Pennant Race Standings (Updated)
The Orioles snuck past the A's for the top American League wild-card spot with another extra-inning win in Seattle. The Yankees broke the tie atop the AL East by sweeping their double-header with the Blue Jays to take a half-game lead over the O's. The Tigers gained a game on the White Sox by beating the A's for the second time in as many days, while the White Sox were shutout by the Royals. Meanwhile, in the National League, the Pirates' collapse neared completion as they lost the Brewers again to fall to .500 and slip behind the Phillies and into a tie with the Diamondbacks, essentially out of the wild card race.
NOTE: For the remainder of the regular season, Hit and Run will have a nightly post updating the standings relevant to the postseason races in the wake of that night's action. The standings below reflect all of the games of Tuesday, September 19. The positive numbers under Games Behind for the wild card leaders indicate their lead over the third-place team in the race, or how far they are from being knocked out of a playoff spot. The Elimination Number (E#) column indicates the total number of the given team's losses and leading team's wins needed to eliminate that team from the race (essentially the reverse of a magic number). The magic number of the leading team is the elimination number of the second-place team.
Updated 8:55 am EST with Playoff Odds from ClayDavenport.com
If The Season Ended Today:
- The Orioles would host the A’s in the wild card game.
- The Wild Card winner would open at home against the Rangers in the Division Series*
- The White Sox would open at home against the Yankees in the other Division Series.
*For this year only, the Division Series has a 2-3 format, which finds the team with “home-field advantage” opening with two games on the road.
If The Season Ended Today:
- The Braves would host the Cardinals in the wild card game.
- The wild card winner would open at home against the Nationals in the Division Series
- The Giants would open at home against the Reds in the other Division Series.
