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Arizona Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo runs to third base after hitting an RBI triple in the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo\/Karl Anderson)Major League Baseball\u2019s<\/a> postseason is rapidly approaching, with the Los Angeles Dodgers seeking a third straight World Series title. Ten of the 12 postseason spots have been decided, but the D-backs are gaining on the Phillies for the final NL wild card while the Rangers and Astros are tied for the top of the AL West with two games remaining.\nThe Dodgers<\/a> are once again among the best teams in the big leagues, and they\u2019ll have several challengers in October, including the Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> and Tampa Bay Rays<\/a>. Los Angeles is rolling into the postseason and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani returned to the lineup on Wednesday<\/a> after a stint on the injured list. He appears ready for playoff baseball.
\nIt was a busy Thursday in the playoff race, with the San Diego Padres<\/a>, Chicago Cubs<\/a>, Chicago White Sox<\/a> and Cleveland Guardians<\/a> all clinching invites to the postseason.
\nThe New York Yankees<\/a>, Boston Red Sox<\/a> and Atlanta Braves<\/a> have also previously clinched. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, a three-time AL MVP, is dealing with a right calf strain<\/a> that could keep him out through at least the Wild Card Series.
\nThe D-backs looked like a playoff long shot just a few days ago but a six-game winning streak has pulled them within a game of the struggling Philles in the NL wild-card race. Philadelphia has lost three in a row. Arizona has the tiebreaker if the two teams finish with the same record.
\nHere\u2019s some of what to watch as the season comes to a close.
\nHere\u2019s who can clinch a playoff spot Saturday
\nThe Phillies can lock up the final NL wild card with a win over the Rays and a D-backs loss to the Padres.
\nThe Astros can clinch the AL West if they can beat the Athletics and the Rangers lose to the Twins.
\nAL Central and West are tight, other division winners are set
\nThere\u2019s 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<\/a>.
\nThe Guardians (84-76) have a narrow advantage over the White Sox (83-77) in the AL Central, but Chicago owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. Cleveland plays at Kansas City this weekend, while the White Sox host Colorado. Both teams have already clinched at least a wild card, but the division winner will get a bye into the Division Series.
\nThe Rangers (79-81) and Astros (79-81) are fighting for the AL West, and Houston has the tiebreaker if the season ends in a tie. Texas is playing at Minnesota this weekend, and the Astros are playing at the Athletics.
\nIn the National League, the Padres (89-71), Cubs (88-73) and Phillies (87-73) are jockeying for position in the wild-card race. The Diamondbacks (86-74) could still sneak past the Phillies into the bracket. Chicago holds the head-to-head tiebreaker for home field over Philadelphia and San Diego, and the Phillies own the tiebreaker over the Padres after sweeping that season series 6-0.
\nChicago\u2019s series at Boston has already been impacted by a nor\u2019easter hitting New England this weekend. The Cubs\u2019 Sunday finale was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Friday, and they are now scheduled to conclude their season Saturday.
\nMVP races, stats to watch
\nMLB\u2019s major awards probably won\u2019t have much drama this season.
\nBoth MVP races have strong favorites with Chicago\u2019s Pete Crow-Armstrong running away with the NL honor while Houston\u2019s Yordan Alvarez is the probable choice in the AL, though Tampa Bay\u2019s Junior Caminero has also had a fantastic season. Alvarez had an outside chance at the Triple Crown a few days ago, but those odds have mostly diminished. His .315 batting average leads the league, but his 41 homers are two behind Baltimore\u2019s Pete Alonso and his 102 RBIs are 11 behind Alonso.
\nFor the Cy Young Award, Milwaukee flame thrower Jacob Misiorowski and New York ace Cam Schlittler are the favorites in the NL and AL, respectively.
\nThe Rookie of the Year races also look set with Cincinnati\u2019s Sal Stewart and his 110-RBI season the leader in the NL and Detroit\u2019s Kevin McGonigle the favorite in the AL.
\nWhat is the MLB playoff format?
\nThere are 12 teams that qualify for MLB\u2019s 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.
\nThe 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. 29. 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.
\nThe 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.
\nWhat is the MLB postseason schedule?
\nWild Card Series: Sept. 29-Oct. 1 (NBC\/Peacock)
\nDivision Series: Oct. 3-10 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX\/FS1)
\nChampionship Series: Oct. 11-20 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX\/FS1)
\nWorld Series: Oct. 23-31 (FOX)
\nWho are the favorites to win the World Series?
\nThe Dodgers (+200) are the favorites to capture a third straight World Series title while the Brewers (+550), Rays (+800) and Yankees (+850) are viewed as the top contenders.
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