MLB Pennant Race 2022: Braves Moving Closer, Tight AL Central

Who doesn't love the month of September?! As every baseball fan knows, September is the ultimate month in the MLB season; it's the final countdown, the last chance for teams to make their mark and qualify for the postseason. It's a different race now--instead of 10 teams qualifying, it's 12. Three division winners and three Wild Cards, meaning that more teams are in the hunt in the vital month of September. The increased population of postseason teams makes for a much more intriguing race, and here are some of the stories that have developed with 31 days left in the season.

The Yankees aren't the only New York team whose massive division lead is vastly decreasing. The New York Mets held a massive stranglehold in the National League East all season, but that lead is dwindling...fast. After the first Sunday in September, the Mets' recent loss to the Washington Nationals, and the Atlanta Braves' fifth straight win have resulted in one game separating the two teams. The Mets once led by double digits. Now, they're in danger of actually being a Wild Card. That's the paradigm shift that the Mets are facing. Right now, the Mets have the second-best record in the National League behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. If they win the NL East, they'll have a bye straight to the Division Series. If they finish second, they'll have to play in the brand-new Wild Card Series.

What's Next: The Mets and Braves will have to wait a while to face each other one last time in the regular season--their final meeting will occur from September 30-October 2 in Atlanta. The Mets lead the season series, 9-7, and that's what will matter from now on, as the new postseason format includes eliminating tiebreaker games. Regarding the upcoming week, the Mets will go on the road with series in Pittsburgh and Miami, while the Braves will also be on the road for a pair of interleague series in Oakland and Seattle.

The American League Central may be mediocre (yet again), but it's definitely interesting. With a month left in the regular season, we have three teams locked in a very tight race in the division: the Cleveland Guardians, the Minnesota Twins, and the Chicago White Sox. The Guardians and Twins are tied for first place, while the White Sox are two games behind the tied clubs. The thing is, Cleveland and Minnesota both have 68 wins, while the White Sox have 67. They are miles behind in the Wild Card race, so it's division or bust for these three teams. The Guardians are 6-5 against the Twins, which makes them the official first place team. Whoever wins the AL Central will most likely be the #3 seed in the entire American League and host a Wild Card Series, as they are leagues behind the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees in the standings.

What's Next: The Guardians and Twins will face each other in a three game set in Minnesota, but before that, the Guardians will be in Kansas City for three, while the Twins will be in The Bronx for four. As for the White Sox, they will be on the road for the entire week: three games in Seattle and four games in Oakland. Speaking of Chicago, their loss to the Twins dropped them to 6-7 against Minnesota, and they are 6-9 versus Cleveland.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to be postseason bound within the next week. Their magic number to clinch the NL West is down to just 10, and they are only one win away from clinching the season series against the division's second-place team, the San Diego Padres. Regarding just locking up a postseason spot, the number's even smaller. Los Angeles' magic number to clinch a postseason berth is only seven, which is a week's worth of wins. So there's a chance that they could lock up a spot before the Los Angeles Rams start their season.

What's Next: The Dodgers will be at home against the rival San Francisco Giants before heading to San Diego to face the Padres. With that weekend series on the schedule, the Dodgers could clinch the NL West by the end of the following weekend.

In addition to all of this, the modified Wild Card race is intriguing. In the American League, the Seattle Mariners, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Toronto Blue Jays have the Wild Card positions, with the Baltimore Orioles close behind. In the National League, it's the Atlanta Braves, the San Diego Padres, and the Philadelphia Phillies in those positions, while the Milwaukee Brewers (despite slumping) being right behind them. It's a whole new postseason race, and it's time to fasten our proverbial seatbelts for this rollercoaster ride!

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