Major League Baseball’s regular season ends on September 29th. Despite only twelve days remaining, all but six teams are still alive in the hunt for the postseason – the Chicago White Sox, Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, and Colorado Rockies.
While the MLB Playoff picture has remained somewhat steady for weeks, no franchises have clinched a postseason berth.
If the season were to end today, here’s what the MLB Playoff bracket would look like.
The team that seems to be heating up at just the right time are the Cleveland Guardians. They’ve won their last three and have a five-game lead on the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central Division.
Tonight, the Guardians begin a three-game series at home against the Minnesota Twins, who are 7.5 games back in the division and holding the final wild card spot. Cleveland closes out the year with series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and Houston Astros.
The odds for betting on the MLB Playoffs suggest that CLE will continue to perform well and finish as the 2-seed, earning a first round bye.
Another team that refuses to die is the San Diego Padres. They’ve won their last four in a row and are the top wild card in the National League. SD has two more games against the Astros, and then finishes with series agains the White Sox, LA Dodgers, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
MLB Teams On The Cusp Of Elimination
The Atlanta Braves have been dipping in an out of the realm of postseason qualification for the past few weeks. Yesterday, they held the final playoff spot in the National League. Today, they’re on the outside looking in, with the Diamondbacks, New York Mets, and Padres edging them out.
The Braves wrap up 2024 with series agains the Reds, Marlins, Mets, and Royals, and will need to finish above .500 over that stretch if they hope to make it back to the World Series.
While the Seattle Mariners are only four games back in the AL West, their upcoming series against the Astros and Yankees has the potential to expel them from postseason contention. With twelve games remaining on Seattle’s schedule, there’s likely not enough time left to catch the Astros in the West or to secure a wild card position.
A Mariners sweep of Houston and the Yankees is probably what it would take to rescue Seattle’s playoff hopes.
Sources:
- Bovada Sportsbook (Bovada MLB Betting Site Review)
- ESPN
