7 series that will decide the playoff picture

Heading into the regular season's final weekend, several teams with October baseball on their minds continue battling for playoff spots. While some face easier paths than others, everything comes down to these seven series with serious implications.

Blue Jays at Red Sox

The Toronto Blue Jays are still in control of their wild-card destiny, but finish on the road against a Boston Red Sox squad that recently stole their division crown. While the pitching matchups below are scheduled, the Jays may not see much of Rick Porcello and David Price - if any - as Boston could limit their innings before the postseason.

Orioles at Yankees

The Baltimore Orioles did their job against the Blue Jays, taking two of three on the road and tying them in the AL wild-card race. They'll need to finish on a high note to earn home-field advantage, facing a Yankees team that was recently eliminated from playoff contention. Baltimore's edge could come Sunday, as Kevin Gausman has owned New York this season (0.80 ERA, five walks, and 32 strikeouts across five starts).

Dodgers at Giants

The National League wild card is a three-team race between the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals - and it all comes down to these final games. The Giants' magic number to clinch is three, and they're one game behind the Mets for the first wild-card spot. If the Giants end up tied with New York - which needs a win or a St. Louis loss to clinch a wild-card position - New York would still get home field advantage based on winning the season series 4-3.

Pirates at Cardinals

The Cardinals, who won 4-3 against Cincinnati in dramatic, yet controversial fashion Thursday, remain one game back of the Giants for a wild-card spot. St. Louis faces the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend, having won just six of 15 prior meetings this season. The Cardinals will have the luxury of facing a struggling Pirates rotation, which has posted a combined 5.41 ERA in September, fourth highest in the majors.

Tigers at Braves

The Detroit Tigers will finish with the easiest matchup of all AL wild-card contenders, facing the lowly Atlanta Braves. Their road to the playoffs is also the most complicated. After their Thursday game with Cleveland was rained out, it would need to be played Monday if either team's playoff standing could be affected (Cleveland is still playing for home-field advantage). In fact, Detroit could potentially play five games in five cities in five nights, if they finish Sunday within one game of the second wild-card spot and end up qualifying for the ALDS. That path would include the makeup game, a wild-card tiebreaker, the wild-card game itself, and Game 1 of the division series.

Mets at Phillies

The Mets' road to the playoffs hasn't been all that hard. They've played 19 games against sub-.500 teams in September and will conclude their season against the Philadelphia Phillies, who they recently won three of four against. As the Mets will clinch a wild-card spot with one win or one St. Louis loss, the odds are heavily in their favor.

Athletics at Mariners

Seattle's late run has been admirable, but the M's will need a lot of help in their quest for a playoff spot. Seattle must sweep the Oakland Athletics, have either the Blue Jays or Orioles lose two games, and have the Tigers lose at least once. If that happens, Seattle would face one of those teams in a tiebreaker.