3-team tiebreaker still in play for Astros, Rangers, Yanks

While most of the postseason tiebreaker scenarios still in play are fairly clear-cut, there is still one potential three-team tie that could make the next couple of days extremely interesting, and it involves the Rangers, Astros and Yankees.

If the Rangers (87-74), Astros (86-75) and Yankees (87-74) all finish tied at 87-75 on Sunday's final day of the regular season, here's what would happen:

All postseason tiebreaker possibilities explained

Texas and Houston would play a tiebreaker game on Monday to determine the AL West champion, and the Rangers would host because they won the season series against the Astros, 13-6. The winner would be the division champ and the loser would go to the AL Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser to play host to the Yankees. The Rangers (5-2 edge) and Astros (4-3) both won the season series against the Yankees, so in this scenario the loser of the AL West tiebreaker game would host the Wild Card Game.

This might be confusing to some because a Monday tiebreaker (Game 163) is technically a regular-season game; however, it does not affect the standings as far as tiebreakers go. Therefore, if all three clubs finish Sunday at 87-75, and the Rangers and Astros have to play a tiebreaker game on Monday for the AL West title, the loser of that game would still host the Wild Card Game by virtue of a superior head-to-head record against the Yankees, even though their record in the standings would be 87-76, seemingly a half-game behind New York. In other words, they aren't penalized for having to play an extra game.