We are in the final week of MLB's regular season, and with several postseason spots still up for grabs across the league, it's worth recalling how the league breaks ties in the standings and what it means for the current field of contenders. Alas and alack, there are no tiebreaker games anymore. All ties are settled mathematically.
We must now resort to other means to decide who prevails when there's a tie in standings. Nowadays, ties are resolved in the following manner when it comes to deciding postseason berths and seeding: Almost always, the head-to-head record does the trick. One way to think about this is that the team that clinches the season series against a fellow contender is, in essence, one game better off than the standings tell you.
That's because all they need to do is tie the team over which they hold the tiebreaker in order to best them, whether it's for the division crown, wild-card spot, or seeding. For instance, if a team trails another by two games but has clinched the head-to-head season series, then all they need to do is make up those two games for a tie in the standings rather than establish an outright lead. Now, let's go race by race to see where the tiebreakers stand for the 2026 season thus far, as we get primed for the final six days of the season.
The Rays have a comfortable six-game lead over the Yankees with seven games to play, though the two teams will play four games in New York over the next three days, so this race has a tiny little bit of intrigue remaining. Tampa leads the season series 6-4 and will clinch the division with one win in the four games. The Yankees need to sweep these four games to get the tiebreaker, but, even then, their AL East hopes are remote.
New York would still need to sweep the Orioles this weekend and hope the Rays lose at least two games to the Phillies, or beat the Orioles twice and hope the Phillies sweep the Rays. This race could come down to Game 162, and, if it does, the White Sox have the upper hand thanks to the tiebreaker. They won the season series 7-6.
Cleveland must finish ahead of the ChiSox to win the AL Central. The White Sox merely need to pull even with the Guardians in the standings. The rules say a team must win the AL West and the Rangers are currently in the driver's seat with their .500 record.
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