Entering play on Saturday, here’s where every contending team stands with nine days remaining in the regular season.
Who’s in?
Tickets already punched:
Milwaukee Brewers,
Philadelphia Phillies,
Chicago Cubs,
Los Angeles Dodgers
On Friday, the Dodgers joined the Brewers, Phillies and Cubs among the teams that have clinched postseason berths.
The Dodgers will make their 13th consecutive trip to the playoffs, so you can’t blame them for being more concerned with Clayton Kershaw’s last regular-season start at Dodger Stadium. Kershaw gave the home crowd six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings during a 6-3 win over San Francisco, which went final not long after L.A. clinched a playoff ticket with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 8-2 loss to the Phillies.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Friday’s game that he feels like there will be a role for Kershaw on the postseason roster, despite Los Angeles having four starters currently ahead of him in the pecking order.
Who’s next?
On the brink of clinching a playoff spot:
Toronto Blue Jays,
Detroit Tigers,
New York Yankees,
San Diego Padres
The Blue Jays’ magic number for a playoff berth remains at two, thanks to the Kansas City Royals drubbing them 20-1 and the Cleveland Guardians running their winning streak to eight.
AL East
TeamW-LWin%GBStrkL10
89-65
0.578
—
L3
6-4
86-68
0.558
3
L1
6-4
84-70
0.545
5
W1
5-5
Who’s clinging to life?
It’s gonna be interesting:
New York Mets,
Arizona Diamondbacks,
Cincinnati Reds,
Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians have the Detroit Tigers within their sights after another win, plus the Tigers’ 10-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Cleveland is now just 2 1/2 games behind the Tigers, and 1 1/2 games back from locking up a playoff spot. They currently hold the tiebreaker against Detroit and will face the Tigers in a three-game series that starts on Tuesday.
AL Central
TeamW-LWin%GBStrkL10
85-69
0.552
—
L4
3-7
82-71
0.536
2.5
W8
9-1
77-77
0.500
8
W1
4-6
Are the Mets finally ready to seize the final wild-card spot? They’ve won four of their past five after their eight-game losing streak, but the Reds kept pace with a win that was helped in part by Elly De La Cruz’s first home run in nearly two months.
NL wild card
TeamW-LWin%GBStrkL10
88-66
0.571
+8
L2
7-3
83-71
0.539
+3
L2
4-6
80-74
0.519
—
W2
4-6
78-76
0.506
2
W3
6-4
77-77
0.500
3
L2
5-5
If the playoffs started todayAmerican League
Toronto and Seattle would receive first-round byes after finishing as the AL’s No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. Toronto would also have home-field advantage through the ALCS for finishing with the league’s best record.
AL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Astros at No. 3 Tigers; No. 5 Red Sox at No. 4 Yankees
ALDS: Yankees/Red Sox versus Blue Jays; Tigers/Astros versus Mariners
National League
The Brewers and Phillies would enter as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, both receiving first-round byes. Should the Brewers make it to the World Series, they’d maintain home-field advantage due to ending with the best record.
NL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Mets at No. 3 Dodgers; No. 5 Padres at No. 4 Cubs
NLDS: Dodgers/Mets versus Phillies; Cubs/Padres versus Brewers
What to watch Saturday
Mariners at Astros: The Astros will send Framber Valdez to the mound on Saturday with George Kirby starting for the Mariners. Seattle hit four homers in a series-opening shutout win but saw All-Star Bryan Woo leave a dominant start with pec tightness.
AL West
TeamW-LWin%GBStrkL10
85-69
0.552
—
W2
9-1
84-70
0.545
1
L1
6-4
79-75
0.513
6
L5
5-5
Guardians at Twins (doubleheader): Cleveland can run its winning streak to 10 and put even more pressure on the Tigers (along with several other teams vying for spots) if they win both games.
AL wild card
TeamW-LWin%GBStrkL10
86-68
0.558
+2
L1
6-4
84-70
0.545
—
W1
5-5
84-70
0.545
—
L1
6-4
82-71
0.536
1.5
W8
9-1
79-75
0.513
5
L5
5-5
Giants at Dodgers: San Francisco is essentially playing out the string, while the Dodgers will start Tyler Glasnow as they look to clinch their 12th division title in 13 seasons. Los Angeles’ magic number to take the NL West dropped from six to four on Friday night.
NL West
TeamW-LWin%GBStrkL10
87-67
0.565
—
W3
7-3
83-71
0.539
4
L2
4-6
77-77
0.500
10
L2
5-5
(Photo of Clayton Kershaw: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)