Cardinals-Cubs, Dodgers-Nationals have MLB postseason implications this weekend

Heading into the weekend in Major League Baseball — with a little over two weeks remaining in the regular season — there are still two division races in question, plus eight more teams within five games of a wild card spot. Here are the games to watch this weekend — the ones with playoff implications.

The Chicago Cubs were a juggernaut in 2016, snapping their century-old World Series drought after a 103-win campaign. This year, the sailing hasn’t been nearly as smooth, with even Chicago’s resurgence after the All-Star break (37-21 since July 14) not enough to put the National League Central to bed.

Both the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers are just three games back in the division, and both have a chance to make up ground themselves. Milwaukee has four games left with the Cubs, and the Cardinals have seven. This weekend, St. Louis is in Chicago for a three-game series at Wrigley Field.

The series finale on Sunday will be televised nationally by TBS.

Friday: St. Louis at Chicago, 2:20 p.m. ET
Saturday: St. Louis at Chicago, 4:05 p.m.
Sunday: St. Louis at Chicago, 2:20 p.m. (TBS)

Both the Cardinals and Brewers are also just 2½ games behind the Colorado Rockies for the second NL wild card position, so winning the division might not be the only path for the NL Central runner-up to make the postseason.

The Rockies open a three-game series at home against the San Diego Padres.

Friday: San Diego at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.
Saturday: San Diego at Colorado, 8:10 p.m.
Sunday: San Diego at Colorado, 3:10 p.m.

The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled out of their nosedive to snap their 11-game losing streak on Tuesday and head into their weekend series with the best record in baseball (94-52), five games ahead of the Washington Nationals, their hosts for three games.

This is a potential NLCS preview, and home-field advantage is still up for grabs. The final two games of this series are nationally televised, with Fox showing the matchup to 81 percent of the country on Saturday, followed by the finale on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.

Friday: Los Angeles at Washington, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday: Los Angeles at Washington, 1:05 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday: Los Angeles at Washington, 8:08 p.m. (ESPN)

The Boston Red Sox enter the weekend with a three-game divisional lead over the New York Yankees, who currently occupy the top wild card position in the American League. Both play teams on the periphery of the AL wild card race this weekend.

Boston is on the road facing the Tampa Bay Rays, with Chris Sale starting the series opener at Tropicana Field. The Yankees continue a four-game home series against the Baltimore Orioles with Luis Severino starting Friday for New York.

Friday: Baltimore at New York, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday: Baltimore at New York, 4:05 p.m.
Sunday: Baltimore at New York, 1:05 p.m.

Friday: Boston at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.
Saturday: Boston at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.
Sunday: Boston at Tampa Bay, 1:10 p.m.

The Seattle Mariners are fighting for their playoff lives, 3½ games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second AL wild card spot. The Mariners are on the road, facing the division-leading Houston Astros, who could officially punch their ticket to the postseason as early as Saturday, with a magic number of just three to clinch the American League West.

Friday: Seattle at Houston, 8:10 p.m.
Saturday: Seattle at Houston, 1:05 p.m. (Fox, to 19% of the country)
Sunday: Seattle at Houston, 2:10 p.m.