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The MLB, more than almost any other professional sport, features a season of ebbs and flows. With 162 games that span seven months, teams can be entirely different from start to finish. The summer pastime features a year of storylines, all leading up to October.
Now, with only a week left in the regular season, the MLB playoffs are nearly set.
A Tight American League
The AL East has featured a year of a back-and-forth pull between the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees. The Yankees started the season strong and then pulled up midway through the year, consequently giving the Orioles a chance to take the lead. After an impressive August and September from Aaron Judge and company, the Yankees are back in the lead and hold the top spot in the AL.
Homer No. 55 for No. 99 🫡#ALLRISE pic.twitter.com/6ZEM4cp0oo
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 22, 2024
The Orioles hold the top AL wildcard spot with an 86-70 record. They’re joined by the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals, two teams with low preseason expectations, in the remaining two wildcard spots. Currently, the Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays are all still in contention for playoff births, but the latter two are both four games back with six games remaining.
The Cleveland Guardians have clinched the Central Division, holding a 90-67 record. Jose Ramirez leads the Guardians, logging 37 home runs on a .274 average.
José Ramírez’s 40/40 pursuit:
36 home runs, 39 stolen bases! pic.twitter.com/yKEmq4sXXh
— MLB (@MLB) September 21, 2024
In the AL West, the Houston Astros currently lead with an 85-71 record and hold a five-game lead over the Mariners.
The Locked Up National League
With only seven teams vying for six playoff births, the National League playoff bracket is nearly locked up.
The most notable NL force remains in Los Angeles. The Dodgers have clinched a playoff birth and hold a three-game lead over the Padres. Led by a lineup of stars, the Dodgers look to hold onto the NL’s top spot as the season comes to a close. With Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman all healthy, the L.A. team seems to be rounding into place.
SHOHEI OHTANI HOME RUN TO TIE IT IN THE 9TH!
NO. 53! pic.twitter.com/M1aqPFW8uv
— MLB (@MLB) September 22, 2024
The Padres, who are on a tear in the second half of the season. They entered the all-star break one game above .500, but have gone 40-17 over the last few months. They hold the No. 1 wild card slot in the NL.
The second seed in the NL is currently the Philadelphia Phillies. Near the end of May, the Pennsylvania natives were 37-14, leading the NL. Since then, they’ve seemed out of sorts at times. Struggling into the playoffs, the Phillies look to hold off the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves in the final week. The Mets currently hold the final NL wild card slot. Atlanta is on the outside looking in two games back from the Mets.
The Milwaukee Brewers are the only NL team to have clinched their division. The Brewers are 89-67, with every other team in their division eliminated from the playoffs.
YOUR MILWAUKEE BREWERS ARE BACK-TO-BACK NL CENTRAL CHAMPS pic.twitter.com/1HQmw9G2GU
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 18, 2024
The Final Moments
The MLB season only features seven remaining days. With six games on each team’s schedule, there’s only so much time left. As the seasons change, teams’ playoff hopes dwindle. The Fall Classic is around the corner, though, but these final moments of the regular season could prove critical to who makes a playoff run. Now, each team needs to make their postseason case.
