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The American League wild-card race took its latest crazy turn this week thanks to the Detroit Tigers.
Detroit moved ahead of the Kansas City Royals into the second wild-card spot with a win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
Detroit’s win tightens the AL wild-card race among the three AL Central rivals. The Minnesota Twins are also in the mix.
The NL wild-card race could be decided by Thursday as the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves play each other in Atlanta from Tuesday through Thursday.
New York holds a two-game lead over Atlanta for the final wild-card spot on Sunday night. A loss to Philadelphia would cut the Mets’ lead to one.
(1) New York Yankees – First round bye
(2) Cleveland – First round bye
No. 6 Kansas City vs. No. 3 Houston
No. 5 Detroit vs. No. 4 Baltimore
(1) Los Angeles Dodgers – First round bye
(2) Philadelphia – First round bye
No. 6 New York Mets vs. No. 3 Milwaukee
No. 5 Arizona vs. No. 4 San Diego
1. New York Yankees (92-64)
5. Chicago White Sox (36-120)
5. Los Angeles Angels (63-93)
4. Minnesota 0.5 games behind
Detroit had the biggest turnaround last week, as it moved into the second wild-card spot despite being out of the wild-card race.
The Tigers beat the Royals and then won two of three against the Orioles to turn the wild-card race in their favor.
Detroit should lock up a playoff spot in the final week of the regular season, as it will play the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox at home.
Kansas City will face Washington and Atlanta, while Minnesota will face Miami and Baltimore.
The Orioles-Twins series will decide the order of the wild-card race and which teams will be included as wild-card sides.
Baltimore has a four-game buffer over Detroit and Kansas City and might need it all, as it visits the New York Yankees before heading to Minnesota.
Baltimore’s games with the Yankees won’t matter for the AL East title, but it will be relevant in the race for home-field advantage between the Yankees and Cleveland Guardians. New York leads that contest by 2.5 games.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (92-63)
The Mets and Braves will be front and center in the baseball world from Tuesday through Thursday.
The Mets will visit Atlanta for three games that could either decide the wild-card race, or lead to the final three contests of the regular season for each side.
New York can move two games ahead starting Tuesday with a win over Philadelphia on Sunday night. A loss would cut Atlanta’s deficit to one game.
The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks will likely play for seeding at Chase Field next weekend.
San Diego has a three-game trip with the Los Angeles Dodgers this week, so it won’t have enough room to clinch the top wild-card spot before Friday.
Arizona will put the pressure on the Padres as they host the San Francisco Giants for three games starting on Tuesday.
The Dodgers haven’t clinched the NL West title yet, and they’re also playing for home field advantage in the race with the Phillies. They’ll be very motivated to beat San Diego to be in the best position to win it all in Colorado next weekend.