The Indians continued to march toward history with their 17th consecutive victory on Saturday against the Orioles, and by improving to 86-56, tied with the Astros for the best record in the American League.
The race for home-field advantage throughout the AL postseason is on, and Cleveland and Houston will battle for that prize as the final three weeks of the regular season approach. The Wild Card races in both leagues continue to be tight as the playoff push intensifies.
Here's where we stand heading into today:
American League Wild Card
The Yankees added to their lead over the Twins in the race for the top AL Wild Card spot, beating the Rangers in Arlington to push their advantage over Minnesota to 2 1/2 games. The Angels, Rangers and Orioles lost, and they remain 2, 2 1/2, and 3 games behind the Twins, respectively.
The Mariners moved to within 3 games of the Twins by beating the Angels, and the Royals closed to within 3 1/2 with their win over Minnesota.
National League Wild Card
The National League Wild Card-leading D-backs blew a 7-2 lead in the ninth inning and lost to the Padres, 8-7. Meanwhile, the Rockies shaved a game off their deficit in the race for the top Wild Card position, closing to within 5 games following their third consecutive win over the reeling Dodgers.
The Brewers and Cardinals won Saturday to remain 3 games back of Colorado.
NL Central race tightens
With their victories over the Cubs and Pirates, respectively, the Brewers and Cardinals cut their deficit in the NL Central standings to just 3 games behind Chicago. St. Louis has seven games remaining against Chicago and Milwaukee has four, making the race for the division crown wide open.
Nationals could clinch today
Despite the Nationals' loss to the Phillies on Saturday, a Marlins loss to the Braves means Washington could clinch its second consecutive NL East title with a win today, coupled with another Miami loss.
Home-field advantage
The Astros entered Saturday's action with a 1 1/2-game lead over the Indians in the race for home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs, but lost both games of a doubleheader against the A's by a combined score of 22-5. Meanwhile, Cleveland pushed its winning streak to 17, within four of tying the all-time single-season winning streak record of 21 held by the 1935 Cubs.
With the Dodgers and Nationals both losing, Los Angeles maintains a 5-game lead over Washington in the race for home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.
If the postseason began today …
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Wild Card: Twins at Yankees
Division Series: Wild Card at Indians, Red Sox at Astros
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Wild Card: Rockies at D-backs
Division Series: Wild Card at Dodgers, Cubs at Nationals
2017 POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
AL Wild Card Game (1-game playoff): Oct. 3
NL Wild Card Game (1-game playoff): Oct. 4
AL Division Series begins (best-of-5, 2-2-1 format): Oct. 5
NL Division Series begins (best-of-5, 2-2-1 format): Oct. 6
AL Championship Series begins (best-of-7, 2-3-2 format): Oct. 13
NL Championship Series begins (best-of-7, 2-3-2 format): Oct. 14
World Series begins (best-of-7, 2-3-2 format): Oct. 24