The Grand Slam: Angels beat Mariners, become first team to clinch playoff berth

The celebration on the field was subdued. The Los Angeles Angels knew this was only the first step. The first of many, they hope.

The Angels became the first team to clinch a playoff berth, by beating the Seattle Mariners 8-1 on Monday night. The Angels still have a magic number of three to win the AL West, but they've clinched at least a wild-card spot.

The division title will come. Heck, the 100-win plateau might come too. They're at 94 after beating Seattle. And then the postseason will come. There are lots of things to clinch for the Angels still, and they'll celebrate then, but crossing the first thing off the to-do list is always nice.

The Angels got another strong outing from rookie pitcher Matt Shoemaker, who improved to 16-4 this season after pitching 7 2/3 innings and giving up just one run.

THE ORIOLES MAGIC NUMBER IS DOWN TO ONE
Put the champagne on ice, Baltimore. The Orioles beat the Blue Jays 5-2 to drop their magic number in the AL East to one. Starter Wei-Yin Chen improved to 15-4 in the Baltimore win, even though he wasn't particularly sharp, allowing nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. But the Orioles offense was strong again — Adam Jones, Nelson Cruz and Steven Pearce each had multi-hit games.

The Orioles haven't clinched the AL East at home in 45 years, but they have the chance Tuesday when they play the Blue Jays again. The O's will send Ubaldo Jimenez (4-9, 4.96 ERA) to the mound against Drew Hutchison (10-11, 4.36 ERA).

THE NATS CAN CLINCH THE NL EAST WITH ANOTHER WIN IN ATLANTA
Like the Orioles, the Washington Nationals need just one more win to clinch their division. The Nats beat the division-rival Atlanta Braves on Monday by the score of 4-2. Stephen Strasburg pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out seven.

The Nats' magic number is two, but since they're playing the second-place Braves on Tuesday and Wednesday in Atlanta, all they'd need to do is win one of those games to clinch the division. Baltimore vs. D.C., the race is on.

CASHNER SHUTS OUT PHILLIES
It doesn't matter much in the standings at this point, but Andrew Cashner instilled some confidence in San Diego Padres fans with his performance against the Philadelphia Phillies. Cashner pitched a two-hit shutout, striking out seven in a 1-0 win.

Cashner needed just 92 pitches to complete the shutout, earning what the Internet calls a "Maddux" — a shutout with less than 100 pitchers. Fancy! Cashner was pegged by many as a candidate for a breakout season, but injuries derailed him a few times. His 4-7 record isn't special, but his 2.20 ERA is, so that's promising for 2015.

For the rest of Monday's results, check out our scoreboard.

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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz