:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71212491/1242313747.0.jpg "AL Wild Card standings: MLB playoff picture for wild card in American League")
The Wild Card race in both the AL and NL is expected to be tight and competitive well into September in the 2022 season. MLB revamped the playoffs during the offseason and added another wild card team in each league, which will give us six teams in the postseason on each side. The new format features byes for the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in each league while the worst division winner takes on the last WC spot. The first and second WC teams face each other in a three-game series to determine who advances. Below we'll go over the AL Wild Card picture.
AL Wild Card standings, August 5
1st Wild Card: Toronto Blue Jays – 58-45, +4
2nd Wild Card: Seattle Mariners – 56-49, +1
3rd Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays – 54-49, –
Cleveland Guardians – 53-50, 1.0 GB
Baltimore Orioles – 53-51, 1.5 GB
Chicago White Sox – 52-51, 2.0 GB
Boston Red Sox – 53-52, 2.0 GB
It's worth noting before we get into this that the AL Central race is also tight between the Minnesota Twins – who lead the division – White Sox and Guardians. Those three teams are separated by 2.0 games in the standings.
The Blue Jays will have a tough time catching the New York Yankees in first place in the AL East but it isn't an insurmountable lead. Toronto should be able to clinch at least a WC spot with about two months left in the regular season.