MLB Wild Card Breakdown: Rays Struggle to Secure Spot

It’s the final five weeks of the MLB regular season and a couple of teams are still seeking a coveted wild-card spot.

American League

The top AL wild-card spot is currently occupied by the New York Yankees, who continue to battle the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Yankees are half a game behind the Orioles, after a loss to the Texas Rangers, which saw former Gator Wyatt Langford secure the game with a walk-off grand slam.

The Orioles are now in sole possession of first place in the AL East after Wyatt Langford’s walk-off grand slam to beat the Yankees.

Baltimore owns a half-game lead over New York. pic.twitter.com/hd9HMXwwuU

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) September 4, 2024

In a distant second and third are the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals, with the Boston Red Sox on the periphery.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays are slowly fading out of the playoff picture entirely. Series losses against the San Diego Padres and wild-card rivals the Seattle Mariners have pushed the teams, respectively, six games behind of a wild-card berth.

However, with the Red Sox on a cold streak and the Royals suffering their seventh straight loss Tuesday night, not all hope is lost for the Rays. After splitting the first two games, Tampa Bay seeks to close out a key series against the Minnesota Twins and hopefully gain some ground on its AL competitors.

Deuces and a debut dub ✌️

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 4, 2024

National League

Over in the NL, the the chase for a wild-card spot has been an exciting one. The San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves are all in position to clinch the last three wild-card spots, but with the Mets only half a game behind, it truly is anyone’s game.

After spending much of the first half of the season under .500, the Mets have steamrolled their way back into postseason contention, spearheaded by the great performance of Francisco Lindor. They are 53-31 since May 30, marking the best record in the MLB in that timeframe, and currently sit just outside of a NL wild card spot.

https://twitter.com/Mets/status/1831153500773924931

The Braves, also, refuse to back down, with pitcher Chris Sale picking up his 16th win in a shutout against the Colorado Rockies to stave off the Mets and hold on to the last playoff position.

Chris Sale picks up his NL-leading 16th win and the @Braves shut out the Rockies. pic.twitter.com/7W1PNtSUdY

— MLB (@MLB) September 4, 2024

Looking Ahead

While the Rays’ playoff hopes look bleak, there are still 24 games left to play in the season, yet nearly all of them need to be won for a chance at the postseason. The Rays face off against the Orioles on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Mets and the Braves will face each other in a pivotal three-game series beginning September 22.