The baseball postseason picture is coming into focus. On Thursday, the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the National League West for the 11th time in the last 12 years, and they now have a first-round bye and home field advantage through at least the Division Round. The Philadelphia Phillies clinched the top seed in the N.L. on Wednesday, and the day before that, the Houston Astros clinched the American League West.
All six divisions have been decided – the New York Yankees (A.L. East), Cleveland Guardians (A.L. Central), and Milwaukee Brewers (N.L. Central) are the other three division champions. In the National League, the San Diego Padres have clinched a wild card spot, as have the Baltimore Orioles in the American League.
That leaves two spots in the American League, and four teams still in the race. In the National League, there are three teams battling for its final two wild cards.
American League Wild Card
They haven’t clinched it yet, but the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals are in the best position to grab the final two postseason spots in the American League. Tied at 85-74, they each have a magic number of 1. Just one win by the Tigers and Royals, or one loss by the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners, and it is Detroit and K.C. moving on to the postseason.
Back when the season began, the Tigers were paying +155 to make the playoffs, while the Royals, a 106-loss team in 2023, were at +340.
The Twins, on the verge of elimination, were a -170 bet to make the postseason. Seattle was -160 to make the playoffs.
The Twins play three games at home against the Orioles to close out the season. Seattle is home for three games against the Oakland A’s. Detroit is at home against the 120-loss Chicago White Sox for three. Kansas City is at the Atlanta Braves for three.
National League Wild Card
The Royals need just one win or one loss by the Twins and Mariners to get in the playoffs. But they have one of the tougher task of the four A.L. hopefuls. That’s because they play a Braves team that still has something to play for.
The New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Braves are still in the hunt for the final two spots in the National League, and things in the N.L. are much more complicated, thanks to Mother Nature and Hurricane Helene.
The Mets and Braves had games canceled on Wednesday and Thursday because of the hurricane, and now they may have to play a doubleheader on Monday if those games are needed to determine who makes the playoffs. We know at least one of them will be in the postseason, and if the Diamondbacks falter in their games over the weekend against the Padres, putting both the Mets and Braves in, it’s possible that Major League Baseball will end the season on Sunday.
That could impact seeding in the National League. But having the two teams play a doubleheader on Monday right before they begin a playoff series on Tuesday would put both teams at a disadvantage.
Oddsmakers like the Diamondbacks to get into the playoffs, and they are paying -330. The Mets are -230 to make the playoffs, as they sit one game ahead of the Braves in the standings. The Braves, who opened the season with the playoff odds at -2400, are now paying -175.
The Mets play three games this weekend at Milwaukee.
With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.
