The final week of the regular season has turned into a full-blown traffic jam across both leagues, with six postseason spots still open and several races coming down to the wire. The Braves, Brewers, Dodgers, Rays, Yankees and Red Sox have already punched their tickets for 2026, but there’s still plenty to settle before Sunday brings the curtain down.
In the American League, the White Sox, Guardians and Rangers are all trying to keep their grips on the division picture, while the Astros are still hanging around and hoping the schedule breaks their way. Texas has slipped into first in the AL West by a game, but that edge comes with a dangerous finish: a three-game set at home against the Mets, who have been tough all season.
Houston, after giving up the division lead, now sits one game back in the West and three back in the wild-card chase. The good news for the Astros is what comes next - two games in Seattle and then four on the road against the Athletics.
Chicago’s situation is even more delicate. The White Sox lost the AL Central lead to the Guardians, but they still hold the final wild-card spot by three games.
That cushion can disappear fast, though, and their three-game road series against the Royals from Monday to Wednesday carries real weight. Anything less than two wins there could make life miserable with Houston lurking two games back in the wild-card race.
Cleveland’s path isn’t easy either. The Guardians enter the week up one game in the AL Central and head to Fenway Park for three against the Red Sox, who clinched a playoff berth Sunday and are basically locked into the AL’s No. 5 seed.
That could mean some lineup shuffling from Boston, but Cleveland can’t afford to assume anything. If the Guardians stumble, they could lose the division for the first time since 2023, and they finish with a friendlier slate against the Royals and Rockies.
The race in the National League is no less tense. The Phillies have a four-game cushion in the wild-card standings, but their final six games are a grind: the Brewers and the Rays.
If Philadelphia slips up, the Diamondbacks could suddenly find themselves back in the mix. Arizona closes against the Rockies and the Padres, and that combination gives them at least a path back if the Phillies wobble.
San Diego is in a tricky spot too. The Padres own the NL’s second wild-card position and lead Arizona by five games, but they’ve got a tough road trip first - three games against the Dodgers.
That matters because the Diamondbacks get the Rockies, MLB’s worst team, which means the Padres can’t afford to let that series in Los Angeles get away from them. They need at least one win, and probably more, before a season-ending three-game set at home against Arizona that could wind up deciding everything.
There’s also a rare individual chase worth watching in the closing stretch. Pete Crow-Armstrong has 44 home runs and 37 stolen bases with seven games left, putting him within striking distance of a 40-40 season. He needs three steals to become the seventh player ever to join Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani in that club.
And then there’s Yordan Alvarez, who still has a shot at the AL Triple Crown if he catches fire over the final week. He leads the league with a .311 average and sits second in both home runs with 40 and RBIs with 99.
Junior Caminero is one homer ahead of him for the AL lead, while Pete Alonso is six RBIs ahead, which makes that part of the chase a steep climb. If Alvarez pulls it off, he’d be the first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012.
Justin Verlander’s final start is set for Saturday, when the Tigers host the Pirates at Comerica Park. The 43-year-old will make the 557th start of his career in the same ballpark where he first took the mound for Detroit in 2005. It’s the kind of full-circle ending that fits one of the defining pitchers of this generation, and the home crowd should treat it like the moment it is.
There’s even a strange bit of history on the line in the AL West. The 2005 Padres remain the worst division winner in MLB history at 82-80, but the Rangers and Astros could threaten that mark.
Texas is sitting at 78-78 with seven games to go, while Houston is 77-79. The Rangers would need to win five of their last six to avoid tying or breaking the record, and the Astros would have to win out.
In Other News...
Jim Crane May Be Running Out Of Time To Reset Astros
The Astros are at a point in the season where the losses are starting to carry more weight than the talk around them. After getting swept by the Braves, Houston is staring up in both the AL West and the wild card race, a sharp reminder of how far the club has drifted since its 2022 World Series title run. The core still has name value, but the group looks older and less imposing, and the conversation around the franchise has shifted from chasing October to figuring out what comes next.
Reports that Joe Espada and Dana Brown could be on their way out only add to the sense that a reset is coming, one way or another. Jim Crane has a decision to make about how aggressively he wants to address the decline, because this is no longer just about one bad stretch or one disappointing series. The Astros have reached the point where changes at the top could be the cleanest way to signal a new direction, even if the most important part of that answer is still waiting to be revealed. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Keep Wasting Winnable Games At The Worst Possible Time
Another winnable series slipped away for Houston in Atlanta, where the Astros were swept over three games and left with the same frustrating questions that have followed them through too many tight nights this season. The starting pitching never gave the bullpen much relief, with each starter failing to get through six innings, and that left a taxed relief corps trying to protect leads without much margin for error.
The missed chances at the plate were just as costly, especially with runners on and the game hanging in the balance. Atlanta came through with the bigger swings when it mattered, and Houston could not match that clutch power at the end of an uneven series that felt especially damaging given the timing. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Catching Prospect Is Forcing A Bigger Conversation Than Expected
Jason Schiavones first full pro season has already turned into something the Astros cant just file away as a nice development note. Drafted in 2024, the catcher moved through three minor league levels and put together a rare all-around season, finishing with 32 home runs and 32 stolen bases. For a player behind the plate, that kind of production instantly changes the conversation from simple prospect watch to whether Houston might be looking at something far more unusual.
Jeff Bagwell has already singled out Schiavones power, on-base ability and defensive skills, and those are the kinds of traits that can make a catching prospect impossible to ignore. The strikeout rate is still part of the picture, but when a minor league catcher does something no one has done since 1981, the Astros have to think bigger about where he fits and how quickly he could matter at the major league level. [Read more 🡒]