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With the start of the Wild Card Series looming on Oct.1, time is running out for teams to secure their postseason spot. Taking a look at the National League standings, there are several teams who could sneak their way into the Wild Card Series.
What is the Wild Card Series?
The Wild Card Series is a best-of-three where the No. 3 seed will face the No. 6 seed and the No. 4 seed will face the No. 5 seed. The winners of each series will then go on to the Division Series. The losers of the Wild Card Series are eliminated, ending their season.
Standing Firm
The San Diego Padres are on a four-game winning streak after defeating the Houston Astros 3-1 on Monday. Monday’s win moved the Padres up one win behind the Milwaukee Brewers who are No.3 in the standings. While they are hoping to continue their win streak, they will hold firm atop the NL Wildcard race regardless.
Jackson Merrill and Jurickson Profar go yard as the @Padres continue to sit atop the NL Wild Card standings. pic.twitter.com/UviZz62DGR
— MLB (@MLB) September 17, 2024
Outside Looking In
Notably, the Atlanta Braves are sitting right on the edge with 81 wins. The Braves are only two wins behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and one behind the New York Mets who are respectively No. 5 and 6. After the Arizona Diamondbacks lost Monday to the Colorado Rockies, it proves the race is tighter than ever. Tuesday, the Braves and Reds will begin their first game of a three game series.
Final. pic.twitter.com/ZHIajQXuG6
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 17, 2024
A Tight Race
The Mets, Braves, Diamondbacks and Padres are all in close contention for the National League Wild Card Series. With the margins of loss at a high, the last games of the season hold even more weight. Not to mention, two of these teams will come head-to-head in their second to last series of the season.
The Mets and Braves begin their three-game series on September 24th. In their last meeting on April 11th the Mets beat the Braves 16-4.
https://twitter.com/Mets/status/1778511679807959449
This series will likely be the deciding factor of who secures their spot in the Wild Card Series.
