In the third year of the expanded MLB postseason format, and just getting into the playoffs can give a surprise team a legitimate chance to win a championship.
Last year's World Series featured two wild-card teams. Neither clinched a postseason berth until the penultimate day of the regular season. The Rangers and Diamondbacks both squeezed into the playoff picture, but each team made the opportunity count.
Don't be surprised if at least one non-division winner makes a deep run in October. With no team on track to win 100 games, a wild-card team (or two) could very well take the postseason by storm once again.
Here's a look at the updated MLB wild-card standings and where the playoff picture stands right now.
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MLB wild-card standings 2024
Standings updated through games on Sept. 28.
American League wild-card standings
- WC1: Orioles, 90-71 (.559), +5.0
- WC2: Tigers, 86-75 (.534), +1.0
- WC3: Royals, 86-75 (.528)
- —
- Mariners, 84-77 (.522), ELIMINATED
- Twins, 82-79 (.509), ELIMINATED
- Red Sox, 80-81 (.497), ELIMINATED
- Rays, 80-81 (.497), ELIMINATED
- Rangers, 77-84 (.478), ELIMINATED
- Blue Jays, 74-87 (.460), ELIMINATED
- Athletics, 69-92 (.429), ELIMINATED
- Angels, 63-98 (.391), ELIMINATED
- White Sox, 70-121 (.248), ELIMINATED
National League wild-card standings
- WC1: Padres, 93-68 (.578), +5.0 GB
- WC2: Braves, 88-71 (.553), +1.0 GB
- WC3: Mets, 87-72 (.547)
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- Diamondbacks, 88-73 (.547), 0.0 GB
- Cubs, 83-78 (.516), ELIMINATED
- Cardinals, 82-79 (.509), ELIMINATED
- Giants, 80-81 (.497), ELIMINATED
- Reds, 76-85 (.472), ELIMINATED
- Pirates, 76-85 (.472), ELIMINATED
- Nationals, 71-90 (.441), ELIMINATED
- Rockies, 61-100 (.379), ELIMINATED
- Marlins, 61-100 (.379), ELIMINATED
MORE: Updated MLB standings, magic numbers
MLB playoff bracket
The MLB playoff bracket consists of 12 teams and four rounds. Here's how it's shaking out so far:
Wild-card round
AL No. 6 vs. Houston Astros
AL No. 5 vs. Baltimore Orioles
NL No. 6 vs. Milwaukee Brewers
NL No. 5 vs. San Diego Padres
LDS
Yankees vs Orioles/AL No. 5
Guardians vs. Astros/AL No. 6
Dodgers vs. Padres/NL No. 5
Phillies vs. Brewers/NL No. 6
LCS
AL finalist vs. AL finalist
NL finalist vs. NL finalist
World Series
AL champion vs. NL champion
MLB playoff tiebreakers
The expanded postseason format introduced in 2022 eliminated tiebreaker games, which were known as "Game 163." Instead, head-to-head tiebreakers are simply determined by head-to-head record.
If the record is even, the next tiebreaker is record within each team's division — even if they're in separate divisions. If that also fails to break the stalemate, the next tiebreaker is record within the league (American or National).
The process is a bit more complicated for three-team ties. If one team has a winning record against each of the other teams, that team wins the tiebreaker. If two teams have an identical record against each other but both have a better record against the third team, the third team is out and the head-to-head process would be used to split the remaining two teams.
Many tiebreakers won't be determined until more games are played. For example, the Mets and Braves are currently even in their season series at 5-5 and play during the final week of the regular season. The winner of that series is guaranteed to hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
MORE: Could Shohei Ohtani pitch in the postseason?
When do the MLB playoffs begin?
The MLB postseason begins on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The first game of each wild-card series will take place on Oct. 1, with every Game 2 set for Wednesday, Oct. 2 and all potential Game 3s set for Thursday, Oct. 3.
MLB playoff schedule
- Wild-card series: Oct. 1-3
- NLDS: Oct. 5-11
- ALDS: Oct. 5-11
- NLCS: Oct. 13-21
- ALCS: Oct. 14-22
- World Series: Oct. 25-Nov. 2
The MLB postseason is set to begin on Oct. 1. The division series will start on Oct. 5, and the league championship series will begin on Oct. 13 with the NLCS. Each series could end earlier than its listed end date if certain games aren't necessary.
For the first time, MLB introduced flexible scheduling for the World Series. If both championship series end by Oct. 19, the World Series would start on Oct. 22 and end on Oct. 30. That would require both the ALCS and NLCS to end in either four or five games.
