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As the Major League Baseball regular season nears its end, the race for the wild card is coming down to the wire.
The regular season is scheduled to conclude at the end of the month, with the playoffs set to begin Oct. 1 with the wild-card round. The playoffs feature 12 teams — six from the American League and six from the National League.
What is a Wild Card?
A wild-card spot gives three teams, which are not division champs, from each league a chance to qualify for the postseason.
Here’s how it works: the three teams with the best winning percentages in each league, after the division winners, are the wild-card teams. The third division winner faces the third-place wild-card team with the winner facing the second-best division winner. The top two wild cards also face off, with the winner facing the top overall seed. The wild-card round is a best-of-three series, with all games hosted by the higher seed.
National League standings
The National League leaders are the Philadelphia Phillies (87-58), the Los Angeles Dodgers (86-59) and the Milwaukee Brewers (83-61).
In the NL Wild Card race, the San Diego Padres are 2.5 games ahead of the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves. Just behind the Padres, the Arizona Diamondbacks hold a 2-game lead over both the Braves and Mets. The Mets and Braves are tied for same record, and their upcoming series could play a pivotal role in determining which team makes the playoffs.
The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets enter this week all square with 78-65 records and tied for the third and final NL wild-card spot – and on the upswing in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings.https://t.co/N4wtuTQgzq
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) September 9, 2024
American League Standings
The American League leaders are the New York Yankees (83-62), the Cleveland Guardians (83-62) and the Houston Astros (77-67).
In the mix for the wild card, the Baltimore Orioles are 3 games ahead of the Kansas City Royals. The Minnesota Twins trail the Royals by 2.5 games. The Detroit Tigers are three games back, while the Seattle Mariners and the Boston Red Sox are tied for four games back.
AL wild-card race: Tigers pick up half a game, three back of slumping Twins https://t.co/tLp5vOWS8V
— The Detroit News (@detroitnews) September 10, 2024
Teams Eliminated
Three teams have been eliminated from playoff contention due to the highest number of losses: The Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins will have to look ahead to next season.
