How Mets-Braves chaos will finalize playoff field, plus Shohei Ohtani’s near-misses
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What. A. Day. Let's dive in on what happened, what's next — and what's at stake in today's Mets-Braves doubleheader. I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!
Maximum chaos: Unlocked
Ken's Notebook: MLB should have prevented this scheduling wreck
ICYMI: A few finishing touches
There were a few other end-of-season storylines as players and teams wrapped up their records and stats for the 2024 season.
Previews: What to know for Round 1
Here's what's next for each of the 10 currently known playoff teams:
Home-field byes: In a symbolic win for Cowboys and Lakers fans everywhere, the Yankees and Dodgers each clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. For New York, there's concern about Anthony Rizzo's two fractured fingers, though he's holding out hope he can return soon. Meanwhile, the Dodgers — as we all expected in March, but, man, did it take longer than we expected — locked down the league's best record . That means they'll have home-field advantage through the World Series, should they make it that far.
Other byes: Despite a 34-32 record in the second half, the Guardians rode a strong first half to a first-round bye, after which they'll take on the winner of Astros-Tigers. In the NL, the Phillies will do their best to stay sharp as they await the winner of the Brewers and whomever they end up playing.
Astros-Tigers: In the second half, only one AL team won more games than Houston (38). That would be Detroit (39). Questions for the Astros dynasty as they look for their third World Series in eight years: What will Justin Verlander 's role be after a quality start to end his regular season? And will Yordan Alvarez be healthy enough to play ? For Detroit, Cody Stavenhagen has five questions here , but the most pressing is the last one: Can the magic continue?
Orioles-Royals: A matchup of the two most exciting young shortstops in the American League, and we have stories on both of them today. Britt Ghiroli's in-depth examination of Gunnar Henderson's ascent to stardom , and nine stories from Rustin Dodd and Jayson Jenks on how Bobby Witt Jr. became "Bobby Baseball." Ghiroli also took a look at how Kansas City's success is the result of an entire culture change .
Brewers-TBA: I can't help it: Even with the huge surprises from the Royals and Tigers, the Brewers are my favorite regular-season surprise. No Corbin Burnes , no Craig Counsell, Devin Williams injured for most of the year, Christian Yelich out for the rest of the year ... no problem. They won the NL Central and will take on *deep sigh* ... I don't know, man. Somebody.
Padres-TBA: San Diego made a late push for the NL West, but fell just short, settling for the top wild-card spot. In spite of the bad news on Ha-Seong Kim (he needs shoulder surgery and won't return for the playoffs), they're still one of the sport's most exciting teams, and will be a daunting opponent for ... whomever the chaos spits out at them.
Handshakes and High Fives
(Top photo: Michael McLoone / Imagn Images)