CHICAGO — Major League Baseball’s postseason is drawing closer by the day.
The Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox each had an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth Wednesday night, but both teams suffered losses. Their postseason hopes, however, remain alive.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are pursuing a third consecutive World Series championship, although the availability of several of baseball’s biggest stars could become a major storyline once the playoffs begin.
Los Angeles is again among the top teams in the majors and will face serious October competition from clubs such as the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. All three teams still have a chance to finish the regular season with at least 100 victories. The Dodgers are entering the postseason in strong form, while four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to the lineup Wednesday after spending time on the injured list.
The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves have also secured postseason berths. Yankees star Aaron Judge, a three-time American League MVP, is dealing with a right calf strain that is expected to sideline him through at least the Wild Card Series.
Although the 12-team MLB playoff field is largely taking shape, a handful of long-shot contenders remain in the hunt, and the exact postseason matchups have yet to be determined.
Here are some of the key developments to follow as the regular season winds down.
Here’s who can clinch a playoff spot Wednesday
In the American League, the Cleveland Guardians can punch their ticket to the postseason with a victory at Boston combined with a loss by either the Texas Rangers or Houston Astros.
The Chicago White Sox can complete a remarkable turnaround and secure an October berth by defeating the Kansas City Royals, provided the Rangers also lose.
In the National League, the Chicago Cubs can clinch with a win against the Miami Marlins or an Arizona Diamondbacks loss. Philadelphia can claim a wild-card spot by beating the Milwaukee Brewers and getting a loss from either the San Diego Padres or the Diamondbacks.
San Diego can also clinch a playoff place if it defeats the Dodgers and Arizona loses.
AL Central and West remain tight as other division races are settled
The American League Central and West have been defined by considerable parity, producing compelling division races and raising the possibility that a team with a losing record could reach the postseason.
Cleveland, at 82-75, holds a slim lead over the 81-76 White Sox in the AL Central. In the AL West, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros are both 78-79 and remain locked in a close race.
The National League postseason picture, meanwhile, is nearly complete.
The Cubs, Padres and Phillies are all 87-70 and battling for wild-card positioning, but each is highly likely to qualify for the playoffs. Arizona, at 83-74, is the only team still within striking distance, trailing by four games. Chicago owns the head-to-head tiebreaker for home-field advantage over both Philadelphia and San Diego, while the Phillies hold the tiebreaker against the Padres after sweeping their season series, 6-0.
MVP races, stats to watch
The major MLB awards, meanwhile, appear unlikely to produce much suspense this season.
The MVP races each have a clear front-runner. Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong is pulling away in the National League, while Houston’s Yordan Alvarez is the leading candidate in the AL, though Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero has also delivered an outstanding season. Alvarez remains an outside Triple Crown contender: He leads the AL with a .314 batting average, and his 41 home runs are tied with Caminero. His 102 RBIs, however, are six behind Baltimore’s Pete Alonso.
Milwaukee’s hard-throwing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski and New York ace Cam Schlittler are the current favorites for the National League and American League Cy Young Awards, respectively.
The Rookie of the Year races also appear to be taking shape. Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart, coming off a 110-RBI season, leads the NL race, while Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle is the favorite in the American League.
What is the MLB playoff format?
MLB’s postseason includes 12 teams, with six qualifiers from each league. The three division champions in the American and National leagues receive seeds No. 1 through No. 3, ordered by regular-season record. The three wild-card teams are assigned seeds No. 4 through No. 6, also according to their win-loss records.
The top two teams with the best record in both the AL and NL automatically advance to the Division Series. The other eight teams play in the Wild Card Series, which is a best-of-three format beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 29. In both the AL and NL, the No. 6 seed will travel to face the No. 3 seed while the No. 5 seed goes to No. 4. The higher seed hosts all three games.
The winners then advance to the best-of-five Division Series, followed by the best-of-seven League Championship Series and a best-of-seven World Series between the winners of the AL and NL.
What is the MLB postseason schedule?
Wild Card Series: Sept. 29-Oct. 1 (NBC/Peacock)
Division Series: Oct. 3-10 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)
Championship Series: Oct. 11-20 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)
World Series: Oct. 23-31 (FOX)
Who are the favorites to win the World Series?
The Dodgers (+220) are the favorites to capture a third straight World Series title while the Brewers (+600), Yankees (+800) and Rays (+800) are viewed as the top contenders.
Red Sox move Sunday’s game and will play doubleheader against Cubs on Friday with storm expected
The Red Sox are adjusting the schedule of their weekend series against the Chicago Cubs because of a significant storm that’s expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to the Boston area.
The team said it was moving the Sunday afternoon game to Friday to create a split doubleheader. The first game is scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. EST. The originally scheduled 7:05 p.m. EST night game was moved up to 6:05.
The Red Sox said in a press release Wednesday that the change was made in consultation with Major League Baseball.
The Cubs are currently in a tight race for one of the NL’s three wild-card spots.
There was no mention of a change to Saturday’s game, which is slated for a 7:15 p.m. EST first pitch.
ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.
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