MLB Playoffs 2018: How Will The Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, Rockies, Athletics, Cardinals Finish?

A lot will be decided in the final weekend of the 2018 MLB regular season. While the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves have already won their respective divisions, plenty has yet to be decided when it comes to the playoffs.

Eight of the 10 playoff spots have been clinched. The New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Cubs are currently fighting for postseason seeding. The Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals are battling for two available playoff spots.

How will the postseason picture shake out when the season concludes?

Over in the American League, the playoff bracket is almost set. The Yankees have a two-game lead over the A’s in the wild-card race, and New York holds the tiebreaker. That means unless Oakland sweeps the Los Angeles Angels and the Yankees get swept in Boston, New York will host the A’s in the AL Wild-Card Game Wednesday night.

Boston has already clinched the best record in the AL. Houston is locked into the No.2 seed, which means they’ll host the No.3 seed Indians in the ALCS. The wild-card winner will go on to face the Red Sox.

Things aren’t nearly as easy to predict in the National League, and some of the teams are so close in the standings that 162 games might not be enough to determine the playoff picture.

Colorado has a one-game lead over Los Angeles in the NL West. If they finish with the same record, the Dodgers and Rockies would play each other Monday to determine the division winner. That game would be played in L.A. because the Dodgers have the better head-to-head record.

St. Louis is trying to catch both Colorado and Los Angeles. The Cardinals are a game behind the Dodgers, which means they’ll be hard-pressed to surpass the Rockies, as well. One Colorado win or one St. Louis loss would guarantee the Rockies a tie, at worst, in the race for the second wild-card spot.

The Cubs have a one-game lead over the Brewers in the NL Central. Whichever team doesn’t win the division will earn the No.1 wild-card spot in the NL.

Atlanta has the same record as Colorado. The Braves visit the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend with hopes of earning home-field advantage against the NL West winner in the NLDS.

Chicago can’t be caught by St. Louis in the standings, but their spot in the NL playoff bracket is tied to the Cardinals. St. Louis will play their final series of the season at Wrigley Field with the Cubs still looking to earn both the division title and home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. Chicago might need a sweep since Milwaukee will host the lowly Detroit Tigers.

Not only do the Cardinals have an uphill battle because they are one game out of the playoffs, but they’ll finish the season with the toughest schedule of all the potential postseason teams that have something on the line. Los Angeles will visit the 73-86 San Francisco Giants. Colorado will host the Washington Nationals, who are three games above .500 but out of the playoff race.

As a result, the Cardinals will probably fall short of winning the second wild-card spot. Maybe they’ll be able to steal a game from the Cubs, who haven’t played their best baseball in September. Milwaukee has a great chance to sweep Detroit and finish no worse than tied atop the NL Central. The Brewers have won six of their last seven games. They would visit Wrigley Field in a potential tiebreaker game for the division.

The Dodgers and Rockies might very well end up in a tie of their own, though Colorado is playing better baseball at the moment. Colorado is on a seven-game winning streak, and they’ll be hosting a team that has nothing to play for. It won’t be easy for L.A. to go on the road and sweep their chief rivals.

Colorado has the edge in the division, and the Dodgers will probably finish ahead of the Cardinals. With the way the Brewers are finishing the season, we could be destined for an NL Wild-Card Game between Chicago and Los Angeles.

The Cubs and Dodgers are the World Series favorites in the NL.