MLB Playoff Picture 2024: Latest World Series Bracket and Wild Card Race
Joe TanseySeptember 26, 2024MLB Playoff Picture 2024: Latest World Series Bracket and Wild Card Race0 of 2
Bleacher Report
Teams are starting to lock into their respective spots in the 2024 Major League Baseball postseason bracket.
The top two teams in each league have been solidified. The New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are battling for the No. 1 seed in the American League, while the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies are fighting for home-field advantage in the National League.
The Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers will be the No. 3 seed in each league. Both teams can set up their pitching rotations for the first round, where they will meet the No. 6 seed.
Milwaukee will not find out its first-round opponent until Monday because of the rescheduled doubleheader between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.
The two games will be played on Monday as long as they affect the playoff race. Atlanta is currently one game back of both the Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL wild-card standings.
American League1 of 2
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Division Winners
1. New York Yankees (92-66)
2. Cleveland (92-67)
3. Houston (86-73)
Wild-Card Race
1. Baltimore (88-70)
2. Detroit (84-74)
3. Kansas City (84-74)
4. Minnesota 2 games behind
5. Seattle 2.5 GB
Two wild-card spots are left to clinch in the American League.
The Baltimore Orioles secured a playoff berth on Tuesday to keep them away from the mess further down the standings.
The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals are a few wins away from securing their spots in the postseason as well.
Detroit and Kansas City each have afternoon games on Thursday, so they could put even more pressure on the Minnesota Twins to win on Thursday night against the Miami Marlins.
Kansas City could be in more trouble than Detroit because it visits Atlanta this weekend. The Braves need wins themselves to stay in the NL wild-card hunt.
Detroit finishes with a three-game set against the Chicago White Sox, so clinching a playoff berth seems like a certainty.
Minnesota ends the regular season against Baltimore at home in a series that means far more to the Twins than the Orioles.
The Yankees and Guardians’ fight for the top seed will go down to the final day. New York plays host to the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend, while the Guardians welcome the Astros to Ohio.
Houston will be lining up its pitching staff for the first-round series against the No. 6 seed, so Cleveland should have the edge in the series.
National League2 of 2
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Division Leaders
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (94-64)
2. Philadelphia (94-65)
3. Milwaukee (90-68)
Wild-Card Race
1. San Diego (91-67)
2. New York Mets (87-70)
3. Arizona (87-71)
4. Atlanta 1 GB
The NL wild-card race will likely come down to Monday’s doubleheader in Atlanta.
The Braves will be on two days rest for the start of their weekend series with the Royals, where they need to keep winning to put pressure on the Mets and DBacks.
The Mets may come back to Atlanta in a much safer position since their weekend set with the Brewers means far less to the NL Central champion.
Milwaukee can’t reach the top two, so it will likely set its pitching rotation to be prepared to face the No. 6 seed.
Arizona hosts San Diego this weekend. The Padres might have nothing to play for if they lose to the Dodgers and LA clinches the NL West on Thursday.
The Padres are four games ahead of the Mets and 4.5 games ahead of the DBacks, so their No. 4 seed is not under threat.
However, if they beat the Dodgers on Thursday, they will come to Arizona on Friday with the NL West still on the line. That would be the worst-case scenario for the DBacks.
There is a scenario where Monday’s games do not get played, but that would require one of New York, Arizona or Atlanta to be more than two games back of a playoff spot after Sunday.
