Playoff percentages: Angels, Rangers continue to fall back of WC
Through the remainder of the regular season, we'll take a look at how the night's action impacts the playoff races, highlighting which teams' postseason odds went up or down significantly.
The race for the American League wild card isn't shaping up to be so historic after all.
The Minnesota Twins stretched their winning streak to three games Thursday with a 3-2 walk-off win over the Toronto Blue Jays to extend their lead over the Los Angeles Angels to three games for the second wild card. The Twins' odds of reaching the playoffs is now at 77.3 percent.
Los Angeles found themselves within one game on Sept. 11, but have fallen back after dropping two of its last three games and see its playoff percentage at just 11.
The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, remain a long shot to reach the postseason for a third straight season. The club dropped a third consecutive game Thursday and find themselves with just a 2.6-percent chance of playing in the wild-card game.
American League
| Team | Result | Playoff Pct | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twins | W 3-2 vs. Blue Jays | 77.3% | +11.1% |
| Angels | L 5-2 vs. Astros | 11% | -6.6% |
| Rangers | L 10-4 vs. Mariners | 2.6% | -3.3% |
The Chicago Cubs watched their playoff odds increase to 90.8 percent following a dominant three-game sweep of the New York Mets in which they outscored the visitors 39-14.
The St. Louis Cardinals continue to hold an outside shot at playing October baseball after beating the Cincinnati Reds. St. Louis sits two games back of the Cubs in the NL Central and 3 1/2 games back of the Colorado Rockies in the NL wild-card race.
National League
| Team | Result | Playoff Pct | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cubs | W 14-6 vs. Mets | 80.8% | 6.1% |
| Rockies | L 7-0 vs. Diamondbacks | 79.6% | -6.7% |
| Cardinals | W 5-2 vs. Reds | 23.2% | 3.6% |
| Brewers | Did not play | 16.4% | -3.0% |