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Division Winners
1. New York Yankees (93-66)
2. Cleveland (92-67)
3. Houston (86-73)
Wild-Card Race
1. Baltimore (88-71)
2. Detroit (85-74)
3. Kansas City (85-74)
4. Minnesota 3 games behind
5. Seattle 3 GB
The AL playoff picture is far cleaner than the NL race.
Detroit and Kansas City need one victory each, or a Minnesota loss on Friday at home to Baltimore, to complete the six-team field in the AL.
Detroit has the easier weekend matchup against the Chicago White Sox, so it should remain ahead of the Royals for the No. 5 seed, which comes with a trip to Baltimore.
Kansas City may find it tough to win games in Atlanta since the Braves need to keep winning to stay alive until Monday in the NL.
Minnesota needs to sweep the Orioles and pray for lots of help. The same can be said about the Seattle Mariners at home against the Oakland Athletics.
The Yankees lead the race for the No. 1 seed in the AL, and they should be able to cruise past the Pittsburgh Pirates at home to remain in front of the Guardians.
Cleveland finishes the season with Houston, who should be more concerned with setting its pitching lineup for the opening round instead of ending the regular season with wins.
AL Bracket Prediction
No. 6 Kansas City at No. 3 Houston
No. 5 Detroit at No. 4 Baltimore
(1) New York Yankees