Unfortunately, the Cubs have lost their chances of making the postseason. Although they are still mathematically in the running – their elimination number is 4 – it’s basically a case of “wait until next year” for our favorite team.
So let’s take a look at the postseason races that are still undecided. With the Cubs’ loss on Wednesday, the Brewers clinched the NL Central, and when the Yankees beat the Mariners late Wednesday night, they secured a postseason spot.
Here you can find out where all the participants and races stand before the races on Thursday.
NL East
The Phillies’ magic number to clinch the NL East title is 4. They play the Mets in a four-game series that begins tonight at Citi Field, so if the Phillies win the first two games (or any two games) of that series, they’ll be NL East champions. Of course, they host the Cubs for three games next week; hopefully the Phillies will have clinched the division title by then.
NL West
The Dodgers’ magic number for the NL West title is 7. They play the Marlins this afternoon and host the Rockies this weekend. If they haven’t won by Sunday, they’ll play the second-place Padres in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium starting Tuesday.
NL Wildcard
The Padres currently hold the first wild-card spot and lead the Mets and Diamondbacks by 2½ games. The Mets have won 15 of 19 games and are now in the second wild-card spot ahead of Arizona. The two teams are both 84-68, but New York has the tiebreaker. The Braves are both two games back. Atlanta will get its chance against the Mets when they play them in a three-game series at Truist Park starting next Tuesday.
AL East
The Yankees, as mentioned, have clinched a postseason spot. They lead the second-place Orioles by five games and their magic number is 6. The Yankees finish a series in Seattle this afternoon and then visit the A’s in Oakland. As with the Dodgers, if the Yankees have not won by Sunday, they will host the Orioles in New York in a three-game series starting Tuesday.
AL Central
The Guardians lead the second-place Royals by six games and their magic number over them is 4. The Twins are one and a half games behind the Royals and the Tigers are one game behind the Twins; both are technically still in contention for the division title.
Cleveland can complete two of its three elimination games against the Twins by defeating them this afternoon, and then the Guardians will travel to St. Louis this weekend to face the Cardinals in a three-game series.
AL West
The Astros lead the second-place Mariners by five games, their magic number being six. Houston begins a four-game series at home against the Angels today, and if they don’t get the win by Sunday, they can knock the Mariners outright in a three-game series in Houston starting Monday.
The Astros were 12 games under .500 (12-24) on May 8, and as you may recall, the Cubs swept them at Wrigley Field in April. Since May 8, Houston has the best record in MLB at 70-46. (The Cubs are 55-59 during that span.)
AL Wildcard
This race is fascinating. The Orioles currently hold the first wild-card spot, 2½ games ahead of the Royals and four games ahead of the Twins. The latter two hold the second and third wild-card spots, respectively.
The Tigers have worked their way into the conversation, just a half-game behind Minnesota. When the Cubs took two of three games from them at Wrigley last month, Detroit didn’t exactly look like a team capable of making the postseason — but since then, the Tigers are 18-7, the best record in MLB over that span. The Cubs are the last team to win a series against Detroit.
The Mariners and Red Sox are technically still in the race, but quite far behind.
The O’s have two series against rivals in addition to the Orioles, Royals, Tigers and Twins – a three-game series against Detroit that begins Friday, then they visit the Twins for their final three games of the season. Other than that, the teams need to keep winning and hope they get help.
Nine or ten more games. There will be good baseball, even if the Cubs aren’t there.
