL Central crown.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers clinched a playoff spot with their 20-4 blowout win over the Marlins and have won the NL West title for the 11th time in 12 years.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies clinched their third straight playoff spot with a win over the Mets on Friday night. With a win over the Cubs on Monday, they clinched their first NL East title since 2011.

Houston Astros

The Astros beat the Mariners on Tuesday to clinch their fourth consecutive AL West division title.

Baltimore Orioles

With a win over the Yankees and the Twins’ loss to the Marlins, the Orioles clinched a playoff spot.

San Diego Padres

With a game-ending triple play to seal their win against the Dodgers, the Padres clinched their spot in the postseason.

Detroit Tigers

By handing the White Sox a record 121st loss, the Tigers ended their 10-year postseason drought.

Kansas City Royals

The Twins’ loss on Friday clinched the final AL playoff spot for the Royals, their first since 2015.

What are this October’s MLB playoff matchups as it stands now?

American League

Wild-card round: (6) Tigers* at (3) Astros*, (5) Royals* at (4) Orioles*

ALDS: Tigers/Astros vs. (2) Guardians*, Royals/Orioles vs. (1) Yankees*

National League

Wild-card round: (6) Mets at (3) Brewers*, (5) Braves at (4) Padres*

NLDS: Mets/Brewers vs. (2) Phillies*, Braves/Padres vs. (1) Dodgers*

* — Clinched playoff spot

Tiebreakers

If Atlanta and New York tie, the Braves currently hold the tiebreaker by virtue of a 6-5 edge in the head-to-head season series (with two games remaining).

In the event of a two-team tie involving the D-backs for the NL’s final playoff spot, the Mets and Braves both hold the tiebreaker because they won the season series.

Breaking down the AL race

The Yankees fended off the Orioles in a battle for the AL East crown — though, Baltimore also clinched a playoff berth — while the Guardians and Astros both also clinched division titles. Two more AL Central teams — the Tigers and Royals — round out the field. Here are the odds for the AL playoff squads for every round:

Breaking down the NL race

While the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks battle for the final playoff spots, the Dodgers, Phillies, Brewers and Padres prepare for October. Milwaukee clinched the NL Central crown and Philadelphia cruised to a division title in the NL East. Los Angeles beat San Diego in the final matchup of the (regular) season to clinch its 11th NL West title in the past 12 seasons, with the Padres going on to secure the 4-seed. Here are the odds for the NL playoff squads — as the playoff picture currently stands — for every round:

Playoff schedule

Wild-card series
Best of three, all games at better seed’s stadium

Game 1: Tuesday, Oct. 1
Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 2
Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 3*

Division series
Best of five

ALDS
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 5
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 7
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 9
Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 10*
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 12*

NLDS
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 5
Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 6
Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 8
Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 9*
Game 5: Friday, Oct. 11*

League championship series
Best of seven

ALCS
Game 1: Monday, Oct. 14
Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 15
Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 17
Game 4: Friday, Oct. 18
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 19*
Game 6: Monday, Oct. 21*
Game 7: Tuesday, Oct. 22*

NLCS
Game 1: Sunday, Oct. 13
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 14
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 16
Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 17
Game 5: Friday, Oct. 18*
Game 6: Sunday, Oct. 20*
Game 7: Monday, Oct. 21*

World Series
Best of seven

Game 1: Friday, Oct. 25
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 26
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 28
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 29
Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 30*
Game 6: Friday, Nov. 1*
Game 7: Saturday, Nov. 2*

Note: If both LCS end by Oct. 19 — meaning neither series lasts longer than five games — the World Series will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 22

* If necessary

The UK has marked a historic moment in its energy transition by shuttering the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in Nottinghamshire, its last remaining coal power plant.

“This is the final chapter of a remarkably swift transition from the country that started the Industrial Revolution,” said Phil MacDonald, managing director of global energy think tank Ember. 

The world’s first coal power plant opened in London in 1882, and as recently as 2012, coal powered 39% of the UK’s electricity supply. However, Ember’s data shows how this dropped rapidly in the following years, remaining at 2% or lower since 2019. 

Ember’s report, “The UK’s journey to a coal power phase-out,” outlines the five key factors that facilitated the UK’s rapid exit from coal: announcing a 2025 coal exit a decade in advance, putting a price on carbon, backing offshore wind, market reforms to encourage renewable energy, and investing in the grid. 

“The UK provided both the carrots and the sticks,” said Phil MacDonald, managing director of Ember. “It’s important to signal that polluting sources have an end date, but also to provide an enabling environment to build the new clean energy system.” 

The UK predominantly replaced coal with wind and solar, without increasing reliance on gas. The country is now targeting a fully decarbonized power system by 2030. 

The UK’s coal phase-out has brought many benefits, reducing both emissions and costs. The rapid decline in coal power since 2012 avoided 880 million tonnes of emissions, which is equivalent to more than double the UK’s total economy-wide emissions in 2023. Ember calculates that the replacement of coal with wind and solar avoided an estimated £2.9 billion in costs.

The UK’s last coal plant closure means that more than a third of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are now coal-free, with three-quarters expected to eliminate coal power by 2030, aligning with global climate goals to limit warming to 1.5C.

Coal now accounts for just 17% of electricity generation in OECD countries, down from 36% at its peak in 2007. The rapid growth in solar and wind was responsible for 87% of the fall in coal during this period. 

“Once, coal power was a byword for industrial growth,” continued Mr MacDonald. “Now clean energy is driving economies – and not just in high-income countries, but throughout the world.”

Read more: The world’s only coal-to-nuclear reactor plant just broke ground in Wyoming

To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*