Right around Labor Day, it looked as if Major League Baseball's playoff races would be a big snooze fest.
September had other ideas.
The standings in both the American League and National League have tightened in a hurry, and a lot of the action over the final few days of the season has centered around teams in Ohio.
Here's a look at some things to watch as MLB's regular season comes to an end and October baseball arrives:
What are the biggest storylines?
1. The National League wild-card race was still up in the air on Sunday morning, with the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds tied at 83-78 for the final NL playoff spot. The Reds will clinch their path to October baseball if they beat the Brewers on Sunday because they have the tiebreaker over the Mets after winning the season series. If the Mets beat the Marlins and the Reds lose, New York is headed to the postseason. The Mets looked well-positioned for a playoff spot on Sept. 1 but have a 10-13 record this month, which allowed the Reds to climb back into the race.
2. The American League's six playoff participants are set after the Tigers and Guardians both clinched spots on Saturday, leaving the Astros out of the postseason. The biggest mystery remaining is who will win the AL East, which is currently tied between the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Both teams have a 93-68 record. The Blue Jays can clinch the division and a bye into the Division Series with a win on Sunday since they won the regular-season series against the Yankees. If the Yankees win on Sunday and the Blue Jays lose, the Yankees get the pass into the Division Series.
3. Cal Raleigh hit his59th and 60th home runs while Seattle clinched the AL West on Wednesday, extending his record for homers in a season by a player who primarily plays catcher. He has one game left to match Yankees star Aaron Judge's AL record of 62. Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber homered twice Wednesday to reach 56 home runs, and Judge also connected twice to reach 51. He added two more over the weekend to leave him at 53 going into Sunday. The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani has 54 homers after going deep against the D-backs on Thursday.
What is the MLB playoff format?
There are 12 teams that qualify for MLB's 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.
The 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. 30. 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.
The 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.
What is the MLB postseason schedule?
Wild Card Round: Sept. 30-Oct. 2 (ESPN)
Division Series: Oct. 4-11 (NL on TBS, AL on FOX/FS1)
Championship Series: Oct. 12-21 (NL on TBS, AL on FOX/FS1)
World Series: Oct. 24-Nov. 1 (FOX)
Who has already a clinched a spot?
In the National League, the Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres have already qualified for the postseason. The Padres clinched on Monday with a win over the Brewers. Only one spot remains available and that will be decided between the Mets and Reds.
The American League field is set with the Blue Jays, Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians playing October baseball.
Who are the favorites to win the World Series?
The Phillies (+425) are the favorite to win the World Series, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. After that, it's the Dodgers (+500), Mariners (+550), Brewers (+750), Blue Jays (+800) and Yankees (+800).
The Blue Jays opened the season at +6000 odds.
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