By Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers could become the first team to secure a playoff berth. To do so, they need a home win against the Phillies and for the Cubs to lose to the Athletics at Wrigley Field.
On Monday, the Brewers brought their magic number down to two by defeating the Phillies 6-2 in their series opener. Meanwhile, the second-place Cubs stayed 10 games behind after a 9-2 win over the A’s.
The AL Central-leading Guardians and AL East-leading Yankees are also nearing postseason spots, with both teams’ magic numbers now at three.
The Guardians inched closer with a 4-3 victory over the Twins on Monday. With the second-place Royals falling 7-6 to the Tigers, Cleveland’s magic number to clinch their division dropped to seven.
The Yankees, who were off Monday, will begin a three-game series in Seattle on Tuesday night. They could secure a playoff spot as early as Wednesday.
Detroit’s win brought them within 1.5 games of the Twins for the third AL wild card. The Mariners, also idle on Monday, gained half a game, moving two games behind Minnesota in the wild card race.