MLB postseason tracker: Playoff races heating up, who can clinch next and games to watch
There are still almost two weeks left in the 2023 MLB regular season, but a few teams — starting with the red-hot Atlanta Braves — are already looking toward October.
The Braves became the first team to clinch a postseason berth and followed it up by securing the NL East title, and the Los Angeles Dodgers joined them by clinching the NL West. Soon after, the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays both secured spots in October. Meanwhile, clubs such as the Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, are battling it out for the remaining wild-card spots.
Beyond division races, there are many storylines to watch as the regular season comes to an end and October begins.
Where do the current playoff matches stand? What games should you be paying attention to today? How can the Braves be the first team to clinch a postseason berth? And what does the playoff schedule look like? We have everything you need to know as the regular season winds down.
Key links: Full MLB standings | Wild-card standings | NL madness?
Who is in?
Atlanta Braves
With a win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 10, the Braves became the first team to punch a ticket to this year’s playoffs — their sixth straight postseason berth. Atlanta followed it up by clinching the NL East crown with a victory in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers secured their 10th NL West crown in the past 11 seasons with a victory over the Mariners on Saturday night, making L.A. the second team to punch its ticket to this postseason.
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles secured a playoff berth with a walk-off win in the 11th inning against the Rays on Sunday. After splitting the four-game series with Tampa Bay, Baltimore’s division title is no lock — the battle for the AL East could come down to the seasons final days.
Tampa Bay Rays
Despite Sunday’s loss, the Rays also locked up a spot in October with the Rangers’ loss to the Guardians.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers clinched a playoff spot with a blowout win over the Marlins and is now counting down to securing the NL Central crown as well.
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins clinched the AL Central title with a win over the Angels on Friday night.
Who’s next?
Philadelphia Phillies
While the other remaining wild-card battles are likely to come down to the season’s final days, the Phillies have emerged with a firm grasp on the NL’s first spot, which puts them in position to open the postseason at home.
What are this October’s MLB playoff matchups as it stands now?
American League
Wild-card round: (6) Astros at (3) Twins, (5) Blue Jays at (4) Rays*
ALDS: Twins/Astros vs. (2) Rangers, Rays/Blue Jays vs. (1) Orioles*
National League
Wild-card round: (6) Cubs at (3) Brewers, (5) D-backs at (4) Phillies
NLDS: Brewers/Cubs vs. (2) Dodgers*, Phillies/D-backs vs. (1) Braves*
* — clinched playoff spot
Breaking down the AL race
Despite spending much of the season atop the AL East, the Rays find themselves the top wild-card team in the American League after the Orioles took sole possession of first place in the division in late July. Two other members of the AL East are still in playoff contention, although the Boston Red Sox‘s chances are slowly dwindling. The Toronto Blue Jays, on the other hand, are locked in a close battle for the final wild-card spots.
Their competition? A Texas Rangers team that, like the Rays, led the division for more than 100 days this season but now finds itself fighting for a postseason berth. And the Mariners, who usurped the Rangers atop the AL West but have now fallen behind the Houston Astros in the race for the division title, while the Minnesota Twins look to be a lock as the lone AL Central representative in October.
And what about when these teams get to the playoffs? Here’s what their chances are for every round of the playoffs:
Breaking down the NL race
The divisional races in the National League aren’t quite as close as the ones in the AL, as the Dodgers are on track to join the Braves in clinching a division title. The Milwaukee Brewers have long held first place in the NL Central, too.
Now, the wild-card race is where it gets exciting. While the Phillies have a strong hold on the first two wild-card spots, five teams — the Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants — are within a few games of each other for the final spots. Miami and Cincinnati are the big surprises, as neither team was thought to be a playoff contender entering the season.
And what about when these teams get to the playoffs? Here’s what their chances are for every round of the playoffs:
Game of the day
Need something to watch today? Here’s the baseball game with the biggest playoff implications:
Playoff schedule
Wild-card series
Best of three, all games at better seed’s stadium
Game 1: Tuesday, Oct. 3
Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 4
Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 5*
Division series
Best of five
ALDS
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 7
Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 8
Game 3: Tuesday Oct. 10
Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 11*
Game 5: Friday, Oct. 13*
NLDS
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 7
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 9
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 11
Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 12*
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 14*
League championship series
Best of seven
ALCS
Game 1: Sunday, Oct. 15
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 16
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 18
Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 19
Game 5: Friday, Oct. 20*
Game 6: Sunday, Oct. 22*
Game 7: Monday, Oct. 23*
NLCS
Game 1: Monday, Oct. 16
Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 17
Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 19
Game 4: Friday, Oct. 20
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 21*
Game 6: Monday, Oct. 23*
Game 7: Tuesday, Oct. 24*
World Series
Best of seven
Game 1: Friday, Oct. 27
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 28
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 30
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 31
Game 5: Wednesday, Nov. 1*
Game 6: Friday, Nov. 3*
Game 7: Saturday, Nov. 4*
* If necessary
Knight’s Choice has won the 2024 Melbourne Cup, defeating Warp Speed and Okita Soushi in a thrilling finish at Flemington on Tuesday afternoon.
The massive outsider saluted for Irish-born jockey Robbie Dolan, who claimed victory in what was his first ever ride in the “race that stops a nation”.
In what was a gripping 164th staging of Australia’s most-watched thoroughbred race, Knight’s Choice proved too strong in a sprint to the finish, pulling over the top of Okita Soushi and holding off Warp Speed by the barest of margins.
Trained by John Symons and Sheila Laxon on the Sunshine Coast, Knight’s Choice was well down the betting across all markets. It was Laxon’s second Melbourne Cup triumph after she trained Ethereal to victory 23 years ago.
“This is the pinnacle of all pinnacles, this is the Melbourne Cup,” Symons said.
Zardozi rounded out the first four.
As the field approached the final few hundred metres it appeared as though Jamie Kah, aboard Okita Soushi, would become just the second woman to ride the winner in the Melbourne Cup. But Okita Soushi was swallowed up as the winning post neared, with Knight’s Choice beating Warp Speed to the line after a peach of a ride from Dolan.
“We’ll be singing tonight after a few beers,” Dolan, who was a contestant on the 2022 edition of “The Voice”, told Channel 9.
“It is amazing and a lot of people doubted this little horse. Doubt me now.”
Laxon was more than happy with the ride, with Dolan threading his way through the field from near last on the bend.
“He started the race, and he knew how to ride him. We didn’t give him instructions, he knew what to do,” she said.
“I love it being down for the Australians. The Australian horse has done it, and Robbie is Australian now as well, so I’m thrilled to win the Cup, and it is the people’s Cup, and that’s what it is all about.”
Knight’s Choice is just the sixth Australian-bred horse to win since 1993, and the first since Vow and Declare back in 2019.
The five-year-old gelding carried only 51kg to victory and was making its first start over the 3200m trip. It had most recently come off a fifth-placed finish in the Bendigo Cup, but had showed sparing little form this preparation otherwise.
“I watched every Melbourne Cup for the last 40 years. I thought my best chance was to get him to stay the trip and, hopefully, he can run home and do the quick sectionals he can on a good track and he proved everybody wrong,” Dolan said.
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