MLB magic numbers, schedules: Yankees pass Red Sox for 1st Wild Card; Cardinals clinch tie (9/27/21)

The Milwaukee Brewers wrapped up the National League Central crown on Sunday, while the San Francisco Giants stayed 2 games up on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL East and the Atlanta Braves increased their lead over the Philadelphia Phillies to 2 1/2 games.
By

As usual, the postseason picture still hasn’t taken full shape with the regular season down to a week.

The weekend that was did upset the apple cart in the American League Wild-Card race with the Yankees passing the Red Sox for the top spot with a weekend sweep at Fenway Park. Meanwhile, Boston now is just one game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, two up on the Seattle Mariners and three ahead of the Oakland Athletics for the second AL Wild Card.

One more AL division title needs to be clinched and the Houston Astros, who were off on Monday, can wrap up the Central on Tuesday with a win over the Tampa Bay Rays plus a Mariners loss to Oakland.

Want more Yankees coverage? Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text directly with beat writers

In the NL, the Braves increased their NL East lead over the Phillies to 2 1/2 games on Sunday. Atlanta has six games remaining, all at home, including its next three against the Phils beginning Tuesday night.

The San Francisco Giants still are holding off the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West up two games with six to go. The 100-win Dodgers already have clinched a Wild Card, and if that’s what they end up with then they’ll have to deal with the St. Louis Cardinals in a one-game playoff. St. Louis clinched a tie for the second NL Wild Card on Sunday with its 16th win in a row, a franchise record and longest in the majors since the Cleveland Indians ripped off 22 straight in 2017.

Here’s a look at magic numbers plus the remaining schedules for the contenders through early games on Monday, Sept. 26, along with playoff matchups if the postseason began on Tuesday:

AL EAST

TAMPA BAY RAYS (97-59)

Standings: First in AL East. Lead second-place Yankees by 8 games.

Magic number to clinch AL East: Clinched on Sept. 25.

Games remaining: 6 (6 road).

Rays schedule:

Sept. 28-30: at Astros (3)

Oct. 1-3: at Yankees (3)

* * *

NEW YORK YANKEES (89-67)

Standings: Second in AL East. Lead Blue Jays by 1 game for first AL Wild Card; Lead Blue Jays by 2 games for second Wild Card.

Magic number to clinch playoffs: 5.

Remaining games: 6 (3 home, 3 road).

Yankees schedule:

Sept. 28-30: at Blue Jays (3)

Oct. 1-3: Rays (3)

* * *

BOSTON RED SOX (88-68)

Standings: Third in AL East. Lead Blue Jays by 1 game for second AL Wild Card; trail Yankees by 1 game for first Wild Card.

Magic number to clinch playoffs: 6.

Remaining games: 6 (6 road).

Red Sox schedule:

Sept. 28-30: at Orioles (3)

Oct. 1-3: at Nationals (3)

* * *

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (87-69)

Standings: Fourth in AL East. Trail Red Sox by 1 game for second AL Wild Card.

Magic number to clinch playoffs: 8.

Remaining games: 6 (6 home).

Blue Jays schedule:

Sept. 28-30: Yankees (3)

Oct. 1-3: Orioles (3)

* * *

AL CENTRAL

CHICAGO WHITE SOX (89-68)

Standings: First in AL Central. Lead second-place Indians by 11.5 games.

Magic number to clinch AL Central: Clinched Sept. 23.

Remaining games: 5 (5 home).

White Sox schedule:

Sept. 28-29: Reds (2)

Oct. 1-3: Tigers (3)

* * *

AL WEST

HOUSTON ASTROS (91-65)

Standings: First in AL West. Lead second-place Mariners by 5 games.

Magic number to clinch AL West: 2.

Remaining games: 6 (6 home).

Astros schedule:

Sept. 28-30: Rays (3)

Oct. 1-3: Athletics (3)

* * *

SEATTLE MARINERS (86-70)

Standings: Second in AL West. Trail first-place Astros by 5 games. Trail Red Sox by 2 games for second AL Wild Card.

Magic number to clinch playoffs: 9.

Remaining games: 6 (6 home, 0 road).

Mariners schedule:

Sept. 27-29: Athletics (3)

Oct. 1-3: Angels (3)

* * *

OAKLAND ATHLETICS (85-71)

Standings: Third in AL West. Trail first-place Astros by 6 games. Trail Red Sox by 3 games for second AL Wild Card.

Magic number to clinch playoffs: 10.

Remaining games: 6 (6 road).

Athletics schedule:

Sept. 27-29: at Mariners (3)

Oct. 1-3: at Astros (3)

* * *

NL EAST

ATLANTA BRAVES (83-72)

Standings: First in NL East. Lead second-place Phillies by 2.5 games.

Magic number to clinch NL East: 5.

Remaining games: 7 (7 home).

Braves schedule:

Sept. 28-30: Phillies (3)

Oct. 1-3: Mets (3)

Oct. 4: Rockies (1), if necessary

* * *

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (81-75)

Standings: Second in NL East. Trail first-place Braves by 2.5 games. Trail Cardinals by 6 games for second NL Wild Card.

Magic number to clinch playoffs: 10.

Remaining games: 6 (6 road).

Phillies schedule:

Sept. 28-30: at Braves (3)

Oct. 1-3: at Marlins (3)

* * *

NL CENTRAL

MILWAUKEE BREWERS (94-62)

Standings: First in NL Central. Lead second-place Cardinals by 7 games.

Magic number to clinch NL Central: Clinched on Sept. 26.

Remaining games: 6 (6 road).

Brewers schedule:

Sept. 28-30: at Cardinals (3)

Oct. 1-3: at Dodgers (3)

* * *

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (87-69)

Standings: Second in NL Central. Lead Reds by 5.5 games for second NL Wild Card.

Magic number to clinch playoffs: 1.

Remaining games: 6 (6 home).

Cardinals schedule:

Sept. 28-30: Brewers (3)

Oct. 1-3: Cubs (3)

* * *

CINCINNATI REDS (81-75)

Standings: Third in NL Central. Trail Cardinals by 5.5 games for second NL Wild Card.

Magic number to clinch playoffs: 13.

Remaining games: 5 (5 road).

Reds schedule:

Sept. 28-29: at White Sox (2)

Oct. 1-3: at Pirates (3)

* * *

NL WEST

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (102-54)

Standings: First in NL West. Lead second-place Dodgers by 2 games.

Magic number to clinch NL West: 5.

Magic number to clinch playoffs: Clinched on Sept. 13.

Remaining games: 6 (6 home).

Giants schedule:

Sept. 28-30: Diamondbacks (3)

Oct. 1-3: Padres (3)

* * *

LOS ANGELES DODGERS (100-56)

Standings: Second in NL West. Trail first-place Giants by 2 games. Lead Cardinals by 13 games for first NL Wild Card.

Magic number to clinch NL West: 9.

Magic number to clinch playoffs: Clinched on Sept. 14.

Remaining games: 6 (6 home).

Dodgers schedule:

Sept. 28-30: Padres (3)

Oct. 1-3: Brewers (3)

* * *

CURRENT POSTSEASON MATCHUPS

AL Wild Card Game: Boston Red Sox (5) at New York Yankees (4).

NL Wild Card Game: St. Louis Cardinals (5) at Los Angeles Dodgers (4).

AL DIVISION SERIES

Tampa Bay Rays (1) vs. New York Yankees (4) or Boston Red Sox (5).

Houston Astros (2) vs. Chicago White Sox (3).

NL DIVISION SERIES

San Francisco Giants (1) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (4) or St. Louis Cardinals (5).

Milwaukee Brewers (2) vs. Atlanta Braves (3).

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

X

Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information

If you opt out, we won’t sell or share your personal information to inform the ads you see. You may still see interest-based ads if your information is sold or shared by other companies or was sold or shared previously.