The best record in the American League for the 2016 season officially belongs to the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs — the AL champion will have home field in the World Series after winning the All-Star Game — Friday with their win over the Tampa Bay Rays. That means they’ll face the AL Wild Card game winner, which could still be either the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers or Seattle Mariners.
The Orioles moved up to the first wild-card spot Friday thanks to their win over the New York Yankees, while the Blue Jays dropped to the second slot after losing to the Boston Red Sox. And making matters worse for Toronto, the Tigers only are a 1/2 game back, while the Mariners moved to within a game with a win late Friday night.
As for the Red Sox, this means they’ll face the Cleveland Indians in the AL Division Series, although the race for home-field advantage for the series is far from over.
All the division winners and the team with the best record have been decided for quite some time in the National League. The Chicago Cubs will have home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs, while the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers won the NL East and West, respectively.
The NL wild-card race is down to three teams — the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. Both the Mets and Cardinals won Friday, and St. Louis sits in a tie with San Fran for the second wild-card spot after the Giants lost to the Dodgers Friday.
Here’s an updated look at the MLB playoff picture, via MLB.com.
Thumbnail photo via Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports Images
