MLB's Final Weekend: Last Playoff Spots, Seeding at Stake — SkimNews
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- MLB's 2026 regular season concludes with 10 of 12 postseason berths already clinched, leaving four teams still mathematically alive for the remaining playoff spots
- Houston Astros and Texas Rangers enter the weekend tied at 79-80 for the AL West lead; whichever team wins the division would become the first MLB playoff team ever to finish with a losing record, at most 82 wins
- Cleveland Guardians hold a one-game lead over the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central, with the division winner earning a bye to the Division Series and Chicago holding the head-to-head tiebreaker
- Philadelphia Phillies lead the Arizona Diamondbacks by two games for the final NL wild card spot, with Arizona holding the intradivisional tiebreaker if the teams finish even after Sunday
- Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong reached 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases on Thursday, cementing his status as the NL MVP frontrunner
- Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez leads the American League in home runs and batting average but trails Pete Alonso by eight RBIs, leaving him a long shot for the Triple Crown
- The MLB postseason begins Tuesday with the Wild Card Series in both leagues, and the Red Sox — already in — would actually prefer to drop to the third wild card to dodge a Yankees matchup
Why it matters: The AL West race between the Astros and Rangers could produce MLB's first-ever playoff team with a losing record, a historic anomaly if it happens. Meanwhile, the Phillies' two-game cushion over the Diamondbacks leaves Arizona needing a near-perfect weekend to steal the final NL wild card spot.
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