MLB Pennant Race 2025: Closing In

The first week of September came and went, and while we said "hello" to a new NFL season, Major League Baseball began the end. We are now down to the final 21 days of the 2025 season, and they should be very intriguing. Not much has changed in the last seven days, but something tells me we'll see some huge movements very soon.

For now, here's a look at the current picture:

American League Division Leaders

The only real change came from atop the American League standings, as now it's the Toronto Blue Jays sitting on top of the Junior Circuit; only a half game ahead of the Detroit Tigers. The Houston Astros are still in the bottom among the American League's first place teams, but their lead in the American League West is not the slimmest out of the three. That distinction belongs to the Blue Jays, as they are only two up in the American League East. The Tigers lead the American League Central by 8.5 games, and are ten wins away from locking up the division.

American League Wild Card

The American League Wild Card standings remain the same, with the New York Yankees holding the top Wild Card position by a game and a half over the Boston Red Sox, and the Yankees and Red Sox will face off one final time in the regular season on the weekend of September 12-14. The Seattle Mariners, who are coming off a blowout 18-2 win in Atlanta, currently hold the third Wild Card position, sitting a game and a half ahead of the Texas Rangers, with the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Guardians also closing in.

National League Division Leaders

The National League's top three remains the same; it's the Milwaukee Brewers standing at #1, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies at #2, and the Los Angeles Dodgers at #3. The Brewers and Phillies are running away with their divisions, with Milwaukee leading the National League Central by 7.5 games, while Philadelphia leads the National League East by seven games. The Dodgers have the slimmest lead in baseball; only one game ahead of the San Diego Padres in the National League West, and it hasn't helped that they dropped two out of three in Baltimore, including Saturday's loss, where Yoshinobu Yamamoto fell one out short of a no-hitter, and it ended up turning into a walk-off loss.

National League Wild Card

Similar to last week, all three second place teams in the National League hold Wild Card positions, with the Chicago Cubs still hanging on to that top Wild Card position. The Cubs have a three game lead over the San Diego Padres for that position, which is a home field spot, while the third Wild Card seed is still held by the New York Mets. The Mets lead the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds by four games for that final spot, while the Arizona Diamondbacks and the St. Louis Cardinals both have outside shots, as they both stand just 4.5 games out of a spot.

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Three weeks remain in this wild and crazy baseball season, and again, not much changed in the standings during the first week of September. I do expect a lot of movement in the second week. Some teams are barely hanging on to important spots, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see a changing of the guard in at least one division. I would love to see one in the American League East; I do feel that the Yankees still have an outside shot at finishing first in that division.