As of the start of play Monday, September 4, there were 19 MLB teams within six games of a postseason spot, which means there should be plenty of drama going into the end of the season. As a reminder, MLB expanded the postseason last year under the new collective bargaining agreement, which means that it’s now a 12-team postseason, with six teams making it per league. The top two teams in each league earns a bye in the Wild Card round, while division winner with the worst record (No. 3 seed) plays the Wild Card team with the worst record No. 6 seed). The top two wild card teams (No. 4 and 5 seed) play each other. The Wild Card round is a best-of-three series.
MLB playoff bracket: Breaking down seeds, matchups for 2023 postseason
MLB playoff bracket: Matchups on Monday, September 4
American League
No. 3 Minnesota Twins (71-66, AL Central winner) vs. No. 6 Houston Astros (77-61, 3rd WC spot)
No. 4 Tampa Bay Rays (83-54, 1st WC spot) vs. No. 5 Houston Rangers (76-60, 2nd WC spot)
The winner of the 3-6 matchup would face the No. 2 Seattle Mariners (75-59, AL West winner) in the Divisional round. The winner of the 4-5 matchup would face the No. 1 Baltimore Orioles (85-51, AL East winner) in the next round.
In the AL, the best race is in the wild, wild West, where only two games separate the Mariners, Astros and Rangers. The Rangers open a key three-game series with the Astros today at 4:05 p.m. ET, while the Mariners begin a three-game series with the Reds (more on them in a second).
National League
No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers (76-60, NL Central winner) vs. No. 6 San Francisco Giants (70-67, 3rd WC spot)
No. 4 Philadelphia Phillies (75-61, 1st WC spot) vs. No. 5 Chicago Cubs (73-64, 2nd WC spot)
The winner of the 3-6 matchup would face the No. 2 Los Angeles Dodgers (84-52, NL West winner) in the Divisional round. The winner of the 4-5 matchup would face the No. 1 Atlanta Braves (90-46, NL East winner) in the next round.
This is where the real intrigue is. While all the divisional races are close to being sewn up (the closest race is in the NL Central, where the Brewers have a 3.5 game lead over the Cubs), the Wild Card picture is a logjam as we entered play on Monday — with four teams (Marlins, Giants, D-backs and Reds) tied for the final Wild Card spot, with the Cubs and Phillies holding three and 5.5 game leads over the other wild card sports, respectively.
The Cubs and Giants begin a huge three-game series on Monday, while the Marlins and D-backs start their next series on Tuesday.