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After a brilliant 11-game winning streak in September allowed them to move into first place and clinch the American League East title, the Boston Red Sox (93-69) played indifferent baseball in the final week of the season and lost five of their final six games.

That allowed the American League Central champion Cleveland Indians (94-67) to take advantage and finish with a better season-long record than the Red Sox and earn home-field advantage in their American League Division Series.

The best-of-five series begins Thursday at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The Red Sox and Indians will play two games in Cleveland (Game Two is Friday), followed by two games at Fenway Park (Sunday and Monday), while a fifth game would be played Wednesday in Cleveland, if necessary.

Even though the Indians have the advantage of playing a potentially decisive game on their own turf, they could have a difficult time surviving this series. Injuries have hurt the Cleveland pitching staff, while the Red Sox starting pitching has improved throughout the season.

Earlier in the year, the Indians appeared to have the starting pitching advantage with Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco. However, Salazar and Carrasco are both on the shelf with injuries.

The Red Sox have Cy Young candidates Rick Porcello and David Price at the top of their rotation followed by the resurgent Clay Buchholz and Eduardo Rodriguez.

The Indians are likely to go with veteran right-hander Josh Tomlin as their Game 3 starter, before returning to Bauer and Kluber for the final two games, if necessary.

Porcello had a brilliant season, compiling a 22-4 record along with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP, according to CBSSports.com. Price was inconsistent for more than half the season, but he found his stride after the All-Star Game and finished with a 17-9 record and a 3.99 ERA.

Bauer was 12-8 with a 4.26 ERA this season, but he was not effective when facing the Red Sox. Bauer gave up six runs on 10 hits in two games against Boston, and his ERA was 9.00 against them, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

The Red Sox have a powerful lineup that includes Dustin Pedroia (.318 batting average, 201 hits), Mookie Betts (.318, 31 home runs, 113 RBI, 26 stolen bases), David Ortiz (.315, 38 HR) and Hanley Ramirez (30 HR, 111 RBI), and they may be licking their chops for a chance to get at Bauer.

The Indians have a couple of strong power bats in Mike Napoli (a former Red Sox star) and Carlos Santana. Both players slugged 34 home runs this season and they will be difficult to shut down.

Porcello had just one start vs. the Indians and pitched well in 5.2 innings, while Price was 1-0 with a 3.15 ERA against Cleveland.

Red Sox manager John Farrell said his team is still in good shape even though it had a tough final week. “We’re still very confident,” Farrell told Cafardo. “We’re very confident in how we’ve played on the road. That’s what we’re dealt with and we’ll deal with it.”

The Red Sox would seem to have an advantage in this series because of their powerful offense. They scored a league-high 878 runs, 101 more than the Indians who finished second in that category. Combine that with the health of the starting pitching and the Red Sox are likely to be moving on to the American League Championship Series.

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After an exciting September that featured tightly contested postseason races in both leagues, the 2016 MLB playoffs are finally upon us with the field already set despite the regular season ending on Monday.

The quest for the World Series begins Tuesday with the American League Wild Card Game, while the National League Wild Card Game begins a day later. Although these contests are winner-take-all showdowns, they could have had serious implications on the rest of the postseason. In 2014, the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants used wild-card wins as springboards to meet in the Fall Classic.

With that in mind, let us take a look at the schedule for the 2016 playoffs, including dates and start times for each round, television coverage and live-stream information.

The playoffs begin with a contest that pits two powerful teams against each other in he Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles led the league in home runs during the regular season by a landslide with 255, while Toronto finished fourth with 221 dingers. Both teams also allowed 183 home runs each, so both are equally susceptible to the long ball.

Yet the difference in this game could be whether Baltimore can earn a late lead, as Orioles closer Zach Britton led the league with 47 saves while posting a microscopic 0.54 ERA.

On the NL side, a pair of aces are set to take the hill, per MLB Network’s Heidi Watney:

The San Francisco Giants’ Madison Bumgarner (15-9 with a 2.74 ERA) and the New York Mets’ Noah Syndergaard (14-9 with a 2.60 ERA) finished with near identical numbers this season. Thus, playoff experience looks to be a crucial factor this Wednesday.

Syndergaard was solid in his postseason debut last year, going 2-1 with 3.32 ERA in 19 innings. However, Bumgarner is an established baller in October. In 88.1 innings pitched, he is 7-3 with a 2.14 ERA and a save. The 27-year-old is dominant when the stakes are at their highest, so it is tough to believe he will not pitch a gem Thursday.

When looking ahead in the NL, the Chicago Cubs undoubtedly stand out as the top storyline. The Cubs were clearly the best team in baseball throughout the season, as they led the league in team ERA while finishing third in MLB in runs scored. Still, the Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908, but another piece of history is on their side, per ESPN Stats and Info:

Chicago boasts an unbelievable lineup led by Kris Bryant (39 homers and 102 RBI), Anthony Rizzo (32 homers and 109 RBI) and Addison Russell (21 homers and 95 RBI). The batting order boasts tremendous depth as well, with Javier Baez, Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist also posing palpable threats. 

If that’s not enough, Kyle Hendricks—who finished with the lowest ERA in baseball with a 2.13 mark—Jake Arrieta, John Lackey and Jon Lester give the Cubs a solid four-man rotation for this postseason. The team also has a sensational closer in Aroldis Chapman, who finished with 16 saves and a 1.01 ERA since coming over from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline.

The American League looks to be wide open, but look out for the Boston Red Sox.

This team can flat-out score with Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and a resurgent David Ortiz leading the charge. Boston comfortably led the majors with 878 runs and a .282 batting average, and its .246 opposing batting average was good for seventh-best in baseball.

The Red Sox have the luxury of trotting out experienced players in Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia, but the team’s hopes could lie with pitcher David Price. 

The ace brushed off an abysmal 2016 start to finish with a 17-9 record, but his postseason history leaves much to be desired. Price is 2-7 in 14 appearances with a 5.12 ERA. If he can even marginally improve on these numbers in 2016, Boston should have enough offense to be successful. Still, these playoffs will be huge for Price’s standing among the game’s top arms.

Statistics are courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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Sometimes sports can be cruel, and the American and National League Wild Card Games are perfect examples. 

Major League Baseball’s 162-game regular-season schedule is a serious commitment for players and fans alike. The players must grind through the dog days of summer and all the peaks and valleys that come with them, while the fans must devote significant chunks of their time to watching, attending and following such a large number of games.

However, that investment and journey will come to a sudden end for two teams and their fanbases in the single-elimination, do-or-die Wild Card Games. The Toronto Blue Jays will host the Baltimore Orioles in the American League contest on Tuesday, and the New York Mets will host the San Francisco Giants in the National League’s on Wednesday.

With that in mind, here is a deeper explanation of the format as well as an unfortunate prediction for the eventual National League winner.

Format Explanation

The MLB playoffs previously included just four teams for each league (three division winners and a wild card), but a fifth team was added in the form of a second wild-card squad in 2012.

Since then, the two teams with the best records in the National League that didn’t win a division have faced off in the Wild Card Game for the right to advance to the Divisional Series. The same format is used in the American League, and the team with the better record hosts the game.

The winners of the two Wild Card Games will battle the No. 1 seed in each respective league in the Divisional Series.

This year’s winner-takes-all American League Wild Card Game pits the Orioles against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. The National League Wild Card Game takes place on Wednesday and features a showdown between the Giants and Mets.

The American League Divisional Series starts Thursday, and the National League Divisional Series begins Friday. While the Wild Card Games are each one-game battles, the Divisional Series is a best-of-five affair, with the better seed enjoying home-field advantage in Games 1, 2 and 5.

The No. 1 seed faces the Wild Card Game winners, while the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in each league play in the other Divisional Series.

Prediction: National League Wild Card Winner Will Lose the Divisional Series

Despite the fact the wild-card teams will face the No. 1 seeds in the Divisional Series, it is actually going out on more of a historical limb to say the winner of the NL Wild Card Game will lose the best-of-five showdown. 

The Chicago Cubs advanced all the way to the National League Championship Series last year after starting in the Wild Card Game. The 2014 World Series featured two teams that began their postseason journeys as wild cards, when the Kansas City Royals faced the San Francisco Giants, and the St. Louis Cardinals reached the NLCS in 2012 after winning the Wild Card Game.

However, this year’s wild-card winner will have a short postseason, largely because of the team it will face in the Divisional Series. It will already be fighting an uphill battle in the pitching matchups after using Madison Bumgarner (if it’s San Francisco) or Noah Syndergaard (if it’s New York) on Wednesday, and the Cubs will make quick work of it at the next stage.

The 103-58 Cubs sport the best record in baseball under the direction of three-time Manager of the Year Joe Maddon. While they haven’t won a World Series since 1908, they are perfectly positioned to change that this year with a dominant starting pitching staff, formidable offense and shutdown bullpen trio.

Jake Arrieta won the National League Cy Young last year, and he is likely the third-best starter on the Cubs in 2016 thanks to the presence of Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks. Lester and Hendricks were both forces in this year’s Cy Young race and will give Chicago a potent one-two punch before shifting to Arrieta.

As for the offense, Kris Bryant is a National League MVP candidate, and Anthony Rizzo provides plenty of lefty pop. Complementary pieces to that powerful heart of the order include Addison Russell, Dexter Fowler, Ben Zobrist and Javier Baez. Even Jason Heyward is capable of driving any given pitch despite his struggles this year.

If the offense gets the lead and the combination of Lester, Hendricks and Arrieta maintains it, Maddon will hand the ball to a bullpen that features Pedro Strop, Hector Rondon and Aroldis Chapman.

Tom Fornelli of CBSSports.com pointed out just how difficult a task beating the Cubs in October will be for the Wild Card Game winner:

That formula could lead the Cubs to a drought-busting triumph, and they will start their postseason with a relatively straightforward Divisional Series victory.

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Two American League East clubs will vie for their postseason lives when the Toronto Blue Jays host the Baltimore Orioles in Tuesday’s AL Wild Card Game.

MLB nearly faced a scheduling nightmare when a four-team tie remained plausible as late as Saturday. If the Detroit Tigers were required to make up a rained-out game Monday, they could have forced another tiebreaker game before playing the actual elimination game.

Toronto and Baltimore, however, made things easy by taking care of business. Behind power-fueled offenses, both squads finished at 89-73 after winning Sunday.

Last year, Toronto ousted the Texas Rangers in a feisty American League Division Series matchup most remembered by Jose Bautista‘s game-winning home run. (OK, probably more the ensuing bat flip). A win Tuesday night would set up a rematch.

Let’s take an early look at the AL’s play-in game.

AL Wild Card Game: Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays

Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto

Date: Tuesday, October 4

Time: 8:08 p.m. ET

TV: TBS

Live Stream: MLB on TBS

Preview

With both teams needing to clinch a spot Sunday, each side used its most exciting young starter. As a result, Baltimore’s Kevin Gausman and Toronto All-Star Aaron Sanchez are unavailable for the Wild Card Game.

So who will take the mound at Rogers Centre? Neither team confirmed its starter as of Sunday night. J.A. Happ pitched Saturday, so the Blue Jays will turn to Marco Estrada (on three days’ rest), Francisco Liriano or Marcus Stroman. Unless they prefer Yovani Gallardo on short rest, the Orioles can employ Chris Tillman or Ubaldo Jimenez, who is highly erratic despite surging to the finish line.

Regardless of the two choices, it’s not a pitchers’ duel like the National League’s clash between Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgarner. This game boils down to offense and relief pitching. The starters will do their job by navigating five solid innings.

Buoyed by Mark Trumbo’s MLB-high 47 home runs, Baltimore rounded the bases more than any other MLB team this season. Although Bautista missed some time, only the Orioles, Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals went deep more than the Blue Jays.

It’s imperative for the Blue Jays to avoid a deficit entering the final inning. They shouldn’t want to take their chances against closer Zach Britton, who allowed four earned runs all season. Stats guru Ryan M. Spaeder noted the reliever’s historic season:

The path to Britton, however, is not as stable as earlier in the season. Brad Brach, who earned an All-Star nod with a 0.91 ERA, inflated his second-half mark to 3.94 after relinquishing four runs Saturday. Darren O’Day is no longer an automatic late-inning option after an ineffective (3.77 ERA) and injury-plagued campaign.

Baltimore could instead peg Dylan Bundy as a high-leverage bullpen option. Although the worn-down rookie yielded five runs in four of his last eight starts, he submitted seven strikeouts in 2.1 relief innings to earn a rotation spot in July. That culminated a string of 14.1 scoreless frames over which he tallied 22 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, foolish baseball shenanigans cost Toronto its hottest reliever. Since arriving from Seattle, Joaquin Benoit allowed one run over 25 appearances. On Sept. 26, he tore a calf muscle while running from a bullpen to join an on-field altercation against the New York Yankees.

“It felt like something hit me,” Benoit said, per an Associated Press report, via USA Today. “I won’t be able to get on the mound anytime soon, so personally this is really disappointing.”

Days later, Jason Grilli and Roberto Osuna blew a lead to Baltimore by allowing three runs over the final two frames.

“It was big,” Tillman said after Wednesday’s rally, per Reuters. “I think that could push a team a long way, those kind of wins. It was a big team win, and everybody played a part in it.”

Devon Travis also jammed his recently surgically repaired left thumb in the ruckus, but he looked fine when homering on Sunday. After debuting in late May, the 25-year-old second baseman hit .300/.332/.454 with 11 long balls in 432 plate appearances.

The Blue Jays were assembled to out-hit everyone, but Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin have fallen shy of expectations. Not Edwin Encarnacion, who remains one of the game’s sturdiest sluggers. In perhaps his final season with the club, the pending free agent belted 19 of his 42 homers after the All-Star break.

Home-field advantage could give Toronto a major boost, as Baltimore is the only AL playoff team with a losing record (39-42) on the road. Toronto also gained a narrow season edge in head-to-head meetings (10-9), but Baltimore stayed alive by winning two of three at Rogers Centre last week.

No stat or trend in the world will unearth the answer to who claims a winner-take-all baseball game. Especially not when the similarly constructed participants exited 162 of them with identical records.

Anything can happen in the Wild Card Game, but viewers should expect plenty of offense during a close contest. Orioles backup catcher Caleb Joseph went the entire season without recording an RBI, so he’ll probably come off the bench to drive in the winning run.

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No one knows how the 2016 MLB playoffs will end, but we know how they’ll begin: with a clash of titans.

Technically, the first postseason game will be Tuesday’s American League wild-card tussle between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays. That should be a solid matchup between powerful AL East foes.

But the main opening event will take place in Queens on Wednesday, where the New York Mets and flame-throwing ace Noah Syndergaard will host decorated October hero Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants.

Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal summed things up succinctly: 

Baseball is littered with elite pitchers. This won’t be the only marquee mound bout we witness before the World Series confetti falls.  

But it’s tough to conjure a more enticing showdown. Here are the stats:

Bumgarner has the edge in innings and strikeouts, as he set career highs in both categories. Syndergaard, meanwhile, cracked the 200-strikeout threshold in his sophomore season and paced the pitching field in wins above replacement by FanGraphs’ measure.

Numbers, though, don’t tell the whole story.

Each of these men boasts a certain mystique—a magnetic, intangible quality that turns every start into a must-watch event.

For the 24-year-old Syndergaard, it’s his flowing golden locks, imposing 6’6″ frame and bolt-throwing power arm. It’s the Norse god (or Marvel superhero, depending on your perspective) nickname. 

“It’s like every little kid’s dream come true to pitch in a high-stakes game,” Syndergaard said, per Maria Guardado of NJ Advance Media. “I’ll embrace it. I look forward to it. It should be a lot of fun.”   

Bumgarner is only 27 years old himself, but he’s a grizzled playoff veteran.

The 2014 postseason was his magnum opus, as he tossed an MLB-record 52.2 innings, including 21 in the Fall Classic alone. Overall, Bumgarner owns a 2.14 ERA in 88.1 playoff frames. 

He has experience in the Wild Card Game, too. In 2014, he threw a complete-game shutout with 10 strikeouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates to send San Francisco to the division series. 

Bumgarner has already cemented his status as one of the greatest postseason performers of all time. There is no stage too big…no lights too bright.

Win or go home in New York City? Bring it on.

On the other hand, Syndergaard is no October newbie. His resume is thinner than Bumgarner’s, but he cut his teeth as a rookie during the Mets’ pennant-winning run in 2015, logging a 3.32 ERA with an impressive 26 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Syndergaard has held current Giants hitters to a .176/.250/.235 slash line over his career, per ESPN.com, while Mets hitters own a .261/.316/.382 line against Bumgarner. If you’re a Mets fan searching for some optimism, that could help.

Then again, Bumgarner is 4-0 with a 0.62 ERA in 29 career innings at Citi Field. So there’s that.

“I don’t have an answer for you,” Mets skipper Terry Collins said of besting the Giants lefty, per Ryan Hatch of NJ Advance Media. “He’s a great pitcher. Lately I know he’s pitched a lot of innings, but you can’t let him be on top of you … if you let him get ahead of you, you’re in trouble.”

It’d be foolish to expect anything less than Bumgarner flipping his autumn switch. Syndergaard should be pumping his triple-digit stuff with the full-throated Mets faithful behind him.

This will almost surely be a pitchers’ duel, with runs at a premium. If it goes to the bullpens, New York has an edge. Don’t count on that, though.

These are two thoroughbreds lining up at the starting gate. This is about as good as it gets.

If we’re picking a winner, it has to be Bumgarner, based on his track record and the fact San Francisco is rolling in hot after a season-ending sweep of the archrival Dodgers. That’s far from a lock, however. 

It’s a clash of titans. It’s Bumgarner-Syndergaard. It’s playoff baseball. 

Buckle up.

All statistics current as of Sunday and courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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After battling for the East Division title throughout the summer, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles won the two wild-card spots in the American League playoffs on the final day of the regular season.

The two teams clinched their playoff spots as the Orioles beat the New York Yankees and the Blue Jays defeated the A.L. East champion Boston Red Sox.

The Jays actually won their playoff spot about 45 minutes prior to finishing off their victory. The clinching moment took place when the Atlanta Braves beat the Detroit Tigers and eliminated them from playoff contention.

The Blue Jays will host the Orioles in the Wild Card Game Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre. TBS will televise the game at 8 p.m. ET.

Both teams finished with 89-73 records, but the the Blue Jays earned home field in this matchup since they won the season series by a razor-thin 10-9 margin.

The winner of the Wild Card Game will meet the Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series, since Texas finished as the top seed in the American League.

The Orioles and the Blue Jays had designs on winning the division title as both teams had the lead at various points throughout the summer. However, when the Red Sox won 11 games in a row in September, both teams had to scramble to make the playoffs.

The Orioles have played solid baseball throughout the final month of the season, with the exception of getting swept in a four-game series at home by the Red Sox. Baltimore finished the season by going 17-12 in September and October.

The Orioles went 10-5 in their last 15 road games.

Manager Buck Showalter was not ready to say who would start against the Blue Jays, but it appears that he will most likely hand the ball to Chris Tillman or Ubaldo Jimenez.

The Blue Jays started the month of September with the lead in the American League East, but their powerful hitting attack struggled with its consistency, and their bullpen had issues.

Their 13-16 record in their last 29 games indicates that the Jays are not in top form, but they won two pressure-packed games in Boston to potentially right their ship.

It seems likely that Marcus Stroman or Francisco Liriano will get the start Tuesday night for the Jays, but manager John Gibbons has not announced his starting pitcher.

The Blue Jays and Orioles are powerful, slugging teams capable of hitting the long ball with regularity. The Blue Jays will depend on Josh Donaldson (37 HR, 99 RBI), Edwin Encarnacion (42 HR, 127 RBI), Jose Bautista (22 HR) and Troy Tulowitzki (24 HR) for the bulk of their production.

The Orioles are built in a similar manner, and they need Manny Machado (37 HR, 96 RBI), American League home run leader Mark Trumbo (47 HR), Chris Davis (38 HR) and Adam Jones (29 HR and 83 RBI) to produce.

Prediction

While neither team has announced its starting pitching, this game figures to come down to how well both teams handle the final innings.

Having a lead late in the game would be a good thing for the Blue Jays with the talented and powerful arm of Roberto Osuna (36 saves in 41 opportunities, 2.68 earned-run average), but it would be a near-lock for the Orioles with Zach Britton (47 saves in 47 opportunities, 0.54 ERA). Britton is a legitimate Cy Young contender, and his remarkable sinker is almost impossible to hit.

Playing at home should be an advantage for the Blue Jays, but the Orioles played better baseball during September-October, and they played particularly well on the road.

Look for Machado to drive in the go-ahead run in the late innings and Britton to preserve the lead with a shutdown ninth inning.

Baltimore advances to the American League Division Series with a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays and their raucous fans.

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All six division titles have already been celebrated around baseball, which leaves just the two wild-card spots in both leagues up for grabs during the final days of the regular season. There are a total of seven teams still battling for those remaining postseason berths.

The close race should lead to ample drama on Sunday afternoon. The league has scheduled every game to start shortly after 3 p.m. ET in order to create a level playing field for all of the teams still in contention, and that increases the entertainment value tenfold.

Let’s check out all of the important dates for the upcoming playoff slate. That’s followed by a look at how the standings shape up with just a few days for those final spots to get claimed.

2016 MLB Postseason Schedule

All playoff games on Fox, Fox Sports 1, MLB Network, ESPN or TBS. Exact TV schedule TBA.

Current Playoff Picture

The Chicago Cubs are going to enter the playoffs as the clear favorite (+220 moneyline, via Odds Shark), regardless of which teams earn the remaining berths over the next couple of days. The NL Central champions are the only team to reach 100 wins and own a ridiculous plus-252 run differential.

As always, however, the age-old debate about rest vs. rust has come into play once again. Managers are tasked with doing their best to ensure no major injuries occur after clinching the division, but too many days of rest can hurt a rhythm that’s allowed the team to have success all season.

Cubs skipper Joe Maddon explained his thought process to Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago when asked about starters like Jake Arrieta and John Lackey going almost two weeks between outings by the time the postseason arrives:

That’s always been the major complaint I’ve heard. It’s just up to us to handle it properly. Now, of course, it may be difficult or rusty or whatever you want to call it. I don’t know. And then again, the rest might just do somebody really good. It just depends on the individual. These are the kind of things that are kind of outside of your control.

It’s one of those intangible factors all of the division winners are dealing with over the final days, and it could play a major role early in the postseason.

That said, the main focus right now is on the wild-card chase.

In the American League, the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners are all riding three-game winning streaks (as of Friday) while the Toronto Blue Jays are on a three-game skid. It’s pushed Toronto to the brink after looking pretty safe coming into the final week.

The schedule is favorable to Detroit, which may be forced to play an additional make-up game Monday against the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers are facing the Atlanta Braves, who have played better lately but still own the league’s third-worst record and are now focused on getting young players some at-bats.

Baltimore is also in promising shape. It owns a one-game advantage for the top wild-card spot, meaning a 1-1 finish should be enough to get in. The Orioles have Kevin Gausman on the mound against the New York Yankees’ Luis Cessa on Sunday, a clear edge just in case they lose Saturday.

The biggest question really surrounds the Blue Jays. They still control their own destiny despite the struggles over the past few days, but it can be tough to break out of a funk as the pressure continues to mount, particularly when playing on the road against the division-winning Boston Red Sox.

Seattle is still a threat, too. It owns a clear pitching advantage in both weekend games against the Oakland Athletics. Winning both would force either Toronto or Detroit to win out to finish above the Mariners’ potential 88 victories.

All told, the Orioles and Tigers feel like the teams in the best position, but there will probably be some chaos before the dust settles Sunday and possibly beyond. Lisa Kerney of ESPN summed it up well:

The National League race is a bit less crowded with just three teams battling for the two spots, but all of them are legitimate World Series threats if they do sneak in.

It’s hard to see the reigning NL champion New York Mets missing out. They need one win over the final two days with Bartolo Colon and Noah Syndergaard slated to start against a Philadelphia Phillies squad that’s lost five straight.

Assuming New York gets in, that leaves the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals to fight for one berth with the Giants currently holding a one-game edge.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ decision not to rest their starting pitchers quite as aggressively as the aforementioned Cubs could hurt San Francisco, though. Clayton Kershaw and Kenta Maeda are slated to start the final two games against the Giants’ 19th-ranked offense.

That leaves the door open for St. Louis. The Cardinals have been a model of consistency for almost two decades, highlighted by a pair of World Series titles. Two wins should at least force a playoff, and they hold a pitching edge in both remaining games against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Ultimately, the close races paired with the Tigers’ potential need for a make-up game Monday could make for a scheduling nightmare for MLB. It’s still possible there could be a four-way tie in the AL and a three-way tie in the NL to get sorted out next week.

These races tend to figure themselves out before those types of extreme scenarios come into play, though. That said, it’s a good thing the wild-card fight is as close as it is, because the competition within the divisions this season was over early.

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All six MLB divisions are settled. 

That doesn’t diminish the chaos in store for the season’s final four days, though.

Every division is wrapped up, but all four wild-card spots have yet to be determined. Don’t be surprised if bonus baseball is needed to settle a tiebreaker on Monday.

Excluding the Chicago Cubs, who have clinched home-field advantage throughout the National League stage, the other division champions can all alter their positions to secure more home cooking.

As examined below, a grueling season has left some teams hobbling into October. They might not have anything left in the tank when it matters most.

Playoff Brackets

World Series Odds

Injury Bug Spreading

The Washington Nationals finally lived up to their promise this season. A year after the World Series favorites missed the playoffs, they stormed past the New York Mets to reclaim the NL East. Their 92 wins and plus-148 run differential both trail only the Cubs in the NL.

There’s one problem, though: They suddenly have a lack of healthy players.

Daniel Murphy, who has followed last postseason’s power barrage with an NL-best .596 slugging percentage, hasn’t started since Sept. 17 because of a mild buttocks sprain. Bryce Harper has missed the last three games with an injured thumb after reportedly playing through a shoulder injury, according to Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated.

Per MLB.com’s Jamal Collier, general manager Mike Rizzo said ace Stephen Strasburg (elbow) is unlikely to pitch in the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I think it would be kind of pushing it,” Rizzo said. “I think that’s fair to say. Again, I haven’t seen him after he did his throwing program today, but just the calendar, it’s unlikely that he’d contribute in that first series.”

The most serious of them all, though, is catcher Wilson Ramos, whose season is over because of a torn ACL. He was hitting .307/.354/.396 with the highest weighted runs created plus (124) of any catcher with at least 300 plate appearances, per FanGraphs.

ESPN.com’s Buster Olney emphasized that Ramos’ absence will particularly hurt during the NLDS:

The Dodgers won’t take pity on their upcoming opponents. They have overcome their share of bad luck during a season in which they tied an MLB record by placing 27 players on the disabled list. Yet with Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill healthy, they’re closing the season strong.

Washington’s divisional foe can relate to its woes. A year after riding a stacked rotation to the World Series, the Mets are fighting for a wild-card bid without Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz. If they need to use Bartolo Colon and Noah Syndergaard over the weekend, Robert Gsellman or Seth Lugo would have to start the Wild Card Game.

Per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, the Mets may rearrange their rotation to avoid such a scenario:

Tying the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals for the second spot would negate those efforts. Nevertheless, they have capitalized on a favorable schedule by scoring 64 runs in their last seven games against the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins. They’ll close the season with a three-game series at Philadelphia.

Like the Mets, starting pitching was supposed to mark the Cleveland Indians’ strength. The superb trio of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar led them to their first American League Central title since 2007, but the team might not have any of them for the postseason.

Having last pitched Sept. 9, Salazar is attempting to return in time for the playoffs. But the 26-year-old right-hander would have to shake off considerable rust after accruing a 7.44 second-half ERA.

“His health is the first priority,” manager Terry Francona said, per Cleveland.com’s Zack Meisel. “He’s not rushing into anything. This is not a speed-up program.”

Carrasco is done for the year because of a broken hand. After he left his last start early, Kluber‘s status is also in question. The Associated Press’ Tom Withers presented a timetable, which could rule the ace out for the American League Division Series’ first two games.

The Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and whichever team survives the wild-card ruckus are all stacked offensively. Countering with Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin will diminish Cleveland’s chances of winning its first World Series since 1948.

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Less than a week remains in the 2016 MLB regular season, and there are still a handful of playoff spots up for grabs.

On the American League side, the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers have clinched their respective divisions, and the Boston Red Sox have locked up a playoff spot with their magic number at one to clinch the AL East.

That leaves the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros to duke it out for the two wild-card spots, with the Astros the furthest team out of the race at just 2.5 games back.

In the National League, the Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers have already cemented themselves as division winners, with the Cubs locking up the best record in the league as well.

The wild card is anything but decided, though, as the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals are separated by just 1.5 games, and a crazy three-way-tie scenario still remains a realistic possibility.

At any rate, what follows is a look at each remaining contender’s chances of reaching the postseason, with the following factors taken into account:

• Current standings
• Recent performance
• Future schedule
• Injury concerns

So, with the regular season set to wrap up on Oct. 2, here is an updated division-by-division look at the playoff chances of all the remaining contenders from where they stood one week ago.

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With just over one week left in the long slog that is the MLB regular season, the playoff pictures in both leagues are becoming clearer with each passing day. Each of the six division races is all but over, but teams in both the American League and National League continue to claw at each other’s heels in their final attempts to secure wild-card spots. 

In the AL, the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians have firm holds on their respective divisions, and the Texas Rangers have already clinched the AL West title. Meanwhile, the division winners are all locked in for the NL playoffs. The Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers will represent the East, Central and West, respectively, after the Dodgers clinched the NL West Sunday evening. 

Now, superstition-fueled history tells us that the San Francisco Giants should be the 2016 World Series champions. After all, they win the Fall Classic every two years, or at least they have on alternating years since 2010. If San Francisco wants a shot at keeping that trend alive, though, they’ll have to fight off the St. Louis Cardinals, who trail the Giants by just a half-game for the second wild-card spot and are 1.5 games behind the New York Mets.  

If San Francisco can snag a wild-card spot, it will enter the slugfest that will be the 2016 MLB playoffs. There will be no easy game or series for the Giants or any postseason team, and the last club standing will have had to prove it is the undisputed champion among the league’s behemoths. 

Let’s take a look at the updated playoff picture and standings.

American League

Perhaps the biggest surprise out of this group is the Indians, who strung together an inspired 14-game winning streak that just so happened to coincide with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ remarkable NBA championship in June. At 90-65 through Sunday’s action, the Indians have left the Detroit Tigers in the rearview mirror as they look to claim the AL Central led by studs such as All-Star Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana. 

Cleveland acquired reliever Andrew Miller just before the trade deadline from the New York Yankees for a troop of prospects, and since changing teams, Miller has given up just five earned runs in 22 games. He has bolstered an already-impressive bullpen for the Indians.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox have just recently run away with the AL East. The Yankees abruptly faded from the playoff picture, while the Orioles and Blue Jays have been relegated to competing for the right to host the AL Wild Card Game. Boston, which has now won 11 straight games, has been buoyed by its trove of heavy hitters, led by the indefatigable David Ortiz (clap-clap, point to sky).

Ortiz, who plans to retire after this season, is absolutely mashing the ball in 2016, hitting .321 with 37 home runs and 124 RBI. During the All-Star break, Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout told Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (via Joe Rodgers of Omnisport for Sporting News) he wasn’t sold that Big Papi would actually hang it up at year’s end, although due to his aching body, Ortiz maintains he will retire. 

Despite Ortiz’s monster stats, I’d be remiss not to mention Red Sox standouts Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez and Xander Bogaerts. And still, the list goes on, making Boston a serious threat come October in spite of its occasional shaky pitching. 

The Rangers boast an offense that is possibly more impressive than that of the Red Sox. Like Cleveland, Texas took advantage of the Yankees’ mediocrity back in July by acquiring Carlos Beltran. Beltran joined Adrian Beltre, Rougned Odor and Ian Desmond in Texas’ potent offensive attack.

Texas and Boston both boast records of 92-64 after Sunday’s games, which is tied for the best record in the American League, so let me clarify why the Rangers are still slotted as the top seed above.

Should both teams finish the season with the same record that is tops among their AL foes, the team with home-field advantage would be the squad that won the head-to-head season series. However, the Red Sox and Rangers each won three of the six meetings this season. Next, seeding is determined by which team has a greater winning percentage in games against divisional opponents. The Rangers hold a slight edge in that category and thus would be the AL’s No. 1 seed if the playoffs began today. 

Lastly, the Blue Jays and Orioles aren’t yet safe in their spots in the standings. The Tigers trail Baltimore by just 1.5 games, and the Seattle Mariners are still only 2.5 games out of the second wild-card spot. Although they currently stand to host the Wild Card Game, the Blue Jays can’t be too happy about not yet securing their place in the postseason this late in the campaign after reaching the ALCS last year.

National League

So, is this the year the Cubs finally exorcise their demons and win the World Series? With a startling record of 99-56 entering the season’s final stretch, the baseball community has to fear the Cubbies this postseason. It is the first time since 1935 that Chicago has posted at least 99 victories, although, as you know, the Cubs didn’t win the World Series that year. 

The club’s offense is led by young guns Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, who have combined for 69 homers and 204 RBI so far in 2016. As for their pitching staff, the Cubs have relied heavily on Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks to win games this year, and they’ve done just that. The Cubs could meet up with the Mets in the NLDS if New York makes it past the Wild Card Game, which would provide a rematch of the 2015 NLCS. 

Speaking of the Mets, it is their former second baseman, Daniel Murphy, who has continued his postseason magic from a year ago all season long, but now he plays for his old division rival, the Washington Nationals.

Murphy has been more productive than the Nats ever could have hoped during an injury-plagued season for reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper. Murphy is hitting .347 with 25 long balls and 104 RBI and will need to continue to lead the Nationals as they make a push toward World Series baseball. 

Out west, a familiar cast of characters propelled the Dodgers to a fourth consecutive NL West title. Corey Seager, Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner have carried the bulk of the offensive burden, and the pitching staff responded well after the departure of Zack Greinke to Arizona during the offseason and even as ace Clayton Kershaw missed some time due to injury. 

As for the wild-card race, the Mets might be the most intriguing story. After a thrilling run to the World Series last year, New York fell flat against the Kansas City Royals. There were times during this season when it didn’t look like the Mets would even make it back to the playoffs, especially as injuries sidelined many of their high-powered arms.

After a 17-0 romping of the Phillies on Sunday, the Mets seem to have caught fire—or at least sparked some embers as the postseason nears. If they can keep it up, they will inspire some panic in their wild-card opponent, which figures to be either San Francisco or St. Louis.

World Series Odds

According to Odds Shark, the Cubs (+300; bet $100 to win $300) are the current betting favorites to win it all. These teams follow: 

Washington Nationals: +500 

San Francisco Giants: +550

Cleveland Indians: +650

Texas Rangers: +750

Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers: +1200

Toronto Blue Jays: +1400 

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