Three days left — for the big spenders to place closing bids on the AL East crown, for the surreal AL Central race to be settled, and for the wild-card hopefuls to call dibs on underdog playoff roles. Entering Friday, the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays are knotted at 91-68, while the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians are (improbably) tied at 86-73. An engaging, or enervating, weekend of baseball is upon us.
The MLB postseason has been especially hectic in recent years. The New York Mets, the final wild-card team last season, reached the NLCS, and a pair of wild cards (Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks) played in the 2023 World Series. It’s looking like another wide-open bracket this year as the full field starts to come into focus.
Here are the eight series worth tracking, from the Bronx to Petco Park, in the final weekend of the regular season.
All times listed below are ET.
You can stream in-market and nationally televised MLB games on Fubo (Stream Free Now).
AL EastOrioles at Yankees
Friday, 7:05 p.m. on MLB Network / MLB.TV
Saturday, 1:05 p.m. on MLB Network / MLB.TV
Sunday, 3:05 p.m. on MLB.TV
Baltimore, in market: MASN
New York, in market: YES
How did we get here? The Yankees took the division’s top spot on April 14 and held it down through the start of July, only to stumble into a midsummer lull that had fans calling for firings. A team with Aaron Judge, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Jazz Chisholm Jr. can’t stay down for too long, though. New York has won 15 of 22 in September, and it comes into Friday all tied with its northern neighbors. Judge is now making closing arguments for his AL MVP candidacy, but the promise of October takes priority this weekend:
Called a Cab to walk us off! #RepBX pic.twitter.com/v2A9qX2uDC
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 24, 2025
Rays at Blue Jays
Friday, 7:07 p.m. on Apple TV+
Saturday, 3:07 p.m. on MLB.TV
Sunday, 3:07 p.m. on MLB.TV
Tampa, in market: FanDuel Sports Network Sun
Toronto, in market: Sportsnet and TVA Sports
How did we get here? It was an agreeable Canadian summer. The Jays went 16-10 in June and 18-8 in July, then 15-12 in August (a bit of a cool-off, but with a plus-33 run differential). Toronto fortified its pitching at the trade deadline, landing former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber. The division looked locked up after a six-game win streak between Sept. 11-16 … only for the team to lose six of its last eight across a tense finishing stretch. The Blue Jays are trying to go from last place in 2024 to first place this year, something that only 13 teams have pulled off since 1969 (the advent of the divisional format).
AL CentralRangers at Guardians
Friday, 7:10 p.m. on MLB Network / MLB.TV
Saturday, 7:15 p.m. on Fox
Sunday, 3:10 p.m. on MLB.TV
Texas, in market: Rangers Sports Network, Victory+ (Friday’s game free over the air on CW33)
Cleveland, in market: Guardians TV
How did we get here? Cleveland was 69-70 on Sept. 4. From there: 17 wins in 20 games, including two series victories over the Tigers, who had held the AL Central’s top spot for almost every waking moment of the 2025 season. With the divisional tiebreaker, the Guardians are now masters of their domain in this final weekend. The crowds are suitably buzzing. “Fun times in Cleveland today!” Quite the understatement, really.
The largest deficit a division winner has ever crawled out of is 15 games, which was accomplished by the 1914 Boston Braves. By Sunday night, it could well be the 2025 Cleveland Guardians, who were 15 1/2 games back of Detroit in July.
Tigers at Red Sox
Friday, 7:10 p.m. on Apple TV+
Saturday, 4:10 p.m. on MLB Network / MLB.TV
Sunday, 3:05 p.m. on MLB.TV
Detroit, in market: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Boston, in market: NESN
How did we get here? Detroit might be amid the single most disastrous collapse in the history of MLB, a league that’s existed across three centuries. So, what is going wrong with this team? Every pitcher not named Tarik Skubal began glitching out at the most inopportune time, for one. The offense also plunged off a cliff, with two or fewer runs in six of their recent eight consecutive losses. The Tigers were in first place for 184 days, and had a 9 1/2-game lead atop the AL Central at the start of September. After finally beating the Guardians on Thursday by a 4-2 score, Detroit is now even with Cleveland in the standings. The Tigers head to Kenmore Square in need of flipped rally caps and any semblance of better vibes to win the division — or, at least, secure a wild-card berth.
Boston came into 2025 trying to ameliorate the stink of three straight seasons at or below .500. The early on-field returns were a bummer, and the energies were further soured around the Rafael Devers melodrama. Then came a torrid July (17-7 with an absurd plus-51 run differential), and since then they’ve been firmly in the wild-card hunt. There’s something romantic about Fenway Park on a fall night, and unlike their guests, the Red Sox have not suffered through a precedent-setting falloff. They’ll try to laminate their fifth seed in the AL bracket, and put a “Mortal Kombat” finishing move on Detroit.
AL Wild CardAstros at Angels
Friday, 9:38 p.m. on MLB.TV
Saturday, 9:38 p.m. on MLB.TV
Sunday, 3:07 p.m. on MLB.TV
Houston, in market: Space City Home Network
Los Angeles, in market: FanDuel Sports Network West (Sunday’s game free over the air on KCOP 13)
How did we get here? The injury-plagued ‘Stros were seesawing with Seattle for the AL West just a week ago. They were swept by the Mariners at home, then dropped two of three games to the Athletics. Houston put up one combined run in that pair of Ls, at perhaps the most hitter-friendly park in MLB (a Triple-A park until this year!). Yikes … except, Thursday’s win and Detroit’s overall indignities have the Astros still in range of the last wild-card berth. These series start with Houston trailing Detroit and Cleveland by one game.
NL Wild CardMets at Marlins
Friday, 7:10 p.m. on MLB.TV
Saturday, 4:10 p.m. on MLB Network / MLB.TV
Sunday, 3:10 p.m. on MLB.TV
New York, in market: WPIX (Friday) and SNY (Saturday, Sunday)
Miami, in market: FanDuel Sports Network Florida
How did we get here? A payroll exceeding $340 million can’t guarantee a playoff spot? Not even an off-brand one from the outlet mall? The Mets went from the talk of the offseason to a solid playoff placeholder to a looming collapse of their own. Now, after taking two of three at Wrigley Field, the blue and orange have narrow pole positioning on the third wild-card spot. Mets fans routinely reclaim Marlins home games for themselves, and we should see much of the same this weekend. Spotty pitching has done them in, but the Mets’ big three of Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso gives them some slight sleeper appeal for October … should they indeed get there.
Reds at Brewers
Friday, 8:10 p.m. on MLB.TV
Saturday, 7:15 p.m. on Fox
Sunday, 3:10 p.m. on MLB.TV
Cincinnati, in market: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio
Milwaukee, in market: FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin
How did we get here? A four-game sweep of the Cubs, combined with the September flatness of the Mets, gave Cincy some darts to throw at the board. The Reds have already exceeded expectations, and the opponents they’re chasing have considerably larger salary commitments. Admittedly, nothing takes the wind out of a team’s sails like losing two of three to Pittsburgh (at home, no less), but the Reds beat the Pirates on Thursday to keep things interesting. Andrew Abbott has been one of the best pitchers in baseball, and his breakout 2025 will be extra memorable with a national TV win Saturday night. Cincinnati touches down in NL-leading Milwaukee at one game behind the Mets and one game up on the Diamondbacks, and holding the tiebreaker over both.
Diamondbacks at Padres
Friday, 9:40 p.m. on MLB.TV
Saturday, 8:40 p.m. on MLB.TV
Sunday, 3:10 p.m. on MLB.TV
Arizona, in market: Dbacks.TV
San Diego, in market: Padres Television Network
How did we get here? San Diego has locked up a playoff spot but was officially scratched from NL West title contention after the Dodgers topped the Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon. They’re two games behind the Cubs for the fourth seed, so the Padres are probably in as the second wild card.
The Diamondbacks are treading water to keep up with the Mets and Reds. That water is their outfield pool. Jokes aside, it’s been an impressive run for Arizona, which stayed relevant despite losing ace Corbin Burnes to a disastrous elbow injury and trading away Eugenio Suárez at the deadline. The Snakes are two games back of the final wild card, with a weekend opponent far tougher than the Mets’.
As exciting as this weekend sprint is, it’s really just the opening act for a Fall Classic headliner. Playoff baseball starts Tuesday. Read that last part without at least grinning or raising your eyebrows.
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(Photo of José Ramírez: Jason Miller / Getty Images)