MLB Playoff Chase Preview: September 22

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With just over one week left in the 2023 Major League Baseball regular season, here are the latest updates as teams battle for playoff spots. The four teams already in the playoffs are the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Very Close to Winning their Divisions

The Milwaukee Brewers are extremely close to winning the National League Central and the Minnesota Twins are extremely close to winning the American League Central. The Brewers are at 87 wins and 66 losses, and lead the Chicago Cubs by eight games. Both teams have nine games left. The Twins are at 81 wins and 72 losses, and lead the Cleveland Guardians by eight and a half games. Minnesota has nine games left, and Cleveland has eight games left.

American League

There continue to be four teams battling for three spots. The defending World Series champions Houston Astros are at 85 wins and 68 losses and lead the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers by half a game each in the American League West. The Astros are tied with the Toronto Blue Jays, who hold down the top wildcard spot in the junior circuit.

National League

The division championships have basically been locked up, and the Philadelphia Phillies have a comfortable five game lead for a playoff spot as the top wildcard team at 84 wins and 69 losses. From there, four teams are battling for two spots. The Arizona Diamondbacks have the second wildcard spot at the moment at 81 wins and 72 losses. The Miami Marlins and Chicago Cubs are at 79 wins and 74 losses, and are half a game up on the Cincinnati Reds for the final National League playoff spot. Miami has the tiebreaker against Chicago as they have won four of six games head-to-head this season.

What is the biggest series this weekend?

The Mariners are facing the Rangers this weekend in Texas with a lot on the line. Both teams are at 84 wins and 68 losses. Offensively, Rangers shortstop Corey Seager of Charlotte, North Carolina leads the American League with a .331 batting average, while Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodriguez of Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic and Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien of San Francisco, California are tied for the American League lead in runs batted in with 176.

 

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