Fall is here, which means the MLB playoffs are nearly upon us.
The final week of the regular season is delivering plenty of drama, particularly in the American League, where one division is experiencing a historic turnaround and another might have an unexpected finish in the works.
Yahoo Sports is breaking down the top storylines Wednesday.
[MLB playoffs 2025 tracker: Standings, schedule, clinch scenarios and more with 5 games to go]
Tigers on verge of colossal collapse
The postseason came early for the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians. They're in the middle of a three-game series with massive playoff ramifications.
The red-hot Guardians took Game 1 after rallying in the sixth inning Tuesday against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal for a 5-2 victory. Cleveland has won 11 of its past 12 games and is 17-5 in September. The Guardians have moved into a tie for first in the AL Central with the Tigers, who were up 15.5 games in July but have lost 10 of their past 11 games, including seven in a row.
With the victory Tuesday, Cleveland clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker.
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Detroit, meanwhile, is in an absolute free fall. Even Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner who is a candidate for the award again this year, couldn't catch himself Tuesday. He committed an embarrassing error while fielding a bunt from Angel Martínez, accidentally pelted a bunt-squaring David Fry with a 99-mph fastball to the face, whipped only the 11th wild pitch of his career to score a run and then balked for just the second time in his career. In the process, the Guardians plated game-tying and go-ahead runs before adding two insurance runs the following inning.
Detroit, which was swept by Cleveland in a three-game set Sept. 16-18, has scored more than two runs only twice during its seven-game skid.
On Sept. 10, before the Tigers lost 10 of their next 11 games, they had a 9.5-game lead in the division with 16 games to play. If the Guardians win the AL Central, they will have erased the largest deficit ever to take a division in MLB history, according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs.
Mariners 1 win away from first AL West title since 2001
The Seattle Mariners clinched a playoff berth Tuesday with a comeback win over the Colorado Rockies — and the New York Yankees' win over the Chicago White Sox — and now they're a win away from their first AL West title since 2001.
Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo will be on the bump Wednesday. His 3.63 ERA is far superior to the 6.00 ERA Rockies righty Tanner Gordon is sporting going into the late-season matchup at Seattle's T-Mobile Park.
If the Mariners can sweep the lowly Rockies, they'll secure the No. 2 seed in the AL playoffs, meaning they'd have a bye in the wild-card round and home-field advantage for the AL Division Series.
The Mariners' storybook 2025 season has featured a switch-hitting protagonist: Catcher Cal Raleigh has turned into a home-run-mashing sensation. He's within striking distance of MLB's 10th 60-homer season, and he needs four dingers to tie Aaron Judge's AL record of 62, which the Yankees star set in 2022.
Red Sox have a chance to make things interesting atop AL East
Somewhat quietly, the Boston Red Sox are holding steady for the second wild-card spot in the AL. They topped the Blue Jays 4-1 on Tuesday, shrinking their magic number to three.
The Red Sox can open a window for their arch-rivals with continued winning against the Jays. The Yankees, after all, clinched a playoff berth Tuesday with a walk-off win over the AL Central bottom-feeding White Sox and now are just one game behind Toronto in the AL East. That said, it's important to note that the Jays own the tiebreaker over the Yanks.
Still, with the Red Sox pestering the Blue Jays — and with the Yankees finishing the season with two more games against the White Sox and a three-game series against the lowly Baltimore Orioles — a change atop the division isn't out of the question.
Toronto has already secured a playoff spot and leads the AL with 90 wins, but it sure would like a division title and bye into the ALDS.
Mets hanging by a thread while surging Reds, D-backs lurk for final NL wild-card spot
A two-run, eighth-inning home run from Francisco Alvarez lifted the New York Mets to a 9-7 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. With that, the Mets reclaimed the third and final NL wild-card spot, albeit just one game up on the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Both the Reds and D-backs have tiebreakers over the Mets. The Reds lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday, whereas the D-backs exposed a struggling Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen with a walk-off win.
Although Arizona has won seven of its past nine games, its final five are against the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. The Reds have two more games at home versus the Pirates before hitting the road for a three-game series with a Milwaukee Brewers team that's eyeing the top seed in the NL.
The Mets' win Tuesday was merely their fifth since Sept. 5. New York has dropped 11 of its past 16 contests.
What to watch Wednesday
Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Guardians, 6:40 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds, 6:40 p.m. ET
Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees, 7:05 p.m. ET
Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. ET
New York Mets at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m. ET
Colorado Rockies at Seattle Mariners, 9:40 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m. ET
Houston Astros at Athletics, 10:05 p.m. ET
