Entering play on Wednesday, here’s where every contending team stands with 12 days remaining in the regular season.
Who’s in?
Tickets already punched:
Milwaukee Brewers,
Philadelphia Phillies
The Brewers and Phillies remain the only two teams to have clinched a playoff spot so far, but they could have company soon.
Who’s next?
On the brink of clinching a playoff spot:
Detroit Tigers,
New York Yankees,
Toronto Blue Jays,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
Chicago Cubs,
San Diego Padres
With a win on Wednesday, the Cubs can clinch their first postseason berth since 2020. Chicago will send All-Star lefty Matthew Boyd to the mound against the Pirates.
The Blue Jays, winners of six straight, have narrowed their magic number for a playoff berth to three. That’s any combination of victories and losses by the Guardians. To put away the Yankees and win their first AL East title since 2015, the Jays’ magic number is down to six.
Who’s clinging to life?
It’s gonna be interesting:
New York Mets,
San Francisco Giants,
Arizona Diamondbacks,
Cincinnati Reds,
Texas Rangers,
Cleveland Guardians
The Mets tagged Padres starter Michael King for eight runs, and in a preview of what could happen in the postseason, piggybacked Sean Manaea after four innings of two-run baseball from Clay Holmes. It was a much-needed win for New York, which maintains a 1 1/2 game lead over the Diamondbacks for the NL’s final spot.
With a walk-off win, the Diamondbacks took Game 2 of the three-game set against the Giants, 6-5, further separating Arizona from Cincinnati and San Francisco in the wild-card standings. The Giants (75-76), now under .500, will need a miracle to reach the postseason.
Ditto goes for the Reds after their bats fell silent against the Cardinals. A day after reaching the .500 plateau, Cincinnati (75-76) is back one game under, with its chances also growing slimmer.
After consecutive losses to the Astros, the Rangers are now 3 1/2 games behind the AL’s final wild-card spot. Texas is also 4 1/2 games back in the AL West, meaning the wild card is likely its only route to October ball.
If the playoffs started today
American League
Toronto and Detroit would receive first-round byes after finishing as the AL’s No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. Toronto would also have home-field advantage through the ALCS for finishing with the league’s best record.
AL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Astros at No. 3 Mariners; No. 5 Red Sox at No. 4 Yankees.
ALDS: Mariners/Astros vs. Tigers; Yankees/Red Sox vs. Blue Jays
National League
The Brewers and Phillies would enter as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, both receiving first-round byes. Should the Brewers make it to the World Series, they’d maintain home-field advantage due to ending with the sport’s best record.
NL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Mets at No. 3 Dodgers; No. 5 Padres at No. 4 Cubs.
NLDS: Dodgers/Mets vs. Phillies, Cubs/Padres vs. Brewers
What to watch this week
Rangers at Astros, Wednesday: No Yordan, no problem. The Astros responded on Tuesday with a 6-5 win to keep pace with the Mariners.
Mariners at Astros, Friday through Sunday: Seattle could further stake its lead in the AL West in this head-to-head matchup.
Phillies at Dodgers, Wednesday: Neither Shohei Ohtani’s five no-hit innings nor his 50th home run of the 2025 campaign were enough to top the Phillies, who continue to chase Milwaukee for the NL’s best record.
Guardians at Tigers, Wednesday and Thursday: It took 10 innings, but the Guardians won the first of six remaining matchups between these two teams, making the AL Central title far from a lock for Detroit.
(Photo of Connor Kaiser, Jordan Lawlar and Alek Thomas celebrating the Diamondbacks’ walk-off win over the Giants: Chris Coduto / Getty Images)