The Houston Astros own baseball's best record and they are going back to the playoffs once again as they became only the sixth team in MLB history to record three consecutive 100-win seasons. With a win this weekend or an Oakland A's loss, the Astros will clinch the American League West division title.
The Minnesota Twins are closing in on their first division title since the 2010 season as they took two out of three against the Chicago White Sox at home this week and have also won the first two games of a four-game set this weekend against the Kansas City Royals. The Twins also established a new record as they became the first team ever to have five players with at least 30 home runs in one season.
The Cleveland Indians are chasing the Twins in the A.L. Central, but they will likely have to settle for a wild card spot if they are going to make it to the post-season for a fourth consecutive season. The Tribe beat Philadelphia, 5-2 on Friday night to run their win streak to five games.
They are tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the last playoff spot in the wild card chase. The Oakland A's are two games up on the Rays and Indians for the top wild card spot. The Rays beat the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox, 5-4 in 11 innings on Friday to eliminate the Bosox from playoff contention.
The St. Louis Cardinals continue to take care of business as they have won the first two games of a crucial four-game series in Chicago this weekend. They beat the Cubs, 5-4 in 10 innings on Thursday evening and then won a 2-1 pitcher's duel at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. The Cubs have lost four in a row this week following a five-game winning streak last week and now find themselves two full games behind the surging Milwaukee Brewers for the final N.L. wild card playoff spot.
The Brewers continue to confound opponents as they won again, 10-1 against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night and have gone on another hot streak after losing their top player Christian Yelich to a knee injury for the rest of the season. Milwaukee is three games behind St. Louis in the N.L. Central race and just one game behind the Washington Nationals for the top wild card spot in the senior circuit.
The Nationals beat the Miami Marlins, 6-4 on Friday to maintain their slim edge on the Brewers. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies continue to fade as they dropped a 5-2 decision in Cleveland on Friday night. The Phils are five full games behind Milwaukee for the last playoff spot.
The New York Mets are hanging in there with only nine games left to go. They trail the Brewers by 3 1/2 games for the final wild card playoff spot as they blasted the host Cincinnati Reds, 8-1 on Friday. Mets rookie sensation Pete Alonso hit his league leading 50th home run this season to pace the win.
AL STANDINGS (through September 20) NL STANDINGS (through September 20)
East East
x-New York 100-55 x-Atlanta 95-60
Tampa Bay 91-63 Washington 84-68
Boston 80-73 New York 80-73
Toronto 63-91 Philadelphia 78-74
Baltimore 50-104 Miami 53-100
Central Central
Minnesota 95-59 St. Louis 87-67
Cleveland 91-63 Milwaukee 84-70
Chicago 67-86 Chicago 82-72
Kansas City 56-99 Cincinnati 72-82
Detroit 45-108 Pittsburgh 65-89
West West
y-Houston 101-53 x-LA Dodgers 99-55
Oakland 93-61 Arizona 79-75
Texas 74-80 San Francisco 74-80
LA Angels 69-85 San Diego 69-85
Seattle 65-89 Colorado 66-88
x - clinched division title
y - clinched playoff spot
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