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The Brewers clinched the No. 1 seed in the National League and the best record in baseball with the Phillies’ loss to the Twins.
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The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees each won, keeping the AL East tied heading into the final day of the season.
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The Chicago Cubs clinched the No. 4 seed in the NL with their victory over the Cardinals. That gives them home-field advantage in the wild-card round against the Padres.
Who has clinched a spot in the playoffs?
American League:
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.
Tigers: Despite a jaw-dropping collapse, Detroit did enough to clinch a playoff berth. With one game to play, they’re tied with Cleveland and still have a shot to win the AL Central.
Guardians: The Guardians’ magical run has led to a playoff berth, with a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch clinching a postseason spot in their walk-off victory Saturday against the Rangers. With one game to play, they hold the tiebreaker over the Tigers for the AL Central title.
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National League:
Brewers: Won the NL Central; clinched the NL’s No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Phillies: Won the NL East; clinched the No. 2 seed and a bye to the NLDS.
Dodgers: Won the NL West; clinched the No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed — either the Mets or Reds — in the wild-card round.
Cubs: Clinched the top NL wild card and the No. 4 seed; will host the Padres in the wild-card round.
Padres: Clinched the second NL wild card and the No. 5 seed; will face the Cubs in the wild-card round.
What’s left?
The only playoff berth still up for grabs is the final wild-card spot in the National League. With one game to play, the Reds and the Mets are tied. The Reds hold the tiebreaker, so if they win or the Mets lose on Sunday, Cincinnati will advance to the playoffs.
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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
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 field
Jump to a team by clicking on the links below:
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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.
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.
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Up next: The M’s end the regular season at home with one more game against the Dodgers.
Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians have won 18 of their past 22 games and could complete MLB’s greatest comeback ever after trailing by 15.5 games in July. The clinched a playoff berth with their walk-off win Saturday and hold the tiebreaker over Detroit, meaning they are one victory away from winning the AL Central.
The scenarios break down like this for the Guardians and what it would mean for their Round 1 opponent:
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Tigers win, Guardians win: Red Sox at Guardians
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Tigers win, Guardians lose: Guardians at Tigers
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Tigers lose, Guardians win: Tigers at Guardians
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Tigers lose, Guardians lose: Tigers at Guardians
Up next: Cleveland closes out the regular season with one more against Texas at home. They can win the division with a victory or a Tigers loss on Sunday.
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New York Yankees
They are tied with the Blue Jays in the AL East with one game 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.
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Up next: The Sox finish the regular season by hosting the Tigers for one more.
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers surrendered their lead in the AL Central on Wednesday 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 and winning Saturday, the tie holds, but Detroit’s victory over Boston on Saturday clinched a playoff berth. The Tigers still have a shot to win the division, but Cleveland holds the tiebreaker.
The scenarios break down like this for the Tigers and what it would mean for their Round 1 opponent:
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Tigers win, Guardians win: Tigers at Yankees/Blue Jays
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Tigers win, Guardians lose: Guardians at Tigers
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Tigers lose, Guardians win: Tigers at Guardians
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Tigers lose, Guardians lose: Tigers at Guardians
Up next: Detroit finishes the regular season with one more game at the Red Sox.
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Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers have cruised to the No. 1 seed in the National League and the best record in baseball. With 96 wins, they’ve already clinched the NL Central title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Up next: The Brewers host the Reds for one more game 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 clinched the No. 2 seed in the National League and, with it, a bye to the division series.
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Up next: The Phillies finish the regular season at home against a team with nothing to play for: the Twins.
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.
Up next: The Dodgers finish the season on the road, with one more game in Seattle.
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.
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San Diego Padres
The Padres are the NL’s second wild card. 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.
Up next: The Padres will finish the season at home with one more game against the Diamondbacks, who were eliminated from the postseason race on Friday.
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 14 of their past 22 games. Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker, so the Mets have to finish ahead in the standings to make the postseason.
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Up next: The Mets finish the season with one more at the Marlins, who are putting up a fight.
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds have won nine of their past 12 to capitalize on the Mets’ slide and challenge for the NL’s final wild-card bid. The teams are tied entering Sunday, and Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker, so a Reds victory or Mets loss on Sunday would send the Reds to the postseason.
Up next: The Reds finish their season on the road in Milwaukee. They need a win or a Mets loss to clinch a playoff berth.
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.
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Here are the tiebreakers that could still come into play:
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The Blue Jays have clinched the tiebreaker against the Yankees.
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The Red Sox have clinched the tiebreaker against the Guardians.
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The Tigers have clinched the tiebreaker against the Red Sox.
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The Guardians have clinched the tiebreaker against the Tigers.
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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*
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*
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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*
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)
