MLB playoffs: Wild card race heats up in final six weeks

Six weeks remain in the 2024 MLB regular season, and each team still has about 40 games left to play. As the season winds down, the playoff race will only continue to heat up.

With just over a month to play in the regular season, nothing is certain just yet. There are four tight races for division leads, and the six wild card spots across both leagues are far from being decided.

Five teams outside of the current National League playoff picture are within five games of a wild card spot. The top three teams in the NL West are separated by just three games.

In the American League, the top four teams contending for wild card spots are separated by six games. In addition, all three divisions are still up for grabs – the Astros' four-game lead in the AL West is the largest of the three.

Here's how the playoff picture looks as of the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 18.

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MLB playoff picture on Aug. 18

American League

Division leaders

AL East: New York Yankees (73-51)

AL Central: Cleveland Guardians (72-51)

AL West: Houston Astros (66-56)

Wild card teams

Baltimore Orioles (72-52)

Minnesota Twins (70-53)

Kansas City Royals (68-55)

Wild card contenders

Boston Red Sox (65-57, 2.5 games back)

Seattle Mariners (63-51, 5.5 games back)

Tampa Bay Rays (61-61, 6.5 games back)

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National League

Division leaders

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies (73-50)

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (72-52)

NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers (71-52)

Wild card teams

San Diego Padres (70-54)

Arizona Diamondbacks (69-55)

Atlanta Braves (65-58)

Wild card contenders

New York Mets (64-59, 1 game back)

San Francisco Giants (62-63, 4 games back)

St. Louis Cardinals (61-62, 4 games back)

Chicago Cubs (61-63, 4.5 games back)

Cincinnati Reds (60-63, 5 games back)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB playoff picture: Wild card race with six weeks left