The month of September is almost upon us, and in Major League Baseball, that welcomes the heart of the stretch drive. The final month of the regular season is the time for sorting out the various sundry playoff races and postseason berths, and that means a closer look at the remaining schedule is in order.
Let's do that now with an eye toward which series over the final four weeks or so of the regular season will determine who makes the postseason and who gets the two available first-round byes in each league -- that is, the biggest series of September. For those squadrons right on the edge, every game is of course important. In this exercise, though, we're focusing on those games and series in which both sides have something to play for. Irrelevant tomato cans are not welcome beyond this point, which means the series we highlight must involve teams in playoff position or within playoff position going into the slate for Monday, Aug. 31.
On that front, much is at stake. Thanks in substantial measure to the overly permissive nature of the race for the third wild-card spot in the American League, a number of otherwise forgettable squads are very much in the mix for a playoff berth. Consider the current standings on that front:
- Guardians, in third wild-card spot
- Orioles, 1 game out of third wild-card spot
- Blue Jays, 1 ½ games out of third wild-card spot
- Rangers, 2 games out of third wild-card spot
- Twins, 4 games out of third wild-card spot
- Mariners, 5 games out of third wild-card spot
Every team above is presently below .500, except for Cleveland, which is 69-68 at this writing.
Elsewhere, the AL West is still very much in play because of the low bar in place, with the Astros, Mariners, and Rangers all within spitting distance of first place. The AL Central is also still in play. As for the senior circuit, there's less drama, but on the wild card front you've essentially got four teams -- the Phillies (in the second spot), Padres (in the third spot), Diamondbacks and Marlins -- dueling for the last two postseason berths. As well, seeding is very much in play in the NL. The top two division winners in each league enjoy a first-round bye straight to the Division Series. At the moment, there's a particularly compelling duel between the NL West-leading Dodgers – the back-to-back reigning World Series champs – and the NL East-leading Braves for the second seed and final bye on the NL side. Now for the NL third wild card standings:
- Diamondbacks, in third wild-card spot
- Padres, ½ game out of third wild-card spot
- Marlins, 3 ½ games out of third wild-card spot
- Cardinals, 5 games out of third wild-card spot
And so on. Now let's have a look at the series that figure to matter most in the month ahead. We'll proceed in thrilling chronological order, just like the phone book.
Week 1
| Series | Dates | At stake |
|---|---|---|
Blue Jays at Guardians | Sept. 1-3 | AL wild card (TOR, CLE), AL Central (CLE) |
Mariners at Red Sox | Aug. 31-Sept. 2 | AL wild card (SEA, BOS), AL West (SEA), AL seeding (BOS) |
Aug. 31-Sept. 3 | NL Central (MIL, CHC), NL wild card (CHC), NL seeding (MIL) | |
White Sox at Astros | Aug. 31-Sept. 3 | AL Central (CHW), AL West (HOU), AL wild card (CHW, HOU) |
Phillies at Diamondbacks | Aug. 31-Sept. 2 | NL East (PHI), NL wild card (PHI, ARI) |
Cardinals at Dodgers | Sept. 1-3 | NL seeding (LAD), NL wild card (STL) |
Braves at Phillies | Sept. 4-7 | NL East (ATL, PHI), NL wild card (PHI), NL seeding (ATL) |
Red Sox at Orioles | Sept. 3-6 | AL wild card (BOS, BAL) |
Cubs at Marlins | Sept. 4-6 | NL Central (CHC), NL wild card (CHC, MIA) |
Twins at White Sox | Sept. 4-6 | AL Central (CHW), AL wild card (MIN, CHW) |
Rays at Rangers | Sept. 3-6 | AL East (TB), AL West (TEX), AL wild card (TEX) |
Diamondbacks at Astros | Sept. 4-6 | NL wild card (ARI), AL West (HOU), AL wild card (HOU) |
Yankees at Padres | Sept. 4-6 | AL East (NYY), AL wild card (SD) |
The Brewers have what should be a fairly safe lead in the NL Central, but they have six head-to-head games against the Cubs remaining, and those six games all take place within the first two weeks of September. The Blue Jays and Guardians have a compelling matchup in week one insofar as the third wild-card spot in the AL is concerned.
Week 2
| Series | Dates | At stake |
|---|---|---|
Guardians at Orioles | Sept. 7-9 | AL Central (CLE), AL wild card (CLE, BAL) |
Cubs at Brewers | Sept. 7-9 | NL Central (CHC, MIL), NL wild card (CHC), NL seeding (MIL) |
Astros at Phillies | Sept. 8-10 | AL West (HOU), AL wild card (HOU), NL East (PHI), NL wild card (PHI) |
Rays at Braves | Sept. 8-10 | AL East (TB), NL East (ATL), NL seeding (ATL) |
Rangers at Mariners | Sept. 8-10 | AL West (TEX, SEA), AL wild card (TEX, SEA) |
Orioles at Blue Jays | Sept. 11-13 | AL wild card (BAL, TOR) |
Astros at Rays | Sept. 11-13 | AL West (HOU), AL East (TB), AL wild card (HOU) |
Dodgers at Marlins | Sept. 11-13 | NL West (LAD), NL wild card (MIA), NL seeding (LAD) |
Phillies at Braves | Sept. 11-13 | NL East (PHI, ATL), NL wild card (PHI), NL seeding (ATL) |
Guardians at Twins | Sept. 11-13 | AL Central (CLE), AL wild card (CLE, MIN) |
Rangers at Diamondbacks | Sept. 11-13 | AL West (TEX), AL wild card (TEX), NL wild card (ARI) |
White Sox at Cardinals | Sept. 11-13 | AL Central (CHW), NL wild card (STL) |
In Week 2, the Guardians again square off with a team chasing them for the third wild-card spot, and the Rays and Braves get together in a potential World Series preview. If the Phillies are going to put heat on the Braves in the NL East, then they'll need to take their head-to-head weekend series.
Week 3
| Series | Dates | At stake |
|---|---|---|
White Sox at Guardians | Sept. 14-16 | AL Central (CHW, CLE), AL wild card (CLE) |
Braves at Cubs | Sept. 14-16 | NL East (ATL), NL wild card (CHC), NL seeding (ATL) |
Yankees at Twins | Sept. 14-16 | AL East (NYY), AL wild card (MIN) |
Marlins at Diamondbacks | Sept. 14-16 | NL wild card (MIA, ARI) |
Red Sox at Rangers | Sept. 15-17 | AL wild card (BOS, TEX), AL West (TEX) |
Brewers at Orioles | Sept. 18-20 | NL Central (MIL), AL wild card (BAL), NL seeding (MIL) |
Red Sox at Rays | Sept. 18-20 | AL wild card (BOS), AL East (TB) |
Blue Jays at Rangers | Sept. 18-20 | AL wild card (TOR, TEX), AL West (TEX) |
Braves at Astros | Sept. 18-20 | NL East (ATL), AL West (HOU), AL wild card (HOU), NL seeding (ATL) |
Marlins at Padres | Sept. 18 | NL wild card (MIA, SD) |
Yankees at Diamondbacks | Sept. 18-20 | AL East (NYY), NL wild card (ARI) |
The Braves and Cubs give us a possible preview of an eventual playoff clash in the NL bracket, and the Red Sox get an opportunity to remain in the AL East chase with a head-to-head series against the Rays. The Marlins-Padres series has wild-card implications.
Week 4
| Series | Dates | At stake |
|---|---|---|
Blue Jays at Orioles | Sept. 21-23 | AL wild card (TOR, BAL) |
Rays at Yankees | Sept. 22-24 | AL East (TB, NYY) |
Brewers at Phillies | Sept. 22-24 | NL Central (MIL), NL seeding (MIL), NL East (PHI) |
Guardians at Red Sox | Sept. 22-24 | AL Central (CLE), AL wild card (CLE, BOS) |
Marlins at Cubs | Sept. 22-24 | NL wild card (MIA, CHC) |
Astros at Mariners | Sept. 22-23 | AL West (HOU, SEA), AL wild card (HOU, SEA) |
Padres at Dodgers | Sept. 22-24 | NL wild card (SD), NL seeding (LAD) |
Rays at Phillies | Sept. 25-27 | AL East (Rays), NL East (PHI), NL wild card (PHI) |
Orioles at Yankees | Sept. 25-27 | AL wild card (BAL), AL East (NYY) |
Cubs at Red Sox | Sept. 25-27 | NL wild card (CHC), AL wild card (BOS) |
Braves at Marlins | Sept. 25-27 | ATL (NL East), NL seeding (ATL), NL wild card (MIA) |
Rangers at Twins | Sept. 25-27 | AL West (TEX), AL wild card (TEX, MIN) |
Cardinals at Brewers | Sept. 25-27 | NL Central (MIL), NL wild card (STL) |
Diamondbacks at Padres | Sept. 25-27 | NL wild card (ARI, SD) |
The AL East could come down to this one. Thanks to a Sept. 22 doubleheader, the Rays and Yankees will play four games against one another in the final week of the regular season, and those games may decide the division title (and award a bye). The Astros and Mariners could be a key divisional clash, and it also may determine whether Yordan Alvarez wins the Triple Crown. The D-backs and Padres could square off with the last NL playoff berth hanging in the balance.
Yes, there's lots to be determined when it comes to who's in and who's out of the 2026 postseason, and these September games will sort all of it out. As always, our divisional standings and wild-card standings pages are here to help.
