Ranking Top 5 Teams Under Most Pressure Entering Final Week Of MLB Season

The final week of a Major League Baseball season is often short on drama, as teams simply rest their key players headed into the postseason. Thankfully, this is not one of those seasons.

The games this week will be dripping with tension, as teams try to avoid the humiliation of missing the playoffs at the very end of a 162-game odyssey. Heading into the winter wondering if one play going differently could have saved the season is about as painful as it gets.

So, as a measure of predicting which teams might crack under the pressure of the moment this week, what say we count down the teams feeling the most heat?

5. Cleveland Guardians (current record: 84-72)

Less than a month ago, the Guardians were 68-69, and nearly the entire baseball world wrote them off. Now 84-72, they control their own destiny entering a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers, the team they miraculously trail by just one game in the American League Central.

The Guardians have already defied the odds by re-entering the picture, and they're to thank for a lot of the drama we're breaking down in this article. But at the same time, what good was all of that work to get back into the picture if they can't finish the deal?

4. Boston Red Sox (85-71)

Sep 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Red Sox held a 98.2% chance to make the playoffs on Sept. 2, per Fangraphs, the same day Roman Anthony suffered an oblique injury. Those odds are down to 90.4% as of Monday, and it's taken some gutsy wins to avoid losing control of their own destiny.

If Boston goes 3-3 against the Toronto Blue Jays and Tigers this week, the Astros and Guardians would each have to go 5-1 or better to eliminate them. Anything worse, and Boston fans could be left wondering how on earth this team managed to miss the playoffs for a fourth-straight season.

3. Houston Astros (84-72)

The Astros haven't missed the playoffs since 2016, but if the season ended Monday, they'd be on the outside looking in. Because they do not have the tiebreaker over the Red Sox, Tigers, or Guardians, they've got to stack a bunch of wins this week and hope one of those three teams slips up.

It's been an odd year for Houston, what with the exits of Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, the return of Carlos Correa, and the drama surrounding Framber Valdez. It was already shaping up to be a tumultuous winter, but if this team misses the playoffs, there will be a lot of questions about the future of this Astros team as a contender.

2. New York Mets (80-76)

The real drama on this list was which of the top two teams would finish first, so congrats(?) to the Mets on avoiding the bottom spot. But make no mistake, it will be remembered as a disaster of epic proportions if New York misses the playoffs.

Somehow, the Mets are on the outside looking in entering play this week after holding the best record in baseball in mid-June. Failing to reach October with a $340 million payroll, in Juan Soto's first year, no less, would be catastrophic.

1. Detroit Tigers (85-71)

Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene (31) reacts after striking out against during the third inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After the first week of July, the Tigers held a 15 1/2-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians. If they lose their series in Cleveland this week, they'll be in second place with three to play.

Detroit could not only lose the division, but miss out on the playoffs altogether after holding a 99.9% chance to make it to October as recently as Sept. 11, per Fangraphs. That's all-time stuff, and it could set the franchise back years if the collapse comes to pass.

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