There’s nothing better than postseason baseball. And that means we’re starting to see the MLB playoff picture become clearer as teams advance into their postseason berths.
In the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers have won their fourth straight NL Central crown while the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves remain in the driver’s seat in each of their divisions. The Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs are positioning themselves for the wild-card spots, while the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres battle for the last spot.
The competition is tighter in the American League. The Chicago White Sox are trying to fend off the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central while the Astros hold a slim lead over the Texas Rangers in the AL West. The Tampa Bay Rays lead the AL East with the New York Yankees right behind them.
Here are the key postseason contests as we inch closer to the postseason standings. The ranking is starting from September 15th.
GO TO:
AL: EAST | central | The West | Wild Card
NL: EAST | central | The West | Wild Card
Two AL East teams – the Rays and Yankees – are with Tampa Bay keeping pace ahead of New York in the division. The two teams still have a four-game series to play later this month that could decide who wins the division crown.
New York has secured at least one of the AL wild-card spots, doing so on Monday with Aaron Judge hit his first home run since returning from the injured list in the 8-3 win over the Twins. Boston is behind the Rays and Yankees in the division standings, but is in prime position to earn a wild-card spot.
Chicago and Cleveland are in the midst of a three-game series from Sept. 14-16 that will go a long way in deciding who will win the AL Central crown.
Minnesota and Detroit haven’t been eliminated yet, but it looks like either the White Sox or the Guardians will go into the final weeks.
The AL West remains the closest division race in the league.
Houston’s lead over Texas stands at just one game, with the Astros tied with the Rangers. The Mariners, who came within one game of reaching the World Series last year, are on the brink of elimination.
New York and Boston hold the top two spots in the AL. Cleveland, Toronto, Baltimore and Texas are within 3.5 games of each other for last place. Seattle and Detroit cannot be ruled out.
The Angels and Athletics have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Atlanta leads Philadelphia by 5.5 games in the race for the division crown. The Phillies suffered a blow to their chances of winning the division after All-Star shortstop Jesus Luzardo went on the disabled list with a shoulder problem. The Phillies will likely end up as a wild card team.
The Brewers have the best record in baseball and have now clinched their fourth straight NL Central crown.
Milwaukee has rotation depth, led by NL Cy Young frontrunner Jacob Misiorowski — who became the second-fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach 200 hits in a season last month.
The Cubs hold one of the top NL Wild Card spots. Pete Crow-Armstrong has established himself as an MVP candidate after completing a 30-homer, 30-steal regular season while leading the majors in WAR.
The Dodgers have taken another step toward their third straight World Series title. By securing at least one wild card berth, LA has made the postseason in 14 consecutive seasons, tying Atlanta’s all-time record set from 1991-2005. They are on the verge of their 13th NL West title in the last 14 seasons.
The Dodgers will aim to finish in the top two in the NL, which would provide a much-needed bye with star first baseman Freddie Freeman and MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani on the 15-day disabled list with right biceps inflammation.
Arizona and San Diego remain locked in a battle for the final wild card spot for now.
Philadelphia and Chicago lead the NL wild card standings. San Diego holds last place with 2.5 games over Arizona. San Diego saw its eight-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday.
Other teams that have yet to be eliminated include Miami, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. The teams that have been eliminated are the Rockies, Giants, Reds, Mets and Nationals.
In the AL, two teams – the Rays and Yankees – are the only teams to reach the postseason.
The Brewers (winners of the NL Central) and the Dodgers (who will likely wrap up the NL West crown this week) are the two NL teams that have reached postseason berths. The Braves still have the magic number of three games to clinch their playoff spot and are on track to win the NL East.