MLB Standings 2018: Cubs, Dodgers Losing Division Leads, Several Playoff Scenarios In Play

It’s going to be a wild finish to the 2018 MLB season. While all of the American League playoff berths have been clinched, five teams are fighting for four spots in the National League with five days left on the schedule.

The Atlanta Braves (89-68) have clinched the NL East title. The Chicago Cubs (91-66) still sit atop the NL Central, but they’ve only got a half-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers (91-67). The Los Angeles Dodgers (88-70) have a half-game lead over the Colorado Rockies (87-70) in the NL West. The Rockies have a half-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals (87-71) for the final wild-card spot.

All of these teams are so close in the standings that it might take more than 162 games to determine what the playoffs will look like. Ties atop the NL Central or NL West would require teams to played a 163rd game Monday to determine a division winner. The loser would go on to play in the NL Wild-Card Game.

With the Dodgers, Rockies and Cardinals separated by just one game, there’s a chance a three-way tie will force multiple games to be played to determine tiebreakers, even before the single-game elimination wild-card game.

Milwaukee would host Colorado in the NL Wild-Card Game if the regular season ended Tuesday.

It looked like Los Angeles might pull away in the NL West when they swept Colorado last week, giving them a 2.5-game lead. The Rockies have since gone on a five-game winning streak. Colorado ends the season with five games against the Philadelphia Phillies (78-79) and Washington Nationals (80-78), and they control their own destiny since they are tied in the loss column with L.A.

The Brewers have made up six games on the Cubs in the loss column over the last month. Chicago has lost their last two games, as well as four of their last six contests. Milwaukee is on a three-game winning streak, including two straight wins over St. Louis to inch closer toward clinching a wild-card berth, at worst.

The Cardinals finish the season with one game against the Brewers and a three-game series at Wrigley Field. They technically still have a chance to finish in a first-place tie in the NL Central, though they’d need to win out and have both Chicago and Milwaukee lose the rest of their games.

The 2018 NL Wild-Card Game is currently scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 2. Since MLB introduced the second wild-card spot, there’s never been the need for a 163rd game to determine the final playoff berth.

In the AL, the Boston Red Sox (106-51), Cleveland Indians (88-69) and Houston Astros (100-57) have clinched division titles. The New York Yankees (97-60) and Oakland Athletics (95-63) will face off in the AL Wild-Card Game on Wednesday, Oct. 3.