It is officially clinching season across MLB as baseball’s best teams vie to lock up division titles and wild-card hopefuls look to earn a place in October. As the race to the finish heats up and magic numbers shrink, we’ve got you covered on everything you need to know about which teams have already punched their postseason tickets, who could be popping the champagne next and which races could come down to the very end of the regular season.
For more, including current playoff odds, check out our MLB standings page.
Playoff matchups if the season ended today
American League
AL wild-card game: A’s at Rays
ALDS: Wild-card winner vs. Astros; Twins vs. Yankees
National League
NL wild-card game: Cubs at Nationals
NLDS: Wild-card winner vs. Dodgers; Cardinals vs. Braves
Who is already in:
The Dodgers clinched the season’s first postseason spot with a win against the Orioles on Tuesday night in Baltimore, earning their seventh consecutive NL West title.
Those seven straight division wins rank behind only the 1991-2005 Braves and 1998-2006 Yankees for most in the Divisional Era (since 1969). This time around, the Dodgers tied for the fourth-fewest games needed to clinch a division since 2000 and the earliest they have secured a division crown since their move to L.A.
What’s next? The Dodgers have a three-game lead on Atlanta for the NL’s top record and remain in a tight race with the Astros and Yankees for the best record in baseball — and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
WHO COULD BE NEXT
New York Yankees or Houston Astros
The American League’s two top teams are next in line to clinch division titles with New York’s AL East magic number currently at nine and Houston’s down to eight in the AL West.