MLB tiebreakers that could come into play in the last day of the regular season

As the final day of the MLB regular season approaches, the playoff race is still alive and kicking. A few teams are jockeying for position, while others are hanging by a thread, hoping for the right combination of wins and losses to secure their postseason fate. With the days of Game 163 long gone, tiebreakers will decide who gets in and who goes home if teams finish tied. Here’s a breakdown of how those tiebreakers might come into play as the dust settles.

First off, the rules have changed. Instead of an extra game to break ties, MLB now uses head-to-head matchups as the first tiebreaker, and intradivision records as the second. That makes things a bit simpler, but also puts more emphasis on how teams fared against each other throughout the season.

In the National League, we’ve got a tight race for the final two wild-card spots. The Mets, Braves, and Diamondbacks are all in the mix, though the Braves seem to have the upper hand with their playoff odds looking strong. But nothing is certain until the last out is recorded, especially since the Braves still have two games left to play against the Mets in a crucial doubleheader.

The Mets, fighting tooth and nail, have a head-to-head tiebreaker locked down against the Diamondbacks, giving them a slight edge. But they’re looking up at Atlanta, who not only have a game advantage, but have already clinched the tiebreaker against the Mets. That leaves New York hoping for some magic in the final two days if they’re going to leapfrog their way into October.

Then there’s the Diamondbacks, who are also in a bind. They’ve lost the head-to-head tiebreaker to both the Mets and Braves, meaning they have to win outright if they want to punch their ticket. Every game counts at this point, and Arizona knows they’re playing with fire as they head into the final game of their season.

Over in the American League, the wild-card race has cooled, with every spot accounted for. The Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers are still battling it out for wild-card seeding, but they are both into October. The Royals hold the tiebreaker over the Tigers, so if both teams finish with the same record, Kansas City will come out on top. While it’s more about positioning than survival for these teams, every advantage counts when the playoffs roll around.

The top seeds across both leagues have already settled in. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have locked up the top two spots in the National League, while the Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are sitting pretty in the American League. But for those teams still on the bubble, every pitch, every inning, and every tiebreaker scenario matters more than ever.