Major League Baseball’s postseason is rapidly approaching, with the Los Angeles Dodgers seeking a third-straight World Series title. It remains to be seen how much some of the game’s biggest stars will be able to participate come October, though.
The Dodgers are once again among the best teams in the big leagues, and they’ll have several challengers in October, including the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. All three teams could finish the regular season with 100 wins or more. Los Angeles is there even though four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani’s health is a concern.
The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves have also clinched spots in the postseason. The Yankees’ three-time MVP Aaron Judge is dealing with a right calf strain that will keep him on the injured list until at least the final day of the regular season.
The regular season ends this Sunday, and while the 12-team playoff field appears mostly set, there are a few long-shot contenders for the postseason, and specific matchups are in flux.
Here’s some of what to watch as the season comes to a close.
No team can clinch a playoff spot on Monday with most of the league getting a day off.
There is one important game in the American League, where the Toronto Blue Jays travel to face the Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays are hanging on the fringe of the AL race, starting the day three games back of the final wild-card spot.
There’s quite a bit of mediocrity in the AL Central and West divisions this season, which has led to some fascinating pennant races and could lead to a sub-.500 team making the postseason.
The Cleveland Guardians (81-75) have a narrow advantage over the Chicago White Sox (80-76) in the AL Central while the Texas Rangers (78-78) are just ahead of the Houston Astros (77-79) in the AL West.
Over in the National League, the playoff bracket is close to set.
The Chicago Cubs (87-69), San Diego Padres (87-69) and Philadelphia Phillies (86-70) are jockeying for position in the wild-card race but will almost certainly make the postseason. The only team within shouting distance is the Arizona Diamondbacks (82-74), who are four games back.
MLB’s major awards probably won’t have much drama this season.
Both MVP races have strong favorites with Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong running away with the NL honor while Houston’s Yordan Alvarez is the probable choice in the AL, though Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero has also had a fantastic season. Alvarez still has a shot at a rare Triple Crown. He leads the AL in batting average at .313 but his 40 homers are one behind Caminero and his 99 RBIs are six back of Baltimore’s Pete Alonso.
For the Cy Young Award, Milwaukee flame thrower Jacob Misiorowski and New York ace Cam Schlittler are the favorites in the NL and AL, respectively.
The Rookie of the Year races also look set with Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart and his 110-RBI season the leader in the NL and Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle the favorite in the AL.
There are 12 teams that qualify for MLB’s postseason, including six teams from both the AL and NL. The three division winners in each league get seeds No. 1 through No. 3, ranked by win-loss record. Then the three wild-card teams get seeds No. 4 through No. 6, also ranked by win-loss record.
The top two teams with the best record in both the AL and NL automatically advance to the Division Series. The other eight teams play in the Wild Card Series, which is a best-of-three format beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 30. In both the AL and NL, the No. 6 seed will travel to face the No. 3 seed while the No. 5 seed goes to No. 4. The higher seed hosts all three games.
The winners then advance to the best-of-five Division Series, followed by the best-of-seven League Championship Series and a best-of-seven World Series between the winners of the AL and NL.
Wild Card Round: Sept. 29-Oct. 1 (NBC/Peacock)
Division Series: Oct. 3-10 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)
Championship Series: Oct. 11-20 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)
World Series: Oct. 23-31 (FOX)
The Dodgers (+220) are the favorites to capture a third straight World Series title while the Brewers (+600), Yankees (+800) and Rays (+800) are viewed as the top contenders.
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