The Atlanta Braves guaranteed their home field advantage going into the postseason last night after defeating the Cubs 5-3 last night and sweeping the series. They are now at a .648 winning percentage with 103 wins. But what about the rest of the MLB?
No other team can reach the Braves’ amount of wins other than the Orioles who could reach 103 (congrats to them on clinching the AL East, more on that later…), but the Braves win the tiebreaker as they won the series against the O’s 2-1 back in May.
The top 3 teams in the NL each lead their division (NL East: Braves, NL Central: Brewers, NL West: Dodgers). With the American League it is a little messier…
The AL East is dominant. The Orioles just clinched it last night after defeating the Red Sox 2-0. Second to them is the Rays who have a guaranteed wildcard spot, currently being 97-62. Next is the Blue Jays, who haven’t clinched yet but if the season were to end right now they would have the second wildcard spot.
Tonight, If Toronto beats Tampa Bay tonight and the Mariners lose to the Rangers, the Jays will clinch.
So what about the AL Central and AL West?
Well, the Twins have had a decent season, and have clinched their division with the Tigers coming in second at nine games back. For reference, the AL East last place Boston Red Sox have the same winning percentage as the Tigers… (.478)
The AL West was average, maybe a little less, but they are cutting it close going into the postseason.
The Astros are racing their in-state and division rival with the Rangers for playoff seeding. Houston has a magic number of 2 while Texas has 1. Tonight the Astros are going into their final regular season series as they take on the Diamondbacks.
To make it even tighter of a race, The Rangers are in an important four game series against AL West third place Seattle.
So, you’ve got the Rangers, Blue Jays, Mariners and Astros all sprinting for the finish line while the Rays, Orioles and Twins are watching with popcorn in hand.
I can’t wait for October.
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