The final full week of August begins with one MLB wild-card race deadlocked at the playoff cut line and another featuring several contenders still within striking distance.
In the American League, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have created breathing room atop the wild-card standings. The final spot is far less secure: The Cleveland Guardians and Texas Rangers enter Monday, Aug. 24, with identical 65-66 records, leaving the projected postseason field vulnerable to changing with virtually every result.
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The National League race has more separation, but hardly feels settled. The Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres currently occupy the three wild-card positions. The Arizona Diamondbacks, however, begin the week only two games behind San Diego, with the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals still trying to remain within reach.
With the regular season ending Sept. 27, every series carries greater weight for teams trying to move into the picture or protect their place in October. Here are the latest MLB wild-card standings, projected playoff matchups and key postseason races in both leagues.
MORE: Five series that could impact MLB playoff race, including final Yankees-Red Sox showdown
1 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No. 10. T-Mobile Park, Seattle: This ballpark fits perfectly in the Northwest with the nearby mountains, skyline and water. It features an “umbrella-style” retractable roof that doesn’t enclose the park, only stopping the rain, while enabling fans to enjoy the beautiful outdoors.
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1 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No. 10. T-Mobile Park, Seattle: This ballpark fits perfectly in the Northwest with the nearby mountains, skyline and water. It features an “umbrella-style” retractable roof that doesn’t enclose the park, only stopping the rain, while enabling fans to enjoy the beautiful outdoors.
(Joe Nicholson, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
2 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No. 9. Camden Yards, Baltimore: Meet the godfather, with its famous B&O Warehouse. This is the original retro-classic ballpark that not only dramatically influenced the look of new stadiums, but changed the fabric of some major cities. Denver, Cleveland, San Francisco and San Diego followed its lead and built downtown ballparks that completely invigorated growth.
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3 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No. 8. Coors Field, Denver: The team may stink but the ballpark is so beautiful and the vibe is so cool that it’s become a destination on its own. There’s a purple row of seats signifying the mile-high altitude, and the bullpen could be mistaken for a forest with its trees and running stream. The right-field upper-deck is the hottest bar in Denver.
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4 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No. 7. Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles: This is the most serene setting in baseball, nestled into the hillside of Chavez Ravine. It has a view of the San Gabriel Mountains beyond the outfield, and downtown Los Angeles behind home plate. It’s hard to believe it was built in 1962 and even though it holds 56,000 fans, it still feels intimate.
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5 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No. 6. Oracle Park, San Francisco: This ballpark has the second-best view in baseball behind PNC Park with its bay backdrop and splash-down hits in McCovey Cove, but only if you happen to sit in the upper deck. The park is already showing its age and its concourses are narrow and cramped, making it difficult to move around, with the Giants already out-growing the place and badly needing more space.
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6 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No. 5. Petco Park, San Diego: This gorgeous park doesn’t quite have the stunning views as Pittsburgh or San Francisco, but it’s pretty darn close. The architecture is beautiful and the old Western Metal Company warehouse in left-field gives it a retro look. It also happens to be located in the heart of the lively Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego.
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7 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No. 4. Target Field, Minneapolis: This may be the most impressive urban design in baseball on its downtown eight-acre site with freeways and trains outside the park, and warehouses to the left. It also has an ultra-modern look inside, with a 360-degree open concourse, that celebrates the club’s glorious history. Its nod to the retro look is the iconic neon Minnie and Paul home-run sign featuring two ballplayers shaking hands over the Mississippi River representing the Twin Cities.
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8 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No 3. PNC Park, Pittsburgh: The most gorgeous ballpark in America. Forget the game on the field. You want to be sitting in the upper deck taking in the view of the Clemente Bridge, the Pittsburgh skyline and the Allegheny River. It’s magnificent.
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9 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No. 2. Wrigley Field, Chicago: There’s not a more beautiful sight than walking into the ballpark and taking your first look at that beautiful green grass, the ivy on the walls and the iconic scoreboard in center field. Taking in a Friday afternoon game, hitting Murphy Bleachers afterward, and enjoying the Chicago nightlife is utopia for any baseball fan.
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10 / 10
Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider
No. 1 Fenway Park, Boston: No ballpark in America has the romantic feel or the unique quirks of Fenway Park, from the Green Monster to Pesky’s Pole. It’s not a baseball game, but a religious experience watching games at Fenway.
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MLB playoff picture: Who would make playoffs if season ended today?
American League playoff field
National League playoff field
Current matchups in American League
Guardians at Astros; Red Sox at Yankees
Rays and White Sox would have byes to AL division series
Current matchups in National League
Padres at Braves; Phillies at Cubs
Brewers and Dodgers would have byes to NL division series
American League wild card standings
Top three wild card teams make the postseason:
New York Yankees — 74-56 (+9½ games)
Boston Red Sox — 71-59 (+6½ games)
Cleveland Guardians — 65-66 (—)
National League wild card standings
Top three wild card teams make the postseason:
Chicago Cubs — 75-56 (+4 games)
Philadelphia Phillies — 73-58 (+2 games)
San Diego Padres — 71-60 (—)
MLB wild card tiebreaker rules
Ties between two teams, per MLB.com:
Last half of intraleague games: These are the records from intraleague games after the All-Star break.
Last half of intraleague games plus one: Previous intraleague game on the schedule before All-Star break is used and process is repeated until tie is resolved.
When do MLB playoffs start?
Wild-card series: Tuesday, Sept. 29 through Thursday, Oct. 1
Division series: Saturday, Oct. 3 through Saturday, Oct. 10
Championship series: Sunday, Oct. 11 through Tuesday, Oct. 20
World Series: Friday, Oct. 23 through Saturday, Oct. 31
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB wild card standings: Who’s in, who’s out of playoffs going into the week?
