The regular season is winding down, so it’s clinching time in the majors. As MLB’s best teams celebrate punching their postseason tickets with champagne festivities in clubhouses across baseball, we have you covered with all of the clinching details and an eye on who could pop the corks next. For more, including current playoff matchups, check out our “Hunt for October” page.
REMAINING MAGIC NUMBERS
Chicago Cubs: 4 to clinch NL Central (Cubs and Brewers have both clinched a playoff spot; Chicago holds a half-game lead in the division)
Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 to clinch a playoff spot; 5 to clinch NL West
Colorado Rockies: 3 to clinch a playoff spot
Note: The St. Louis Cardinals are the only other team in contention for a remaining playoff spot.
THURSDAY’S GAMES THAT MATTER MOST
Philadelphia Phillies at Colorado Rockies, 3:10 p.m. ET — The Rockies look to take full advantage of the free-falling Phillies by completing a four-game sweep, and they have a pitching matchup that should help. Phillies starter Jake Arrieta is 1-4 with a 6.64 ERA and 1.58 WHIP in his past eight starts. Plus, with the Dodgers and Cardinals off, this game will take care of those pesky half-games in the standings.
Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 ET — Cubs ace Jon Lester makes his last start of the regular season with his team needing a big performance to help hold back the Brewers and build some momentum entering the season-ending series with the Cardinals. Lester comes in 3-1 with a 1.90 ERA in four September starts.
TIEBREAKER SCENARIOS
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If Chicago ends in a tie with Milwaukee, the teams will play a one-game tiebreaker in Chicago.
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If St. Louis ends in a tie with Los Angeles, they will play a one-game tiebreaker in St. Louis.
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If St. Louis ends in a tie with Colorado, they will play a one-game tiebreaker in St. Louis.
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If Los Angeles ends in a tie with Colorado, they will play a one-game tiebreaker in Los Angeles.
WHO IS IN
Milwaukee Brewers (clinched playoff spot Sept. 26)
The Brewers clinched a playoff spot by completing a three-game sweep of the Cardinals on Wednesday. But they still have their sights set on the NL Central title, as they trail the Cubs by just a half-game.
What does clinching a playoff spot mean? Milwaukee is in the postseason for the first time since 2011 and the fifth time in franchise history.
What’s next? A three-game series against the lowly Tigers in Detroit, a favorable matchup as they try to keep the heat on the Cubs.
Chicago Cubs (clinched playoff spot Sept. 26)
With the Cardinals’ loss to the Brewers on Wednesday, the Cubs clinched a playoff spot, but they still have work to do to win the NL Central.
What does clinching a playoff spot mean? The Cubs are in the postseason for the fourth consecutive year, a first in franchise history.
What’s next? One last game against the Pirates on Thursday, then a three-game series against the Cardinals to decide the Central title.
Oakland Athletics (clinched playoff spot Sept. 24)
With the Rays’ loss to the Yankees on Monday, the A’s clinched a playoff spot. Oakland is now chasing the Yankees to see which team wins home-field advantage in the wild-card game.
What does clinching a playoff spot mean? The A’s, who finished last in the AL West the past three seasons, are the first team in the past 30 years to make the playoffs after having the lowest Opening Day payroll in baseball ($66 million).
What’s next? Seeing if they can force the Yankees to fly across the country and avoid having to play an elimination game in the Bronx.
New York Yankees (clinched AL wild card Sept. 22)
With their 3-2 win in extra innings against the Orioles combined with the Rays’ loss in Toronto on Saturday, the Yankees clinched a wild-card appearance in the postseason for a second straight season.
What does clinching a wild-card spot mean? Not a ton, since it was expected for weeks. The real task for the Yankees is securing home-field advantage over the A’s in the game.
What’s next? Working to become the first Yankees wild card to win the World Series. In its storied history, that’s something the team has never achieved. The quest begins with the wild-card game on Oct. 3.
Atlanta Braves (clinched NL East Sept. 22)
The Braves returned to the winner’s circle by clinching their first division title since 2013, having suffered through four straight losing seasons and a rebuilding effort to get there. They eliminated the Phillies on Saturday in a game in which Mike Foltynewicz took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before the Braves’ 5-3 win over Philadelphia.
What does clinching the NL East spot mean? They’ve won their second division title since their streak of 14 first-place finishes in 15 years was snapped in 2006.
What’s next: The Braves have more than a week’s worth of games to rest regulars and line up their rotation for the National League Division Series, which starts on Oct. 4. However, they could still catch the Cubs to achieve the best record in the NL — and secure home-field advantage through the championship series.
Houston Astros (clinched AL West Sept. 25; clinched playoff spot Sept. 21)
The defending World Series champions are back in the playoffs and back on top of the AL West with another 100-win season.
What does clinching the division mean? They can catch their breaths after the surprising amount of pressure the A’s put on them down the stretch and see who survives the wild-card game while they get ready to defend their title.
What’s next: They’ll be making their first back-to-back playoff appearance since 2004 and ’05, having won consecutive division titles for the first time since 1997-99. That was when they were in the NL Central, so it’s a franchise first in their AL incarnation.
Boston Red Sox (clinched AL East Sept. 20; clinched season’s first playoff spot Sept. 11)
The Red Sox clinched their third straight AL East title by beating the Yankees 11-6 at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. It’s the first time in franchise history they’ve won three division titles in a row and, according to Elias Sports Bureau research, the first time they’ve clinched the division with a win over the Yankees. It’s also the third time they’ve won the division under a manager in his first full year at the helm in Boston (2013, John Farrell; 1995, Kevin Kennedy).
What does clinching first mean? In the wild-card era, 12 of the 25 teams to clinch first were eliminated in the first round of the postseason, while seven reached the World Series, most recently the Cubs in 2016. Two of those seven teams were the Red Sox squads of 2007 and 2013, with Boston winning both times.
What’s next: Having clinched the best record in baseball and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Red Sox will host the winner of the AL wild-card game, either the Yankees or A’s, in Game 1 of the division series Oct. 5.
Cleveland Indians (clinched AL Central Sept. 15)
While the Red Sox own baseball’s best record and the AL’s top seed, the Indians became 2018’s first division winners after their 15-0 obliteration of the Tigers. Even though Cleveland owns the AL’s fifth-best record, the Tribe easily pulled away from a weak AL Central pack, with none of their division rivals getting anywhere close to the .500 mark.
What does clinching the AL Central mean? It was the Indians’ third consecutive AL Central title, and it marks their fourth trip to the postseason in six seasons under manager Terry Francona. The Indians have never finished below .500 on Francona’s watch.
What’s next: The Indians will play the AL West champion in the division series beginning Oct. 5.
Source:ESPN
