The Wild Card, the dissonant & the NL playoff shuffle

5 days left in the season, and 4 playoff berths still undecided

There are four days remaining in the 2018 MLB regular season, and the National League isn’t anywhere close to settled. Two divisions are up for grabs, and both Wild Card spots are still there for the taking. There is a chance we could have multiple tiebreaker games for one or two days after Sunday, and it’s not inconceivable that we could have anywhere from three to six teams in the NL end with the same record.

Here’s how it will all get settled.

Already in

The Atlanta Braves accelerated their rebuild and ran away from the field in the National League East, clinching the division on Sept. 22 with more than a week to go in the season.

Closing in

The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs each have 91 wins, in a fierce battle atop the National League Central. Both can clinch a playoff spot with either one more win or a loss by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The races

Besides the NL East, the other two divisions in the National League could end up in a tie, that’s how close they are.

What’s left

• Cubs vs. Pirates on Thursday, then Cubs vs. Cardinals at Wrigley Field this weekend
• Brewers vs. Tigers for three games in Milwaukee

If the Cubs and Brewers finish with the same record, a one-game tiebreaker would be held on Monday at Wrigley Field, by virtue of Chicago winning 11 of 19 games against Milwaukee.

There is only one scenario in which the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals end the regular season in a 3-team tie. It would involve nine games falling exactly the right way for those three to end up at 91 wins apiece:

• Cardinals over the Brewers on Wednesday
• Pirates over the Cubs on Wednesday and Thursday
• Cardinals sweep the Cubs this weekend
• Tigers sweep the Brewers this weekend

What’s left

• Dodgers at Diamondbacks on Wednesday
• Rockies vs. Phillies on Wednesday and Thursday
• Rockies vs. Nationals this weekend in Colorado
• Dodgers at Giants for three games in San Francisco

If the Dodgers and Rockies finish tied atop the division, a one-game tiebreaker would be held on Monday at Dodger Stadium, thanks to Los Angeles’s 12 wins in 19 games against Colorado this season.

The battle here is likely just for the second Wild Card spot, with Rockies, Cardinals and division-leading Dodgers separated by just a game in the loss column.

If the Rockies or Dodgers individually tie the Cardinals, a tiebreaker game would be held on Monday in St. Louis.

Should all three of the Dodgers, Rockies and Cardinals tie, that would require multiple tiebreakers for both the NL West and the second Wild Card spot:

• Monday: Rockies at Dodgers for the NL West
• Tuesday: Rockies/Dodgers loser at St. Louis for the second Wild Card spot

That would also necessitate moving the NL Wild Card Game from Tuesday to Wednesday, in this scenario likely at Milwaukee or Chicago. There is still a possibility for an even bigger cluster should the Brewers or Cubs falter, but we’ll deal with that as it happens.