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It may no longer be the five-team logjam it was just a couple of weeks ago, but there’s still a ton to be decided in the white-knuckle NL Wild Card race as the 2023 MLB regular season comes to a close. The Phillies took care of business on Tuesday night, punching their ticket to the playoffs in walk-off fashion and more or less salting away the top Wild Card spot. After that, though, chaos reigns. With just a few days remaining, here’s where things stand in the NL Wild Card picture on Thursday, September 28.
NL Wild Card standings: Thursday, September 28
1st Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies — 89-69, +7.0 (clinched playoff berth)
2nd Wild Card: Arizona Diamondbacks — 84-74, +2.0
3rd Wild Card: Chicago Cubs — 82-76, —
Miami Marlins — 82-76, —
Cincinnati Reds — 81-78, 1.5 GB
Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get any more dire for Chicago after their heartbreaking come-from-ahead loss to the Braves on Tuesday, the Cubs ... suffered yet another heartbreaking come-from-ahead loss in Atlanta on Wednesday, blowing not one but two late leads. Chicago is now deadlocked with Miami for the final Wild Card spot, after the Marlins split a doubleheader against the Mets yesterday. Miami has one more in New York before closing the season in Pittsburgh, while the Cubs have to play the Braves one more time before spending the weekend in Milwaukee against a Brewers team that’s locked into the No. 3 seed.
The Reds, meanwhile, dropped a game they really couldn’t afford in Cleveland, and they’ll be off today while rooting against the Cubs and Marlins — losses that would leave them just a game out ahead of this weekend’s series against the Cardinals. The D-backs, meanwhile, look to be in the clear after two straight wins (and eight of 10), and they can further solidify their playoff positioning with one more win against the lowly White Sox in Chicago on Thursday.