AL and NL Wild Card Races Close Heading into Final Weekend

The American League and National League Wild Card battles are heating up as we enter the final weekend of the regular season. The Atlanta Braves currently hold the NL Wild Card lead and the slumping Boston Red Sox are clinging to their lead as well.

Find out which teams are threatening in each league to make a last-minute sprint to the playoffs.

In the NL, the Atlanta Braves hold a 2 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals had the margin down to a single game in the loss column. However, on Thursday afternoon, they blew a 6-0 lead to the New York Mets and lost the game 8-6. That was a crucial game they let go and could end up to be the game that leaves them out of the playoffs. The San Francisco Giants are 3 games back in the loss column in the NL. However time seems to be more against them with that wide of a margin remaining in 6 games.

In the AL, the Boston Red Sox have been in quite the September slump going 5-16 in the month. But somehow they still have a 2 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are  3 games back of the Red Sox as of Thursday night. It would be quite the logistical nightmare if the Red Sox, Rays, and Angels all finished tied. Two tie-breaking games would have to be played. The winner of the first tie-breaker would then go play the third team.