The 2026 Major League Baseball regular season concludes today with Game 162. Two critical races remain undecided: the American League West division and the National League wild card. The outcomes will finalize the 12-team playoff field.
In the American League West, the Houston Astros can clinch the division title with a victory. The Texas Rangers must win and see the Astros lose to secure the crown. The loser is eliminated from playoff contention.
Regardless of the winner, the AL West champion will finish with a non-winning or losing record—a first for MLB in a full 162-game season.
The Philadelphia Phillies hold the No. 6 seed in the NL wild card, one game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Phillies would lose a tiebreaker to Arizona based on division record. They need either a win or a Diamondbacks loss to claim the final wild-card spot.
Ten teams have already secured postseason berths. The Tampa Bay Rays won the AL East and earned the No. 1 seed with a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the AL playoffs. The Cleveland Guardians clinched the AL Central on Saturday for their third straight division title, securing the No. 2 seed and a bye. The New York Yankees are the No. 4 seed and will face the Boston Red Sox, the No. 5 seed, in the Wild Card Series—a second straight matchup between the division rivals. The Chicago White Sox earned the No. 6 seed as the third wild-card team.
In the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers clinched the NL Central with the best record in MLB, securing the No. 1 seed and a bye with home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The Los Angeles Dodgers won their division and earned the No. 2 seed. The Atlanta Braves, another division winner, are projected as the No. 3 seed and will host a three-game Wild Card Series. The San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs secured the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds as wild cards.
The projected Wild Card Series pairings are: No. 3 Astros versus No. 6 White Sox and No. 4 Yankees versus No. 5 Red Sox in the AL, assuming Houston wins the division; No. 3 Braves versus No. 6 Phillies and No. 4 Padres versus No. 5 Cubs in the NL, assuming Philadelphia clinches.
