With October just around the corner, and the college football betting schedule already in week five of the season, all but two of the Major League Baseball divisions have been decided heading in to the final week of the regular season. In the American League, the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins have clinched the West and Central divisions respectively, while the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays continue to battle for top spot in the East. Meanwhile in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds have clinched the East and Central divisions respectively, with the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres battling for betting supremacy in the West.
The Yankees currently trail the Rays by one half-game for first place, and while it is unknown which of the two teams will make the postseason via top spot in the American League, what is certain is that both teams will be participating in the 2010 playoffs. The team that loses out in the AL East will qualify as the wild card team, as 5.5 games separate the current Wild Card-leading Rays and the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees are in Toronto to face the Blue Jays early this week, before wrapping up the season at Fenway against the Red Sox. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay will continue to play in front of scarce crowds at home with two more against the Baltimore Orioles, before heading on the road for a baseball betting series at the Kansas City Royals. Whichever team comes out on top of what is widely considered the toughest division in baseball will also clinch home field advantage throughout the AL playoffs, as long as they can stay ahead of the Minnesota Twins, which currently have one less win than the Rays.
The Phillies clinched the NL East on Monday night, leaving the Atlanta Braves in a battle for the NL Wild Card spot. The position will likely come down to a battle between them and the loser of the battle for top spot in the NL West that is going on between the Padres and Giants. San Diego will look to rebound from an early loss to the Cubs when they continue their series against Chicago Tuesday night. San Francisco had the night off Monday, and will open a three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. These teams wrap up the regular season against one another in their final series of the year, with the Padres traveling to the Bay Area to take on San Francisco. Should San Diego not prove able to make the postseason, it will mark the biggest collapse in baseball this season after they led the division for most of the year. Playing at home, and without the pressure of being the chased rather than the chaser, the Giants have to be considered the current front-runners, with the Braves taking the MLB betting NL Wild Card.
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