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American League East
The Red Sox have clinched the American League East.
American League Central
The Indians have clinched the American League Central.
American League West
The Astros control their own destiny in the American League West, and they continue to take advantage of that fact. Houston got a solid outing from Dallas Keuchel, and back-to-back homers in the second inning proved to be the difference as they snagged a two-run victory in Toronto. Meanwhile, Oakland was able to keep pace, but they’re going to need a lot of help from Houston to come back in this race at this point. Still, the Athletics slugged their way to a win in Seattle to avoid falling further behind in the standings. The Astros lead by 4.5 games, and their magic number is now only two.
American League Wildcard
Before the Athletics even played that game, they were celebrating as a loss from the Rays officially locked up a playoff spot for Oakland. It’s their first playoff appearance since 2014. Meanwhile, they are still in a battle with the Yankees to determine home field in the Wildcard Game. Oakland got their win, but the Yankees were also able to grab a victory on Tuesday. New York got a go-ahead homer from Andrew McCutchen and strong pitching out of the bullpen to keep their lead in the wildcard race with Oakland at 1.5 games.
Current AL Playoff Picture
E: Red Sox* (1)
C: Indians* (3)
W: Astros (2)
WC1: Yankees (4)
WC2: Athletics (5)
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National League East
The Braves have clinched the National League East.
National League Central
The NL Central is the best race of the year, and it got closer on Monday. The Cubs are leading the way, but they stumbled at home against the Pirates in that series opener. Pittsburgh jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, and Jameson Taillon led the way from there as Chicago fell by a score of 5-1. Meanwhile, both the Brewers and the Cardinals are chasing Chicago, and those two teams were facing off on Monday. The first game went to the second-place Brewers, and though they got a rare bad night from Josh Hader bad Cardinals defense allowed Milwaukee to push through with a two-run win. So, the Cubs watched their lead over the Brewers shrink to just 1.5 games and their magic number is five. St. Louis is still 4.5 games back.
National League West
The Dodgers are one of the hottest teams in baseball, and they kept rolling in Arizona on Monday. Los Angeles got a late rally to put themselves on top and they went home with a three-run win. Meanwhile, the Rockies are trying to keep pace and doing everything they can to achieve that goal. They got an easy win over the Phillies thanks to a good start from Jon Gray and a ten-run explosion from the offense. The Dodgers still hold a 1.5-game lead over the Rockies with a magic number of five to clinch.
National League Wildcard
With their win over St. Louis, the Brewers further solidified their position at the top of the wildcard race. Miwaukee now holds a three-game advantage for home field in the NL Wildcard Game. Meanwhile, although Colorado couldn’t pick up a game in the division they did get a bit closer to a wildcard spot with their win and St. Louis’ loss. The Rockies now trail the Cardinals by just a half-game in the race for the second wildcard.
Current NL Playoff Picture
E: Braves* (2)
C: Cubs (1)
W: Dodgers (3)
WC1: Brewers (4)
WC2: Cardinals (5)