With one week remaining in the regular season there are plenty of Wild Card spots left
The GIST: With just one week remaining in the regular season, the race to October is heating up.And while (nearly) every division title is basically locked in, there are still plenty of Wild Card (WC) spots up for grabs. Wild, indeed.
The context: Quick refresher: 12 teams will make the postseason this year — six from the National League (NL) and six from the American League (AL). Within each league, the winners of the three divisions (East, Central and West) earn a spot, plus three WC teams (aka the squads with the next best records).
NL: The LA Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals have clinched their divisions while the NY Mets and the defending champ Atlanta Braves are tied at the top of the NL East. That leaves the San Diego Padres, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers all duking it out for two yet to be claimed WC berths.
- Every squad wants to make the playoffs, but it would be especially embarrassing for the Padres to miss after they picked up star outfielder Juan Soto at the trade deadline. The intrigue…
AL: The Houston Astros have long clinched the AL West, the Cleveland Guardians just stunningly secured the AL Central and the NY Yankees nabbed the AL East last night, but, like a game of musical chairs, it’s a four-team hunt for three spots in the AL Wild Card.
- The contenders? The Toronto Blue Jays, the Tampa Bay Rays, the playoff-starved Seattle Mariners and the Baltimore “shock the world” Orioles. This chase could come down to the wire.
