Mets collapse opens door for surprise NL Wild Card race down the stretch
USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale breaks down the top storylines to watch in the NL as the MLB season winds down.
Sports Pulse
With the MLB postseason a week away, several teams are still competing for playoff spots and division titles.The Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies are the only teams to have clinched their divisions so far.In the American League, only the Toronto Blue Jays have secured a playoff berth.
Major League Baseball’s postseason is just a week away, and the field is starting to take shape.
But there’s still plenty to determine before the regular season comes to a close on Sunday, Sept. 28. Seeding in both leagues could come down to the final day, and bids for the final wild-card spots have become increasingly tight. In the American League, one of the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros will be left on the outside looking in. And in the National League, the race for the final playoff spot is on between the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Here is every MLB team that has clinched a postseason berth, along with the magic numbers for teams to lock up a spot:
Milwaukee Brewers – NL Central division (Magic number to clinch NL No. 1 seed is 2 against Philadelphia Phillies)Philadelphia Phillies – NL East division (Magic number to clinch NL No. 2 seed is 1 against Los Angeles Dodgers)Los Angeles Dodgers – At least NL wild cardChicago Cubs – NL wild card (Magic number to clinch NL No. 4 seed is 4 against San Diego Padres)San Diego Padres – At least NL wild cardToronto Blues Jays – At least AL wild cardSeattle Mariners – At least AL wild cardNew York Yankees – At least AL wild card
Heading into games on Wednesday, Sept. 24; Magic numbers count down with a win and/or a loss by team in parenthesis.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 to win NL West (lead San Diego Padres by 1½ games)Seattle Mariners: 1 to win AL West (lead Houston Astros by 4 games)Toronto Blue Jays: 4 to win AL East (lead New York Yankees by 1 game)Cleveland Guardians: 5 to win AL Central (tied with Detroit Tigers, but they own the tiebreaker)Detroit Tigers: 6 to win AL Central (tied with Cleveland Guardians, but they lose the tiebreaker)
Heading into games on Wednesday, Sept. 24; Magic numbers count down with a win and/or a loss by team in parenthesis.
Boston Red Sox: 3 to clinch at least AL wild card (Houston Astros)Cleveland Guardians: 4 to clinch at least AL wild card (Houston Astros)Detroit Tigers: 4 to clinch at least AL wild card (Houston Astros)New York Mets: 5 to clinch NL wild card (Cincinnati Reds/Arizona Diamondbacks)
Heading into games on Wednesday, Sept. 24; Elimination number counts down with each loss and/or win by team in parenthesis.
American League
Houston Astros (elimination number: 4 – Cleveland Guardians/Detroit Tigers)
National League
Cincinnati Reds (elimination number: 5 – New York Mets)Arizona Diamondbacks (elimination number: 5 – New York Mets)Miami Marlins (elimination number: 2 – New York Mets)St. Louis Cardinals (elimination number: 1 – New York Mets)When do MLB playoffs start?
The 2025 MLB postseason will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 30 with all four wild-card series getting underway. The best of-three series are scheduled to run through Thursday, Oct. 2. The best-of-five division series starts on Saturday, Oct. 4, two days after the conclusion of the wild-card series.