With the calendar flipping to September, the Wild Card races remain tight with five teams within 4.5 games of the second spot in the National League and five teams fighting over both spots, all within 3.5 games of each other in the American…
(CBS Local)- The calendar has changed over to September and with it, the final month of the marathon that is the MLB regular season is upon us. Teams across the league are jockeying for the final few playoff spots, hoping to earn their berth to October baseball. While the loser of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants’ fight for the N.L. West division crown will clearly hold homefield advantage and one of the two available Wild Cards in the league, the second team is far from certain. In the American League, a pair of East division teams and long-time rivals hold the final two spots but there are still three other teams lurking. In this week’s edition of the Baseball Report, we take stock of where things stand in each league’s chase for the Wild Card and call attention to a pair of young players making historic marks in their first MLB seasons. The Los Angeles Dodgers sit in first place in the N.L. Wild Card by an almost mathematically insurmountable 13.5 games. But, behind them, things are much more feisty. Their fellow N.L. West counterparts, the San Diego Padres, hold the second spot but, with a record of 73-64, the door is far from shut. Four other teams stand within 4.5 games of the second spot entering Tuesday’s play: the Cincinnati Reds (73-66,1 GB), Philadelphia Phillies (71-66,2 GB), St. Louis Cardinals (69-67,3.5 GB) and New York Mets (69-69,4.5 GB) are all within striking distance with a good couple of weeks. The Padres have the most difficult remaining schedule in the league by virtue of playing in the West division. San Diego has 10 games left against the Giants,6 against the Dodgers,4 against the Braves and 3 against St. Louis, all of whom are in the playoff chase. The Cardinals stretch isn’t much easier with games left against the Brewers (7), Dodgers (3), Padres (3), Reds (3) and Mets (3). Of the group in the hunt, the Phillies actually have the easiest remaining schedule, and easiest remaining schedule in the league.
