The MLB regular season ends Sunday and the playoffs begin Oct. 3. The Twins are almost surely going to be the No. 3 seed. They can still technically get the No. 2 seed and the bye that goes with it, but it’s highly unlikely because they’re five games behind AL West-leading Texas entering play Tuesday.
That means the Twins will almost surely be hosting a best-of-three series at Target Field against the Astros, Mariners, Blue Jays or Rangers. And while the Twins wrap up the season with three games apiece against the A’s and Rockies, they’ll be scoreboard watching their possible playoff opponents.
Remember, the Twins, as the 3 seed, will face the third wild card team. If the season ended now, that would be the Astros, who are 1.5 games behind the second wild card, Toronto, and 1.5 games in front of Seattle, who right now is on the outside looking in.
Here’s how the Twins have fared against their four possible playoff foes.
- 4-2 vs. Houston
- 3-4 vs. Seattle
- 5-2 vs. Texas
- 3-3 vs. Toronto
Take a look below at each team’s remaining games and tiebreaker scenarios.
Blue Jays
- Win tiebreaker over Astros
- Lose tiebreaker to Mariners
- Lose tiebreaker to Rangers
The Jays finish the season with six games at home against the Yankees and Rays. The Yankees are eliminated while the Rays could be fighting with the Orioles for the AL East crown until the final day. Their ace, right-hander Kevin Gausman, is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night and then in the Oct. 1 season finale. If they don’t need him in the finale, he’d be ready to pitch Game 1 in the playoffs.
Mariners
- Win tiebreaker over Blue Jays
- Win tiebreaker over Astros
- Lose tiebreaker to Rangers
Two more games against the Astros and if those don’t go well their playoff hopes could be crushed. They end the season with four games at home against the Rangers, so they’re certainly going to be playing for something until the bitter end.
Astros
- Win tiebreaker over Rangers
- Lose tiebreaker to Mariners
- Lose tiebreaker to Blue Jays
Houston is 4-9 in its last 13 games, having surrendered the division lead to the Rangers. They have two more crucial games against the Mariners before wrapping the season against the D-Backs in Arizona. Arizona is fighting for a wild card spot so they’ll have their hands full. It’s worth noting that ace Justin Verlander is scheduled to pitch in the Oct. 1 finale, so if he’s needed it could eliminate him from Game 1 of the playoffs.
Rangers
- Win tiebreaker over Mariners
- Win tiebreaker over Blue Jays
- Lose tiebreaker to Astros
Texas leads the West by 2.5 games thanks to a 12-4 stretch that includes sweeps of the Blue Jays and Mariners. They have two more games against the weak Angels and wrap the season with four games in Seattle.
