Heading into Game 162 of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, two postseason spot are still up for grabs.
In the AL West, where the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are deadlocked at 80-81. Because Houston holds the tiebreaker, Texas faces a must-win scenario while praying for an Astros loss to steal the division crown. No matter which teams prevails, it will be the worst record for a playoff team in a 162-game season MLB history.
Meanwhile, the National League wild card race has been chaotic. The Arizona Diamondbacks erased a massive September deficit against the Philadelphia Phillies. Holding the tiebreaker, a D-backs win coupled with a Phillies loss punches Arizona's postseason ticket – and absolute despair in Philadelphia.
Here's a live look
at the standings entering the final day:
Through games played Saturday, Sept. 27
MLB playoff bracket 2026
#-division champion; *clinched at least a wild card spot
American League
- Byes: Tampa Bay Rays# (1), Cleveland Guardians# (2)
- Wild card series:
- White Sox* (6) at Astros (3) – Winner vs. Guardians
- Red Sox* (5) at Yankees* (4) – Winner vs. Rays
National League
- Byes: Milwaukee Brewers# (1), Los Angeles Dodgers# (2)
- Wild card series:
- Phillies (6) at Braves# (3) – Winner vs. Dodgers
- Cubs* (5) at *Padres (4) – Winner vs. Brewers
NL wild card standings
Top three teams qualify
- *San Diego Padres (90-71) +3 games
- *Chicago Cubs (88-73) +1 game
- Philadelphia Phillies (87-74)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (86-75) – 1 GB – holds tiebreaker vs. Phillies
AL wild card standings
Top three teams qualify
- *New York Yankees (93-68) +10 games
- *Boston Red Sox (87-74) +4 games
- *Chicago White Sox (83-78)
AL East
- Tampa Bay Rays (98-63) - winners of AL East
AL Central
- Cleveland Guardians (85-76) – winners of AL Central
AL West
- Houston Astros (80-81) – holds head-to-head tiebreaker over Texas
- Texas Rangers (80-81)
NL East
- Atlanta Braves (94-67) – winners of NL East, locked into No. 3 seed
NL Central
- Milwaukee Brewers (102-59) − winners of NL Central, No. 1 seed throughout playoffs
NL West
- Los Angeles Dodgers (99-62) – winners of NL West, locked into No. 2 seed
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB playoff picture LIVE standings: Bracket, wild card and division tiebreakers
