Just when it looked as though the playoff picture might remain muddled for days, everything was settled on the final afternoon of the regular season.

The Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros wrapped up the wild cards Sunday, clinching the final two major-league playoff spots. All the matchups were set for the 2005 postseason, starting Tuesday with the NL West champion San Diego Padres playing at 12:09 p.m. in St. Louis.

Houston will open Wednesday in Atlanta against the NL East champion Braves.

Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox earned the AL wild-card berth for the third consecutive season, the same spot that started them toward their first World Series championship in 86 years. In fact, a wild-card team has won the past three titles.

The defending champs clinched when Cleveland lost, 3-1, at home.