Good morning, and welcome to the fourth-to-last day of the 2010 MLB season! Feels like Opening Day was just 180 days ago ... boy, how time flies when you're watching the Mariners score 3.2 runs per game. Anyways, after Wednesday's action, let's take a look at the MLB playoff scenarios and standings.
2010 MLB Playoff Scenarios: Standings Remain Unchanged After Wednesday Night’s Action
We'll start with the American League, where all four teams have already qualified and the only thing left to determine this weekend is how the Rays and Yankees will finish: winner of the A.L. East or winner of the Wild Card. On Wednesday, New York lost to Toronto, and Tampa lost to Baltimore (but in front of 36,973 people, so it's okay!). This means that nothing changed in the standings: the Rays still lead the Yankees by a 1/2 game (their magic number is now three). Tampa heads to Kansas City for a four-game series this weekend, while New York closes out the season with three games in Boston.
Meanwhile, in the National League ...
... both the Padres and Giants won Wednesday night. Which means San Francisco maintains its two-game lead over San Diego in the N.L. West (both sides have four games still to play).
Unfortunately for the Padres, the Braves also won Wednesday, keeping their 1.5-game Wild Card lead. It will come down to the final weekend, when the Braves host the Phillies for a three-game series (who have already clinched the N.L. East), while the Padres and Giants battle each other in San Francisco for three games beginning Friday night.
A.L. East/Wild Card Race
Rays hold a 0.5-game lead over Yankees, both teams are playoff-bound
N.L. West Race
Giants hold a two-game lead over Padres
N.L. Wild Card Race
Braves have 1.5 game lead over Padres
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