What's at stake over the final week of the MLB season?
There's still plenty to play for as Major League Baseball enters the final week of the 2019 regular season.
Playoff seeding, awards, milestones, and home-field advantage remain up for grabs as teams look toward the postseason or dwell on early ends to their campaigns.
Here's what you need to know heading into the last week.
Playoff seeding
The Astros, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Yankees have all guaranteed themselves trips to the postseason, while a number of other teams are trying to join them. Playoff seeding, however, is still up in the air. If the season ended today, the Astros would play the winner of the wild-card game in one leg of the American League Division Series, with the Yankees hosting the Twins in Game 1 of the other. The National League, meanwhile, would see the Dodgers clash with the wild-card winner - Washington or Milwaukee - with the Braves and Cardinals squaring off in the other series.
40-40 for Ronald Acuna Jr.
Only four players in MLB history have hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in the same season. Acuna has a shot at becoming No. 5 and has the final week to do it. If the 21-year-old can swipe three more bags over the last five games of the regular season, he'll become the youngest 40-40 player in history.
Wild cards up for grabs
The final week will be hotly contested with the A's, Rays, Indians, and possibly Twins all battling for postseason spots. Minnesota looks secure with a four-game lead over the Indians in the AL Central, but there's no way to tell which two teams will wind up playing the one-game wild card. Oakland has an easy finish with six games against the Angels and Mariners, while the Rays have one against the Red Sox before five contests split between the Yankees and Blue Jays. Cleveland has three against the White Sox, then closes out the campaign with a three-game interleague set against the Nationals.
| TEAM | MAKE PLAYOFFS |
|---|---|
| Twins | 99.9% |
| A's | 97.0% |
| Rays | 54.9% |
| Indians | 48.2% |
Speaking of Washington, the Nationals are currently tied with the Brewers for the NL's two wild-card spots thanks to another bullpen collapse Sunday. The Cubs, Mets, Phillies, and D-Backs are alive, but their respective chances of making the postseason are worsening by the day.
| TEAM | MAKE PLAYOFFS |
|---|---|
| Nationals | 98.1% |
| Brewers | 97.1% |
| Cubs | 2.6% |
| Mets | 2.0% |
| Phillies | 0.1% |
| D-Backs | 0.1% |
*Table figures courtesy of ESPN
3,000 Ks for Justin Verlander
Verlander had a chance to reach 3,000 strikeouts Sunday against the Angels but managed just five punchouts in an eventual division-clinching win for Houston. The 36-year-old is six strikeouts shy of 3,000 and is expected to get one more start before the end of the season. If Verlander can hit the milestone, he'll become the 18th pitcher in history to do so.
Home-field advantage in World Series
The top teams in baseball won't phone in the rest of the regular season just because they've clinched playoff berths. Home-field advantage in the postseason - and more importantly, the World Series - is still up for grabs. The Astros, who enter Monday with baseball's best home record (60-21), would host Game 1 of the Fall Classic if the season ended today. Teams with home-field advantage in the World Series have won seven of the last 10 championships.
Rookie HR record for Pete Alonso
Alonso's historic rookie season with the Mets has been one for the ages, and he's not done yet. The 24-year-old enters Monday with an MLB-leading 50 home runs and needs three more to break Aaron Judge's single-season rookie record established in 2017. Alonso and the Mets have seven regular-season games left against the Marlins and Braves. Twelve of Alonso's 50 homers have come against those two teams.
The 1st overall pick
The last week of baseball matters for the basement dwellers. The Tigers (109 losses) and Orioles (105 losses) both have shots at securing the No. 1 overall selection in the 2020 draft, a pick expected to be used on prized University of Georgia pitcher Emerson Hancock. Detroit has a four-loss cushion on Baltimore and will play three games against the Twins before closing the season with a four-game set versus the White Sox. The Orioles wrap up the campaign with six road games split between Toronto and Boston.
Batting titles
The final week of the regular season will feature important at-bats for a handful of players vying for batting crowns. In the AL, it's a two-horse race between White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (.334) and Yankees MVP candidate DJ LeMahieu (.329), who's looking to become a two-time batting title winner after claiming one with the Rockies in 2016. Things are tighter in the NL, where Christian Yelich and Ketel Marte are tied at .329 with Anthony Rendon hot on their heels at .325. Rendon has a golden opportunity with Yelich and Marte both done for the season with injuries.
660 home runs for Albert Pujols
The Machine may not run like it used to, but that isn't stopping Pujols from chasing another milestone in what's already a Hall of Fame career. The 39-year-old slugger is four home runs short of tying Willie Mays for fifth among all-time leaders. But he'll be in tough as the Angels finish the season against two playoff contenders in Oakland and Houston, especially since he's only averaging a homer every 22.5 plate appearances. He may need to wait until next year for this one.
Record-setting number of 100-win teams
The Dodgers won their 100th game of the season Sunday, joining the Astros and Yankees in reaching the century mark. It's the eighth time in MLB history three teams have posted 100 wins in a single season. If the Braves or Twins can win four more games over the final week, 2019 would become the first season to ever feature four or more 100-win clubs. Atlanta's final five games are against the Royals (57-100) and Mets (81-74), while Minnesota faces the Tigers (46-109) and Royals (57-100) over its last six contests. Even the A's have 94 wins with six games remaining. This is very doable.