The 2024 Major League Baseball regular season is winding down, but there is still a lot of possible movement as postseason positioning heats up, so let’s see the MLB Top Games before the playoffs begins.
Only one team (the Milwaukee Brewers) has clinched a division title. In two divisions (the AL West and the NL East) none of the teams have clinched a playoff spot, showing how tight the races there are.
The defending champions, the Texas Rangers, are seven games out of the last AL wild card spot.
The NL pennant winners, the Arizona Diamondbacks, are holding onto the third NL wild card spot. A World Series rematch is unlikely.
Let’s take a look at the updated positioning.
MLB Top Games of the Last Two Weeks of the Regular Season
With less than two weeks of the regular season left, this is the current Postseason bracket we're looking at. 👀 pic.twitter.com/QmByXyCFjs
— MLB (@MLB) September 16, 2024
American League Leaders
East: N.Y. Yankees*
Central: Cleveland Guardians*
West: Houston Astros
Wild Cards: Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins/Detroit Tigers
Wild Card Contenders: Seattle Mariners (2 GB), Boston Red Sox (4), Tampa Bay Rays (5), Toronto Blue Jays/Texas Rangers (7)
National League Leaders
East: Philadelphia Phillies
Central: Milwaukee Brewers**
West: L.A. Dodgers*
Wild Cards: San Diego Padres, N.Y. Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks
Wild Card Contenders: Atlanta Braves (2 GB), Chicago Cubs (6 ½), St. Louis Cardinals (8)
*-clinched playoff spot
**-clinched division
MLB Top Games Philadelphia Phillies at N.Y. Mets
This series actually began on Thursday, September 19, and the Mets denied the Phillies a chance to clinch a playoff spot. The series continues on Friday night.
Friday: Christopher Sanchez (PHI) vs David Peterson (NY)
Saturday: Ranger Suarez (PHI) vs Sean Manaea (NY)
Sunday: Zack Wheeler (PHI) vs Tylor Megill)
MLB Top Games Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers
The Mariners have an excellent chance to make up some ground in the wild-card race (and possibly even the AL West race) as they take on a Texas team that is just another loss or two from elimination from the postseason.
Friday: George Kirby (SEA) vs Jacob deGrom (TEX)
Saturday: Emerson Hancock (SEA) vs Max Scherzer (TEX)
Sunday: Bryan Woo (SEA) vs Andrew Heaney (TEX)
MLB Top Games Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers
After clinching the NL Central title, the Brewers’ focus may be on resting some of their regulars and getting some looks at the September 1 call-ups. The Diamondbacks need to stack up as many wins as they can.
Friday: Zac Gallen (ARI) vs Colin Rea (MIL)
Saturday: Merrill Kelly (ARI) vs Aaron Civale (MIL)
Sunday: Jordan Montgomery (ARI) vs Frankie Montas (MIL)
MLB Top Games Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros
Will the Mariners head to Houston after sweeping the Rangers? If so, they will be primed to put pressure on the Astros, who saw last year’s postseason collapse in the ALCS.
Monday: Bryce Miller (SEA) vs Hunter Brown (HOU)
Tuesday: Logan Gilbert (SEA) vs Framber Valdez (HOU)
Wednesday: George Kirby (SEA) vs Yusei Kikuchi (HOU)
MLB Top Games Baltimore Orioles at N.Y. Yankees
Last year, the Orioles won the AL East while the Yankees were left on the outside looking in. This time around, the Orioles can still catch the Yankees, but they have to chase down a lineup that has Aaron Judge and Juan Soto raking. This series is the O’s best shot at putting pressure on the Yanks.
Tuesday: Dean Kremer (BAL) vs Marcus Stroman (NY)
Wednesday: Zach Eflin (BAL) vs Nestor Cortes (NY)
Thursday: Corbin Burnes (BAL) vs Clarke Schmidt (NY)
MLB Top Games San Diego Padres at L.A. Dodgers
The Padres don’t have quite as much top-tier talent this time around, but their postseason chances actually look a lot better in 2024. Can they dent the Dodgers’ confidence enough to make them worry about another postseason meeting?
Tuesday: Michael King (SD) vs Landon Knack (LA)
Wednesday: Dylan Cease (SD) vs Jack Flaherty (LA)
Thursday: Joe Musgrove (SD) vs TBA (LA)
MLB Top Games Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians
Is this a possible ALDS or ALCS matchup? The Guardians have better pitching than they have hitting, while the Astros have higher ceilings on both sides of that spectrum. The Guardians have the better defense, so it will be interesting to see how these two teams approach each other. By this time, we should know if the Astros have clinched or if they have started to collapse and let the Mariners pass them by.
Friday: Justin Verlander (HOU) vs Ben Lively (CLE)
Saturday: Ronel Blanco (HOU) vs Matthew Boyd (CLE)
Sunday: Spencer Arrighetti (HOU) vs Gavin Williams (CLE)
^With today's Royals loss, the @CleGuardians have #CLINCHED the AL Central! pic.twitter.com/FD8b5G1bne
— MLB (@MLB) September 21, 2024
MLB Top Games N.Y. Mets at Milwaukee Brewers
Will the Mets have caught the Phillies and be playing for a division title? Or will they be locked into a wild-card slot and giving their regulars some rest? Or will they have collapsed, fallen out of the playoffs, and have nothing on the line? I’m going with the second choice.
Friday: Sean Manaea (NY) vs Aaron Civale (MIL)
Saturday: TBA (NY) vs Frankie Montas (MIL)
Sunday: Jose Quintana (NY) vs TBA (MIL)
MLB Top Games San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks
Depending on how the NL West and wild card standings look at this point, this could be a series that continues into next week, if they end up as first-round wild card opponents.Friday: Martin Perez (SD) vs Merrill Kelly (ARI)
Saturday: Yu Darvish (SD) vs Jordan Montgomery (ARI)
Sunday: Michael King (SD) vs Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI)
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MLB Top Games before Playoffs
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