A look at where the baseball playoff races stand entering play Wednesday:
American League teams in position for first-round playoff byes:
No. 1 New York Yankees (92-65, AL East leader)
No. 2 Cleveland Guardians (91-67, AL Central champion)
American League wild-card matchups, at the moment:
No. 6 Detroit Tigers (83-74, third AL wild card) at No. 3 Houston Astros (86-72, AL West champ)
No. 5 Kansas City Royals (83-74, second AL wild card) at No. 4 Baltimore Orioles (87-70, first AL wild card)
National League teams in position for first-round playoff byes:
No. 1 Los Angeles Dodgers (93-64, NL West leader)
No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies (93-65, NL East champion)
National League wild-card matchups, at the moment:
No. 6 Arizona Diamondbacks (87-71, third NL wild card) at No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers (90-67, NL Central champion)
No. 5 New York Mets (87-70, second NL wild card) at No. 4 San Diego Padres (91-66, first NL wild card)
DIVISION-BY-DIVISION BREAKDOWN
AL EAST
New York Yankees (92-65). Clinched playoff spot. Can clinch No. 1 seed and wild-card-round bye with one win over the visiting Orioles in the last two games of the current three-game series.
Baltimore Orioles (87-70). Clinched a playoff spot with a 5-3 road win over the Yankees on Tuesday. Five games behind New York in the division with five games to play. Four games up on the Royals and Tigers for the top wild card.
AL CENTRAL
Cleveland Guardians (91-67). Clinched division title. Beat the visiting Cincinnati Reds 6-1 on Tuesday in the opener of a two-game series.
Kansas City Royals (83-74). Tied with the Tigers for the second and third wild-card spots (Kansas City owns the tiebreaker), both teams are two games ahead of the Minnesota Twins and 2 1/2 games up on the Seattle Mariners. Earned a 1-0, 10-inning win on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game road series against the Washington Nationals.
Detroit Tigers (83-74). Tied with the Royals for the second and third wild-card spots (Kansas City owns the tiebreaker), both teams are two games ahead of the Twins and 2 1/2 games up on the Mariners. Posted a 2-1 home win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday to open a three-game series.
Minnesota Twins (81-76). Two games behind the Royals and Tigers, who hold the final two AL playoff spots, after opening a three-game home series vs. the Miami Marlins with a 4-1 loss on Tuesday.
AL WEST
Houston Astros (86-72). Clinched the AL West title with a 4-3 win over visiting Seattle on Tuesday. Locked into the No. 3 seed in the AL playoffs.
Seattle Mariners (81-77). Eliminated from the division race with the Tuesday loss to the Astros. Trail the Royals and Tigers by 2 1/2 games for the final two wild-card spots heading into the finale of a three-game series at Houston.
NL EAST
Philadelphia Phillies (93-65). Clinched the division title. Would clinch a first-round bye with two more wins this week. Lost 10-4 to the visiting Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in the middle game of a three-game series.
New York Mets (87-70). Lead the Diamondbacks by a half-game for the second wild card after losing 5-1 at Atlanta on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series. The Braves are just one game behind the Mets.
Atlanta Braves (86-71). Trail the Diamondbacks by a half-game for the third wild card after beating the Mets on Tuesday. A sweep of the three-game series would put Atlanta ahead of New York.
NL CENTRAL
Milwaukee Brewers (90-67). Clinched division title. Trail the Phillies by 2 1/2 games for the second first-round bye after opening a three-game road series against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 7-2 victory on Tuesday.
NL WEST
Los Angeles Dodgers (93-64). Clinched playoff berth. Lead the Padres by two games in the division after taking a 4-2 loss to visiting San Diego in the opener of a three-game series on Tuesday.
San Diego Padres (91-66). Clinched a playoff spot with a 4-2 win at Los Angeles on Tuesday. Lead the Mets by four games for the top wild card. Trail the Dodgers by two games in the division with two games left in the series.
Arizona Diamondbacks (87-71). Trail the Mets by a half-game for the second wild card, with the Braves a half-game behind Arizona for the third wild card. Lost 11-0 to the visiting San Francisco Giants on Tuesday in the second game of a three-game series.
–Field Level Media