Streaks, Injuries and Virus Outbreaks Muddle Wild-Card Races

Streaks, Injuries and Virus Outbreaks Muddle Wild-Card Races

The New York Times-Sports·2021-09-04 06:05

The beginning of September is often a good time to take stock of the six-month Major League Baseball regular season. Rosters expand. The playoffs are a month away. It’s crunchtime in the pennant races.

With the playoffs scheduled to begin Oct. 5, the final four and a half weeks of the regular season figure to be a mad dash to the finish line — at least in a few races. In a handful of divisions, such as the American League East, the A.L. Central and the National League Central, the teams in first place have sizable leads (at least six and a half games through Thursday). The most intrigue — by design, of course — lies in the wild-card hunts, where the format has returned to prepandemic form.

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