Three days remain in the 2026 MLB regular season with multiple playoff seeds and two division titles still undecided. The Chicago White Sox clinched a playoff spot on Thursday, a result described as perhaps the most shocking postseason berth since the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, according to ESPN. The Chicago Cubs also secured a postseason berth the same day — the first time the two clubs have clinched on the same day, according to ESPN Research — and Pete Crow‑Armstrong became the seventh member of the 40/40 club. Crow‑Armstrong has the NL MVP Award locked up and can still add the NL home run title, according to ESPN.
AL Central standings show the Cleveland Guardians at 83-76 (at Kansas City) and the White Sox at 82-77 (vs. Colorado), with the tiebreaker listed in favor of Chicago. Winning the division yields the No. 2 seed and a bye into the division series, allowing extra rest for pitching staffs — a point of particular importance for a White Sox bullpen that has logged heavy innings. Closer Grant Taylor has worked more than an inning in each of his past five appearances, including one outing of seven outs, and has had five days off since last pitching Saturday.
The Guardians will send Gavin Williams on Friday, Tanner Bibee on Saturday and Parker Messick on Sunday if necessary. If Cleveland does not win the division, Foster Griffin would likely be the Game 1 starter in the wild-card series with Williams available for Game 2; Griffin has a 5.19 ERA since joining Cleveland at the trade deadline. The White Sox plan to start Sean Burke, Davis Martin and Anthony Kay against Colorado.
The NL wild-card picture is crowded: the San Diego Padres (89-70 vs. Arizona), Chicago Cubs (88-71 at Boston), Philadelphia Phillies (87-72 vs. Tampa Bay) and Arizona Diamondbacks (85-74 at San Diego). Head-to-head two-way tiebreakers currently favor the Cubs over the Padres, Phillies and Diamondbacks; an established multi-team tiebreaker order based on intradivision winning percentage stands at Cubs (.789), Phillies (.526), Diamondbacks (best possible .520) and Padres (best possible .360).
The Cubs’ win on Thursday clinched a playoff spot because they prevail in the applicable tiebreaker scenarios, according to ESPN. San Diego’s notable home/road split — 49-29 at home, 39-41 on the road — makes securing home field for a wild-card series important for the Padres. The Cubs’ Sunday game in Boston was moved to Friday as part of a doubleheader because of weather concerns. Likely weekend starters include Padres: Casey Mize, Walker Buehler, Michael King; Cubs: Clay Holmes, David Peterson and an undecided third starter; Phillies: Cristopher Sanchez, a bullpen game and Zack Wheeler; Diamondbacks: Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt and Michael Soroka.
