Before diving into a breakdown of the playoff picture, here’s where we’re at in the MLB playoffs races as Game 161 is underway for much of the majors on Saturday:
The Jays and Yankees each won, keeping the AL East tied heading into the final day of the season Sunday.
Who has clinched a spot in the playoffs?
Blue Jays: Tied with the Yankees atop the AL East; the winner will clinch the No. 1 seed in the AL, while the loser will settle for the top wild card and the No. 4 seed. Toronto holds the tiebreaker.
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Mariners: Won the AL West; clinched the No. 2 seed in the AL and a bye to the ALDS.
Yankees: Tied with the Blue Jays atop the AL East; the winner will clinch the No. 1 seed in the AL, while the loser will settle for the top wild card and the No. 4 seed.
Red Sox: Punched their ticket to October on Friday; in line to secure the second AL wild card and the No. 5 seed.
Brewers: Won the NL Central; in line to secure the NL’s No. 1 seed.
Phillies: Won the NL East; clinched at least the No. 2 seed and a bye to the NLDS. Still in the running for the No. 1 seed.
Dodgers: Won the NL West; clinched the No. 3 seed.
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Cubs: Secured the top wild card in the NL and the No. 4 seed.
Padres: In line to secure the second NL wild card and the No. 5 seed.
What would the playoff bracket look like if the season ended today?
(Davis Long/Yahoo Sports)
American League
Wild card: No. 6 Detroit Tigers vs. No. 3 Cleveland Guardians
ALDS: Wild-card winner vs. No. 2 Seattle Mariners
Wild card: No. 5 Boston Red Sox vs. No. 4 New York Yankees
ALDS: Wild-card winner vs. No. 1 Toronto Blue Jays
National League
Wild card: No. 6 Cincinnati Reds vs. No. 3 L.A. Dodgers
NLDS: Wild-card winner vs. No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies
Wild card: No. 5 San Diego Padres vs. No. 4 Chicago Cubs
NLDS: Wild-card winner vs. No. 1 Milwaukee Brewers
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Who can clinch next?
The Brewers are one win away from securing the best record in baseball and the No. 1 seed in the NL.
In the NL, there is just one playoff spot left. The Reds currently hold the final wild-card spot via tiebreaker over the Mets. They can clinch with a win Saturday and a Mets defeat vs. the Marlins.
In the AL, the Blue Jays, Yankees and Mariners have clinched postseason spots. Also in playoff position are the Guardians, Red Sox and Tigers. The Blue Jays (via tiebreaker over the Yankees) and Guardians (via tiebreaker over the Tigers) currently lead their divisions, with the Yankees, Red Sox and Tigers making up the wild-card field.
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The Guardians can clinch a playoff spot Saturday with a win or a Houston Astros defeat. That playoff berth can be as division champions if they win Saturday and the Tigers lose.
The Tigers can snag a postseason berth with a win Saturday or an Astros defeat.
Which of these stars will lead his team to a World Series title this fall? (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports)
A team-by-team look at the latest on the playoff fieldJump to a team by clicking on the links below:Toronto Blue Jays
The Jays clinched a playoff berth last weekend, making them the first AL team in the postseason. The Jays are tied with the Yankees atop the AL East, though Toronto holds the tiebreaker. Whichever team wins the division will clinch the No. 1 seed and secure a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the championship series. The other will settle for the top wild card and the No. 4 seed.
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Up next: The Jays conclude the regular season at home, with one more vs. the Rays.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners swept the Astros last weekend to put them in the driver’s seat for their first AL West title since 2001. They won the division with their victory over Colorado on Wednesday, and they secured the No. 2 seed in the AL and a bye to the division series Thursday. Also, Cal Raleigh has hit 60 home runs.
Up next: The M’s end the regular season at home. Their final slate is two more games against the Dodgers.
Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians stayed hot Tuesday and Wednesday, seizing the AL Central lead from the Tigers before falling back into a tie with Detroit’s victory Thursday. The Guardians have won 17 of their past 21 games and could complete MLB’s greatest comeback ever after trailing by 15.5 games in July. They hold the tiebreaker over Detroit and are now two victories away from winning the AL Central. They can also clinch that division title with a win Saturday and a Tigers defeat vs. the Red Sox.
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Up next: Cleveland closes out the regular season with two more against Texas at home. They can clinch a playoff berth with a win Saturday or an Astros defeat.
New York Yankees
They are tied with the Blue Jays in the AL East with two games remaining, and Toronto owns the tiebreaker. Whichever team wins the division will clinch the No. 1 seed and secure a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the championship series. The other will settle for the top wild card and the No. 4 seed.
Up next: The Yanks finish the season at home, with one more game against the Orioles.
Boston Red Sox
Amid the chaos around them, the Red Sox have been holding on to the second AL wild card and the No. 5 seed for most of the past two months. They clinched a playoff berth Friday and are in line to face the Yankees for three games in the Bronx to begin the playoffs. Boston can clinch that No. 5 seed with a win Saturday against the Tigers.
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Up next: The Sox finish the regular season by hosting the Tigers for two more.
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers suffered their eighth straight defeat Wednesday and surrendered their lead in the AL Central before bouncing back with a victory Thursday to end their losing streak and move back into a tie with Cleveland. With both teams losing Friday, the tie holds. This team once had a 15.5-game lead in the division. What’s worse, Cleveland holds the tiebreaker.
Up next: Detroit finishes the regular season with two more games at the Red Sox, who hold the second AL wild-card spot. They can clinch a playoff spot with a win at Boston on Saturday or an Astros defeat in Anaheim.
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Houston Astros
The Astros are now fighting for the third wild card in the AL. Currently one game behind the Tigers and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, Houston will be sweating it out over the final few days. A loss to the Angels to start the weekend didn’t help.
Up next: The ‘Stros finish the season on the road against a team they should beat. They face the Angels for two more games to conclude the regular season. They’ll need two wins in Anaheim and help in the form of Red Sox victories against the Tigers or Rangers victories over the Guardians to get into the playoffs.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers are cruising to the No. 1 seed in the National League and the best record in baseball. With 96 wins and counting, they’ve already clinched the NL Central title. Their magic number for clinching baseball’s best record: one. Milwaukee is in prime position to have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
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Up next: The Brewers host the Reds for two more games to finish the regular season.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies have been one of the top teams in baseball all season, and they were the first to claim a division title, leaving the Mets in their wake as they won the NL East on Sept. 16. They secured at least the No. 2 seed in the National League and, with it, a bye to the division series.
Up next: The Phillies finish the regular season at home against a team with nothing to play for: the Twins. The No. 1 seed is a long shot, but it’s still in play.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers won yet another NL West title with this week’s victories against the Diamondbacks. They will be the NL’s No. 3 seed and host a wild-card series.
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Up next: The Dodgers finish the season on the road, with two more games in Seattle this weekend.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs will be in the postseason for the first time since 2020. Even though they have one of the top records in the sport, they’ll claim the NL’s top wild card and finish behind the Brewers in the NL Central.
Up next: The Cubs finish the regular season at Wrigley Field with nothing left to play for Sunday other than sweeping the rival Cardinals.
San Diego Padres
The Padres are the NL’s second wild-card spot. They clinched their postseason berth on Monday. San Diego will be the No. 5 seed and face the Cubs at Wrigley in the wild-card round.
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Up next: The Padres will finish the season at home with two more games against the Diamondbacks, who were eliminated from the postseason race on Friday night.
New York Mets
The Mets are nearing an egregious, late-season collapse, as they are tied with the Reds for the NL’s final wild-card spot after losing 13 of their past 19 games. Cincinnati and Arizona hold the tiebreakers, so the Mets have to finish ahead in the standings to make the postseason.
Up next: The Mets finish the season with two more at the Marlins, who are putting up a fight to end the season.
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds have won eight of their past 11 to capitalize on the Mets’ slide and challenge for the NL’s final wild-card bid. Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker against the Mets, so if those teams finish in a tie, the final playoff spot will go to Cincinnati.
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Up next: The Reds finish their season on the road in Milwaukee. The Brewers’ magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NL is one, so they aren’t kicking back and resting this weekend.
What are the tiebreakers?
No longer do teams play a Game 163 if they finish the season tied. Instead, tiebreakers are determined by head-to-head records first and, if needed, intradivision records second.
Here are the tiebreakers that could still come into play:
The Blue Jays have clinched the tiebreaker against the Red Sox, Yankees and Mariners.
The Yankees have clinched the tiebreaker against the Mariners.
The Red Sox have clinched the tiebreaker against the Astros.
The Tigers have clinched the tiebreaker against the Astros.
The Guardians have clinched the tiebreaker against the Astros and Tigers.
The Brewers have clinched the tiebreaker against the Phillies.
The Reds have clinched the tiebreaker against the Mets.
What’s the schedule for the postseason?Wild-card series (best of three)
Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 30
Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 1
Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 2*
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Division series (best of five)
ALDS
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 4
Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 5
Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 7
Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 8*
Game 5: Friday, Oct. 10*
NLDS
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 4
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 6
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 8
Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 9*
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 11*
Championship series (best of seven)
ALCS
Game 1: Sunday, Oct 12
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 13
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 15
Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 16
Game 5: Friday, Oct. 17*
Game 6: Sunday, Oct. 19*
Game 7: Monday, Oct. 20*
NLCS
Game 1: Monday, Oct 13
Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 14
Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 16
Game 4: Friday, Oct. 17
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 18*
Game 6: Monday, Oct. 20*
Game 7: Tuesday, Oct. 21*
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World Series (best of seven)
Game 1: Friday, Oct. 24
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 25
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 27
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 28
Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 29*
Game 6: Friday, Oct. 31*
Game 7: Saturday, Nov. 1*
(*if necessary)