By Gabby Goodwin || Sports Editor
This past Thursday night, the Red Sox clinched their third consecutive American League East title with a victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The A’s moved to 1½ games behind New York in the AL Wild Card race, while the A’s also picked up a half-game in the AL West, now 3½ behind Houston.
In the National League, the Braves extended their lead over Philadelphia to 6½ games in the NL East, winning the series opener; however the two clubs still have 6 games left in the series.
The Red Sox currently sit in front of the AL West leaders, the Houston Astros; however, in the event that the Astros catch up to Boston, the season series would determine home field in a potential postseason matchup. The Astros won the season series 4-3.
If the Yankees and A’s tie for the two AL Wild Card spots, home field in the Wild Card Game would go to the winner of the season series; however, with each club having won 3 games, the tiebreaker would go to the team with the better intradivision record. At the moment, the Yankees hold a lead over the A’s 37-29 vs. 35-35.
If the Rays were to tie the A’s for the second Wild Card spot in the AL, then they would host a tiebreaker game because they won the series over the A’s 5-2.
In the AL West, if Cleveland and Houston split the series, the Astros would still hose game 1 of the ALDS because they took the season series 4-3. If the Astros were to tie Oakland atop the AL West, the Astros would host a one-game tiebreaker by taking the season series 12-7.
In the NL East, a tie for division champ would call for a tiebreaker game, and the Braves currently have the edge on the Phillies for home field advantage. Atlanta leads the season series 8-5, but the two teams still have 6 games remaining against each other. In the event of a tie for the best record in the NL East, the higher seed would be determined by intradivision record. Atlanta (44-23) currently leads Chicago (37-32).
Some key series remaining include Boston vs. the NYY September 28-30 at Boston, the Rays vs. NYY September 24-27, and the Braves at Philadelphia September 28-30 (mlb.com).
Junior Gabby Goodwin is the Sports Editor. Her email is ggoodwin@fandm.edu.