MLB Playoffs 2024 Tracker: Standings, Clinching Scenarios, Tiebreakers & Postseason Schedule as of September 22

The MLB postseason is upon us. And with less than 10 days left in the regular season, every team with World Series aspirations has a lot of ground to play for.

Let’s analyze the state of MLB and the playoffs as they stand now.

Who has secured a spot in the play-offs?

The Brewers clinched the NL Central title on Wednesday, but haven’t yet secured their playoff seed. The Chicago Cubs’ 5-3 loss to the Oakland A’s sealed the division for the Brewers.

Also Wednesday, the Yankees clinched the AL’s first postseason berth with their 2-1 extra-inning win over the Mariners. The Yankees have yet to secure the AL East division title or their postseason seed.

On Thursday, the Guardians sealed their ticket to October with a 3-2 walk-off win over the Twins in the 10th inning. On Saturday, they secured the AL Central title. They still haven’t secured their postseason seed.

Also on Thursday, the Dodgers clinched their 12th consecutive postseason appearance with a 20-4 (yes, 20-4) victory over the Marlins. Ohtani delivered an absolutely historic performance to seal the first 50-50 season in MLB history. The Dodgers have yet to secure the NL West division title or their postseason seed.

On Friday, the Phillies secured their third consecutive trip to the playoffs by beating the Mets 12-2. They have yet to win the NL East title or secure their postseason seed.

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Who can win next?

The Orioles, Padres and Astros have at least a 99% chance of reaching the postseason, according to FanGraphs. The Royals, Diamondbacks, Twins and Mets have the postseason in sight, but still have a long way to go to get there.

The Phillies, Dodgers, Astros and Yankees are positioned to win their divisions, assuming their current leads hold. The Phillies, Dodgers, Yankees and Guardians are in line to earn byes via the wild-card round.

What is there left to win?

Once a team has punched its ticket to the postseason, there’s still a lot to play for. Most division leaders are comfortable, but teams can still fight for a playoff spot until the final weekend of the season.

The No. 1 and No. 2 seed in each league goes to the division winners with the two best records. Those teams earn a bye through the wildcard round and hosting rights in the division series.

The No. 3 seed goes to the winner of Division 3, and that team will host a three-game wild-card series against the No. 6 seed (who goes to the third wild card). The top wild-card team earns the No. 4 seed and hosting duties against the No. 5 seed in the wild-card bracket.

The highest placed team will also get home advantage in the championship series, once we get to that point.

What would the play-off pool look like if the season ended today?

American competition

Wild Card: No. 6 Minnesota Twins vs. No. 3 Houston Astros

ALDS: Wildcard winner vs. No. 2 Cleveland Guardians*

Wild Card: No. 5 Kansas City Royals vs. No. 4 Baltimore Orioles

ALDS: Wildcard winner vs. #1 New York Yankees*

National League

Wild Card: No. 6 New York Mets vs. No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers*

NLDS: Wildcard winner vs. #2 Los Angeles Dodgers*

Wild Card: No. 5 Arizona Diamondbacks vs. No. 4 San Diego Padres

NLDS: Wildcard winner vs. No. 1 Philadelphia Phillies*

(*playoff spot secured)

What are the tiebreakers?

Teams no longer play Game 163 if they end the season in a tie. Instead, tiebreakers are determined first by head-to-head records and, if necessary, second by intradivision records.

These are the tiebreakers that can come into play:

• The Yankees secured the tiebreaker against the Guardians.

• The Guardians secured the tiebreaker against the Orioles.

• The Phillies secured the tiebreaker against the Dodgers.

• The Twins secured the tiebreakers against the Tigers and the Royals.

• The Mets have secured the tiebreakers against the Padres and Diamondbacks.

• The Orioles will play the tiebreaker against the Yankees with three games remaining.

• The D-backs will play the tiebreaker against the Padres with three games remaining.

• The Mets will play the tiebreaker against the Braves with three games remaining.

Read more: MLB Offseason Preview 2024: What’s in Store for the White Sox, Nationals, A’s, and More?

What does the schedule for the wildcard and division series look like?

Wildcard series

Game 1: Tuesday October 1st
Game 2: Wednesday October 2nd
Game 3: Thursday October 3*

Division series

ALD’S

Game 1: Saturday October 5th
Game 2: Monday October 7th
Game 3: Wednesday October 9th
Game 4: Thursday October 10th*
Game 5: Saturday October 12*

NLDS

Game 1: Saturday October 5th
Game 2: Sunday October 6th
Game 3: Tuesday October 8th
Game 4: Wednesday October 9*
Game 5: Friday October 11*

(*if necessary)