Astros and Rangers tied atop AL West entering season finale

Ten of MLB's 12 playoff spots were set entering the final day of the regular season Sunday, with two outcomes still undecided, Jeff Passan wrote in a post on X.

The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers enter Sunday tied atop the American League West at 80-81, and Passan wrote that whoever wins the division will have the worst full-season record of a playoff team in MLB history. Houston holds the tiebreaker, according to Passan. The Astros rallied for a 16-hit, five-home-run night to stay in the race, MLB said in a post on X, with Isaac Paredes hitting a solo home run to open the scoring. The Rangers, meanwhile, picked up what MLB called "a crucial win" at Minnesota.

Houston is scheduled to play at Sacramento at 3:05 p.m. ET Sunday, while Texas plays at Minnesota five minutes later, Passan wrote. The division winner will be the AL's No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed Chicago White Sox in a three-game wild-card series starting Tuesday.

In the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies hold a one-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final wild-card berth, though Arizona holds the tiebreaker, Passan wrote. If Philadelphia wins Sunday, the Phillies clinch the spot; if both teams lose, Philadelphia still advances; but if the Phillies lose while Arizona wins, the Diamondbacks take the berth.

The Phillies enter the finale on a four-game losing streak after a 12-1 loss to AL East champion Tampa Bay on Saturday, The Associated Press reported via ESPN. Arizona's six-game winning streak ended in a 10-7 loss to San Diego the same day, though the Diamondbacks remain alive for the wild card.

San Diego's Manny Machado hit a three-run homer in that game, the eighth 30-homer season of Machado's career, tying Arizona's Nolan Arenado and Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber for the most among active players, according to the AP. The win clinched the No. 4 seed for the Padres (90-71), who will host a best-of-three wild-card series against the No. 5 seed Chicago Cubs starting Tuesday, with the winner facing NL Central champion Milwaukee in the Division Series.

Whichever team wins the NL's final wild-card spot will travel to face the third-seeded Atlanta Braves in a wild-card series, Passan wrote. Philadelphia is scheduled to host AL-best Tampa Bay on Sunday, with Zack Wheeler starting against Nick Martinez, while Arizona faces division rival San Diego, sending Michael Soroka to the mound.