16 Days and Counting to MLB Playoffs - Where Things Stand Today

September 16, 2024 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

We are now just 16 days away from the Major League Baseball playoffs with each Wild Card Series (best-of-three) set to begin on Tuesday, October 1, and the Division Series (best-of-five) set to begin on October 5. Game 7 of the World Series, if needed, is currently scheduled for Saturday, November 2nd.

If the MLB season ended today, the New York Yankees would be joined by the Cleveland Guardians and the Houston Astros as division winners in the American League. The Astros are the No. 3 team on that list, in terms of over-all record, and would have to partake in the Wild Card round against the lowest-seeded Wild Card team.

The three American League Wild Card entrants, in order, would be the Baltimore Orioles, the Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins.

So we would have the Royals at the Orioles, and the Twins at the Astros while the Yankees and the Guardians would skip to the divisional round.

As luck would have it, we get the Guardians hosting the Twins in a four-game series beginning tonight.

In the National League, the division leaders are the Philadelphia Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Brewers are No. 3 on that list.

The three National League Wild Card teams, in order, are currently the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks while the third spot is tied between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves.

Thus, we would have the Diamondbacks at the Padres, and either the Mets or the Braves visiting the Brewers to start the National League Wild Card playoffs.

If you are wondering how a tie would be broken, this is what MLB.com has to say about tie-breaking procedures: "Since 2022, all playoff tiebreakers have been determined mathematically, rather than via tiebreaker games. That means ties for division titles and postseason berths, as well as for seeding, come down first to head-to-head record between those teams during the season, with other tiebreakers available if needed."

The Mets host the Washington Nationals for three before taking on the Phillies again for a four-game weekend series after just completing a 3-game set at Philadelphia with the home team going 2-1.

The Braves and Dodgers end a four-game series tonight (Braves lead 2-1) in Atlanta before the Dodgers head further south to the Miami Marlins while the Braves trek to the Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies are at the Brewers for three games starting tonight. Likewise, the Padres begin hosting the Astros for a three-game series.

The Yankees are off today after taking 3-of-4 in Boston over the weekend where Aaron Judge ended the longest home run drought of his career with a Grand Salami in the 7th inning of Friday night's game at Fenway Park to take his team from a 4-1 deficit to a 5-4 lead which would also be the final score. The eighth grand slam of his career was also the 52nd home run of his season. He leads the MLB in home runs, but even more impressive is Judge's RBI lead at 132-to 109 over second-place Willie Adames.

The Yankees open a 3-game series at Seattle tomorrow.