NEW YORK — The 2026 MLB regular season enters its final week with postseason seeding, division titles and historic milestones still undecided, headlined by Pete Crow-Armstrong's chase for a 40-40 season, a three-team NL wild-card scramble within a game, and an AL West race that could produce the worst division winner ever.
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has already set the Cubs' record for homers by a left-handed hitter and enters the final six games tied for the MLB lead with 45 home runs alongside Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber. With 38 stolen bases, fifth-most in MLB, he is two steals shy of becoming the seventh member of the 40-40 club, joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani, and could become the third-youngest to do it. A campaign that will all but guarantee him the NL MVP Award closes with three games at Wrigley Field against the Miami Marlins and three at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
The American League Central and National League wild-card races are both on a knife's edge. The Chicago White Sox led the AL Central by 5 1/2 games on Aug. 16 but have been undone by starting pitching, with the addition of right-hander Luis Castillo proving a disaster, and now trail the Cleveland Guardians by a game entering Tuesday after dropping two of three in Cleveland last week. Chicago has fallen from the No. 2 seed to the No. 6 seed and could miss the postseason entirely, closing against the Royals and Rockies while Cleveland faces the Red Sox and Royals. In the NL, the Cubs, San Diego Padres and Phillies sit within a game of each other for the three wild-card spots. San Diego is MLB-best 14-4 in September and has essentially ended Arizona's hopes, while the Cubs are 9-9 and the Phillies 8-10 this month. San Diego closes with three against the Los Angeles Dodgers and three against the Diamondbacks, Chicago faces the Marlins and Red Sox, and Philadelphia draws the toughest slate against the league's two projected No. 1 seeds, the Brewers and Rays. Milwaukee, the NL's No. 1 seed in 2025, has already set a franchise record with 98 wins and leads the Dodgers by two games for home-field advantage entering Tuesday, finishing against the Phillies and Cardinals while Los Angeles faces the Padres and Giants.
In Los Angeles, four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to the Dodgers' lineup after being on the injured list backdated to Sept. 8 with left knee, neck and right biceps injuries, with the club planning for him to focus solely on hitting the rest of the season to get as close to 100% for October. The offense has surged without him, led by shortstop Mookie Betts with an MLB-leading 1.214 OPS and six homers in September, Teoscar Hernández at 1.016 OPS with three homers, and Kyle Tucker posting a 1.059 OPS with six homers — his best month of the season. In the AL West, Texas holds a one-game lead over Houston entering Tuesday after the Astros were swept by the Atlanta Braves over the weekend. The winner could be the worst division winner in MLB history, a mark held by the 2005 San Diego Padres at 82-80, with no team ever reaching the postseason at .500 or worse. Texas closes against the Mets and Twins while Houston faces the Mariners and A's.
Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez remains in pursuit of the AL Triple Crown despite long odds. Alvarez has been MLB's best hitter for much of the season, slashing .313/.430/.597 with 40 homers, 99 RBI and an MLB-leading 1.027 OPS. He leads the American League with a .313 average but trails Junior Caminero by one homer (41) and Pete Alonso by six RBI (105) for the other legs. Only Miguel Cabrera in 2012 has won the Triple Crown in the past 60 years.