Down to the wire: MLB post-season races coming to a close
Buckle up, baseball fans. The post-season is finally here.
Fans excited for the beginning of the Major League Baseball (MLB) playoffs don’t have to wait much longer. The races to determine each League’s Wild Card series are nearly complete.
American League (AL)
The AL’s tightest race features a pair of interstate rivals. The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are battling it out for the right to be named kings of the AL West Division. Both clubs currently hold a 79-81 record heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
Each team has two games left to play. Houston is on the road in Sacramento to take on the Athletics, while Texas is in the Twin Cities for a showdown with the Minnesota Twins.
Houston holds the tiebreaker. If both records stay the same, they will make it to the postseason.
Besides the race between the state and division rivals, another battle is brewing within the Central Division. The Cleveland Guardians are currently one game ahead of this year’s near-miracle story, the Chicago White Sox, for second place. If successful in their last regular-season games, they could possibly take the pass from Cleveland.
If Chicago pulls it off, this season will be the first time the South Siders will claim the division since 1993, not to mention already becoming the first team in MLB history to make the post-season following back-to-back 100-loss seasons.
“This means a lot for us,” White Sox’s all-star third baseman Miguel Vargas told reporters about clinching a playoff berth. “We’ve been chasing this moment for a long time. It’s special for us. It’s special for the whole organization. This is a special group of guys and this is the most fun we can have.”
The AL East Division’s conclusion wasn’t as close. The Tampa Bay Rays clinched the number one seed in the League by four and a half games. Tampa’s large margin all but guaranteed them a direct path to the AL Division Series.
Finally, the first confirmed wild card battle in the AL features one of the most historic rivalries in sports. The New York Yankees are going up against the Boston Red Sox. Game one of the series will be played in the Bronx on Tuesday evening.
Boston and New York are tied at three series apiece in their postseason history. Seeing the two legendary rivals square off will be sure to bring back memories of victory and heartbreak for fans on both sides.
National League (NL)
On the senior circuit, the NL features two teams gunning for the final wild card spot. The East Division’s second-place Philadelphia Phillies are currently two games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Arizona is currently sitting in third place in the West Division. The snakes last made the Wild Card Series in 2023. They went on to beat Philadelphia for the pennant before losing in the World Series to the Texas Rangers.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves are locked in for the third seed. Atlanta will either face off against Philadelphia or Arizona if they can pull ahead.
In the Central Division, the long-starving Milwaukee Brewers earned the best record in the Majors so far this season at 101-59, with two games left in the season. This season marked Milwaukee’s first 100-win season in franchise history. They easily caught the first seed and will have a direct route to the Division Series.
“I think there’s definitely an element of validation,” said Brewers first baseman Jack Bauers. “We got close last year and I know a lot of guys in the clubhouse wanted to get to 100 and we didn’t get there. I have never been on a 100-win team before. Not many people have.”
Like Milwaukee, the reigning World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers have made it to the Division Series as the second seed.
The last two teams in contention for the NL wild card are the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs. San Diego is currently one and a half games ahead of the Cubbies and are two games ahead of Philadelphia. Both teams clinched a Wild Card berth last Thursday.
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