MLB enters its final week: Six teams have clinched a spot, and a dramatic battle for the playoffs is underway
Por Carlos Rodríguez ·
MLB enters the final week of its 2026 regular season with several playoff spots already secured, but with seeding, first-round byes, and wild-card spots still to be decided. Most teams have six games remaining before the 162-game schedule officially concludes on Sunday, September 27.
As of the start of play on Tuesday, September 22, six teams had secured their spots in the postseason: the Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, and Boston Red Sox. The format calls for 12 teams in the playoffs, six per league. The two division champions with the best records in each league advance directly to the Division Series, while the third-place division champions and the three wild-card teams compete in best-of-three series.
The Brewers and Dodgers Battle for the Top Spot
In the National League, Milwaukee enters the final stretch with the best record in all of Major League Baseball: 98-58.
The Brewers have already clinched the Central Division title and are just two wins away from reaching 100 wins.
But the Dodgers can still challenge them for the best record in the National League.
Los Angeles, the Western Division champion, has a 96-60 record, just two games behind Milwaukee.
Atlanta, which has already clinched the East, follows with a 92-64 record.
The race for the wild-card spots remains tense.
The Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres are both 87-69, while Philadelphia is 86-70.
Arizona, at 82-74, still has a mathematical chance, though it trails the Phillies by four games for the final wild-card spot (Filed as: 2026 MLB Playoffs: Decisive Final Week).
The American League still has several unknowns
In the American League, Tampa Bay has the best record at 95-60 and has already secured a spot in the playoffs.
The Yankees have also clinched a playoff spot with a record of 89-66, while Boston secured its place in the playoffs with a record of 84-72.
However, the Central and Western divisions keep much of the picture wide open.
Cleveland currently leads the Central Division with an 81-75 record, while Texas leads the West with a 78-78 record.
Those standings are particularly important because winning a division guarantees a spot in the postseason, regardless of whether another team has a better record as a wild card (Filed under: 2026 MLB Playoffs: Decisive Final Week).
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When do the MLB playoffs start?
Every game this week could change the matchups for October.
In addition to finding out who the final qualifiers will be, it remains to be seen which teams will secure the two coveted first-round byes in each league and which ones will have to survive the Wild Card Series.
The MLB postseason will begin on Tuesday, September 29, with the four Wild Card Series.
The series will be best-of-three, and all games will be played at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team (Filed as: 2026 MLB Playoffs: Decisive Final Week).
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