Baseball-Major League Baseball roundup

Sept 26 (The Sports Xchange) - The Chicago Cubs are in the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The Cubs were assured of at least a National League wild-card slot Friday night when San Francisco lost to the Oakland Athletics 5-4, eliminating the Giants from wild-card contention. "Cubs Clinch Postseason Berth" lit up on the sign outside Wrigley Field after it became official late Friday night as fans gathered around to take pictures. The Cubs celebrated on Saturday with a pregame bow in front of cheering fans while the video board featured season highlights. The Cubs are assured no worse than playing in the NL wild-card game on Oct. 7, with the Pittsburgh Pirates being their likely opponent. The wild-card game will be played at PNC Park as long as the Pirates finish ahead of the Cubs. The Pirates have a chance to catch the St. Louis Cardinals and win the division, dropping the Cards into the wild-card game. The Pirates and Cardinals meet three times next week. The Cubs, with first-year manager Joe Maddon, missed a chance to seal a playoff berth much earlier in the day Friday when they lost to the Pirates 3-2 at Wrigley Field. But right-handed 20-game winner Jake Arrieta stayed up by sending out a tweet around midnight: "It's official. Playoffs. Now we go." The Cubs endured five straight losing seasons and an overhaul under president of baseball operations Theo Epstein. Maddon will be in his fifth playoff appearance in 10 seasons. He managed the Tampa Bay Rays to four American League playoffs (2008, 2010-11, 2013). The Cubs have not won a playoff game since the 2003 NL Championship Series. They were swept 3-0 in the NL Division Series in 2007 and 2008. - - - Amid some confusion, the first-place Toronto Blue Jays learned Saturday that they had already clinched the second American League wild-card spot even though the Los Angeles Angels won their game on Friday. It will be the Blue Jays' first appearance in the postseason since 1993, when they won their second successive World Series. - - - The Detroit Tigers announced that Brad Ausmus will return to manage the club in 2016. There was speculation that Ausmus could be fired as Detroit will miss the playoffs for the first time in five seasons, but general manager Al Avila informed the 18-year major league veteran catcher that he would be back after Friday's 6-4 victory over Minnesota. "I am excited and relieved," said the 46-year-old Ausmus, who took over from Jim Leyland after the 2013 season and led the Tigers to a 90-72 mark and a loss in the American League Division Series in 2014. Avila, who informed the players of his decision Saturday, said this season has been a disappointing one, but conceded that injuries played a big part. - - - The Washington Nationals reinstated outfielder Reed Johnson from the 60-day disabled list. Johnson has been out because of foot and oblique issues. He was hitting .222 (4-for-18) in 12 games before going down on April 28. He tore a tendon in his foot while running the bases during an RBI double. The injury required surgery. The Nationals also transferred center fielder Denard Span from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL. Span underwent hip surgery on Sept. 1. - - - (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)