The Los Angeles Dodgers became the latest team to clinch their place in the postseason with their win in Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 14. But as we enter the final two weeks of the MLB regular season, plenty of postseason spots are still up for grabs in what should be a heated race to the finish.
The Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees have all punched their tickets along with the defending back-to-back World Series champions, and though all three National League divisions are about as close to wrapped up as you can get with the Brewers, Dodgers and Atlanta Braves all leading by comfortable margins, the American League is still anyone's game.
Postseason berth clinched. ✅ pic.twitter.com/9tqDXvL6RI
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 15, 2026
Tampa Bay holds the largest lead
in any of the AL divisions with a 3.5 game cushion over the red-hot Yankees, but the Bronx Bombers also clinched their playoff berth on Monday night to set up a climactic series beginning Tuesday, Sept. 22. While the Boston Red Sox are far behind in the AL East picture, they comfortably hold the second wild card spot.
The third American wild card is where things get interesting.
The Cleveland Guardians currently hold the third and final spot, but also trail the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead by 1.5 games. They're currently facing each other in a crucial three-game series that could have major implications in both the division and the wild card. The Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers are also right on their tails, trailing the Guardians by less than two games for that coveted third spot, with the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers further down in the mix as they sit three and 4.5 games behind, respectively.
The National League wild card picture might be even blurrier at the top.
The three current frontrunners - Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres - are all within one game of each other, so there's plenty of room for those cards to be shuffled around in the bracket. The Padres have been locked in a heated battle with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third and final wild card spot for most of the second half of the season, but the Friars are starting to pull away down the stretch as they enter Tuesday with a 2.5-game lead over their NL West foe.
Those two will finish off the regular season with a three-game series at Petco Park starting Sept. 25 that could end up being "win and get in."
MLB playoff format
- The top two division winners (best overall record) in each league receive an automatic bye into the division series.
- The third division winner in each league (as the No. 3 seed) hosts the third wild card team (the No. 6 seed) in a best-of-3 series.
- The other two wild card teams (Nos. 4 and 5 seeds) play each other, with the higher-seeded team hosting all three games.
- The winner of the 4 vs. 5 matchup plays the No. 1 overall seed in a best-of-5 division series, while the 3 vs. 6 winner plays the No. 2 seed.
- The winners of those series face each other in a best-of-7 league championship series, with the winners advancing to the World Series.
MLB playoff tiebreaker procedure
If two or more teams finish tied with the same overall regular-season record, the ties are broken by MLB's predetermined formula:
- Head-to-head record
- Intradivision record
- Intraleague record
- Interleague record after the All-Star break
- Interleague record after the All-Star break, plus one
If three or more teams tie for a spot, they go through the same tiebreaker procedure outlined above based on winning percentages. However, if one team has a better record against all the other tied teams, that team gets the highest playoff seed and the others restart the tiebreaker procedure.
MLB playoff schedule
The MLB postseason begins on Tuesday, Sept. 29 with Game 1 of each of the four Wild Card series. If necessary, a decisive Game 3 is set for two days later on Thursday, Oct. 1.
All four division series will start on Saturday, Oct. 3. If Game 5 is needed, those will be played on Friday, Oct. 9 in the National League and Saturday, Oct. 10 in the American League.
The National League Championship Series will begin on Sunday, Oct. 11 while the American League Championship Series starts the next day on Oct. 12. The LCS round is a best-of-seven with a 2-3-2 format. If necessary, Game 7 is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19 in the NLCS and Tuesday, Oct. 20 in the ALCS.
The World Series will begin on Friday, Oct. 23. A winner-take-all Game 7 would be played on Halloween, Oct. 31, if necessary.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB postseason, explained: How many wild-card teams make the playoffs?
