Bleacher Report
The Philadelphia Phillies have clinched a bye past the National League Wild Card series after their 9-6 win over the Chicago Cubs.
The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays have also been eliminated from postseason contention.
Here’s a look at the current playoff projected based off standings as of 10:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Projected American League Playoff Matchups
- First-round bye: * No. 1 New York Yankees, * No. 2 Cleveland Guardians
- Wild Card Series: * No. 3 Houston Astros vs. No. 6 Detroit Tigers; * No. 4 Baltimore Orioles vs. No. 5 Kansas City Royals
Projected National League Playoff Matchups
- First-round bye: * No. 1 Los Angeles Dodgers, * No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies
- Wild Card Series: * No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers vs. No. 6 Arizona Diamondbacks; * No. 4 San Diego Padres vs. No. 5 New York Mets
The Phillies have knocked on the door of a World Series victory each of the past two years. In 2022, the Phils reached the World Series but fell in six games to the Houston Astros. In 2023, Philadelphia was upset by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series, falling in seven games.
Philadelphia finds itself in position to make another run to the Fall Classic. The team has a chance at earning homefield advantage throughout the entire playoffs (including the World Series). After the win over the Cubs, the 94-65 Phils had a .591 winning percentage, just .001 behind the 93-64 Los Angeles Dodgers.
Both teams have a good chance to finish strong.
The Phillies close the regular season on the road against the 69-89 Washington Nationals. L.A. ends the year with a three-game series at the 60-win Colorado Rockies.
Meanwhile, in the American League East, the Rays and Red Sox’s faint playoff hopes have come to an end.
Tampa Bay earned playoff berths each of the past five seasons, but this was a down year for a team that couldn’t overcome its hitting woes (second-last in the American League in OPS, runs and home runs).
The Red Sox have now missed the playoffs five of the past six seasons after winning the 2018 World Series. The Sox were 10 games over .500 at the All-Star break but stumbled in the second half, even falling under .500 for the year multiple times in September before a recent four-game winning streak.
There’s still a bunch left to decide in MLB as the final regular-season week nears its end, including the final two playoff teams in each league and the AL and NL’s top-two seeds.
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