It all comes down to Sunday.
The two spots in the American League Wild Card race are still up to grabs, with the Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners all within one game of each other entering the final day of the 2021 MLB regular season.
Will any teams clinch a playoff spot on Sunday? Or will tiebreaker games be needed in the coming days?
Follow along below for live updates from Sunday’s key games involving the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners.
6:57 p.m.: Nick Pivetta picks up the save as the Red Sox hold off the Nationals, 7-5. Up next is the American League Wild Card Game Tuesday against the Yankees at Fenway Park.
6:37 p.m.: Rafael Devers hit his second home run of the game, giving the Red Sox a two-run lead in the ninth inning. A win will clinch a Wild Card berth and a playoff game against the Yankees.
6:25 p.m.: Toronto beat Baltimore, keeping the Blue Jays’ hopes alive for now. With the Yankees winning, they need the Red Sox to lose to force a play-in game. Blue Jays 12, Orioles 4 (FINAL)
6:12 p.m.: Aaron Judge drove in the winning run in the ninth inning, clinching a playoff berth for the Yankees with a walk-off win. Yankees 1, Rays 0 (FINAL).
5:54 p.m.: Alex Verdugo hit a two-run double, capping off a three-run rally in the seventh inning for the Red Sox, tying the game against the Nationals. Red Sox 5, Nationals 5
5:45 p.m.: The Yankees and Rays remain scoreless heading to the ninth inning. Yankees 0, Rays 0.
5:30 p.m.: The Angels pushed their lead to five runs after five innings. Angels 7, Mariners 2.
5:28 p.m.: Boston got one run back to trim its deficit against Washington in the sixth inning. Nationals 5, Red Sox 2.
5:05 p.m.: The Nationals scored three times after loading the bases in the fifth inning, extending their lead over the Red Sox. Nationals 5, Red Sox 1.
4:47 p.m.: Toronto added two more runs, as the Blue Jays now lead the Orioles by 10 in the fourth inning. Blue Jays 11, Orioles 1.
4:44 p.m.: The Angels added another pair of runs, extending their lead over the Mariners in the top of the fourth. Angels 6, Mariners 2.
4:40 p.m.: The Yankees and Rays remain scoreless in the sixth inning. Gio Urshela made an incredible catch, flying into the Rays’ dugout in the top half of the inning. Yankees 0, Rays 0.
4:22 p.m.: Rafael Devers pulled the Red Sox within one run with a solo home run in the top of the fourth. Nationals 2, Red Sox 1.
4:19 p.m.: The Blue Jays blew their game open with a George Springer grand slam in the bottom of the third. Blue Jays 9, Orioles 1.
4:10 p.m.: The Mariners added another run in the bottom of the second to pull within two runs of the Angels. Angels 4, Mariners 2.
3:59 p.m.: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning. The Orioles answered with one run in the third. Blue Jays 5, Orioles 1.
3:57 p.m.: Jarred Kelenic got the Mariners on the board with a RBI single in the second inning after the Angels pushed two more runs across in the top half of the inning. Angels 4, Mariners 1.
3:43 p.m.: The Nationals took the lead over the Red Sox with a Jordy Mercer RBI double in the bottom of the second. Nationals 1, Red Sox 0.
3:34 p.m.: The Blue Jays added two more runs in the bottom of the first, thanks to RBI singles by Teoscar Hernandez and Santiago Espinal. Blue Jays 3, Orioles 0.
3:21 p.m.: George Springer hit a leadoff home run to give Toronto an early lead. Blue Jays 1, Orioles 0.
3:20 p.m.: The Angels added another run in the top of the first on a Jack Mayfield single. Angels 2, Mariners 0.
3:15 p.m.: The Angels jumped out to a 1-0 lead over the Mariners in the top of the first inning, thanks to a leadoff home run from potential AL MVP Shohei Ohtani. Angels 1, Mariners 0.
Here’s how the current standings look:
Red Sox (91-70): --
Yankees (91-70): --
Mariners (90-70): 1
Blue Jays (90-71): 1
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Here are the games of note for Sunday:
Red Sox at Nationals (3:05 p.m. ET)
Rays at Yankees (3:05 p.m. ET)
Orioles at Blue Jays (3:07 p.m. ET)
Angels at Mariners (3:10 p.m. ET)
Here are the Wild-Card tiebreaker scenarios:
Four-way tie for two Wild-Card spots
Each team would choose or receive an A, B, C or D designation. The club with the highest winning percentage in games among the tied clubs chooses first, second-highest chooses second, etc. On Monday, Club A (likely the Red Sox) would host Club B, and Club C (likely the Blue Jays) would host Club D. So for the Yankees, it would come down to a choice of traveling to either Boston or Toronto.
Three-team tie for two Wild-Card spots
If the Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox were all tied, with no other non-division winners in the AL ahead of them, the three teams would choose/receive A, B and C designations. Club A would host Club B. The winner of that game would be one Wild-Card club, while the loser would then play Club C on the road to determine the other. The winners of the two games would face each other in the Wild Card Game. The three designations are decided by head-to-head records.
Two teams tie for Wild Card
This would not involve any extra games. ... If, say, the Blue Jays and Yankees were the only two clubs in AL Wild-Card position at season’s end and had identical records, they would not play an extra game to determine who gets home-field advantage in the Wild Card Game. It would go to the team with the better head-to-head record (in that case, Toronto).
Two teams tie for the second Wild-Card spot
If, for example, the Yankees and Red Sox tied for the second AL Wild-Card spot, they’d have to play each other Monday, Oct. 4, for the right to advance to the AL Wild Card Game on Tuesday, Oct. 5. Home-field advantage would go to the team with the better head-to-head record.
Three teams tie for second Wild-Card spot
Club A hosts Club B on Monday. The winner of that game then hosts Club C on Tuesday to determine who travels for the AL Wild Card Game, which would have to be pushed back.
(NJ Advance Media’s Mike Rosenstein contributed to this report.)
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Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com.
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