The 2025 MLB regular season is winding down. Soon, the playoffs will be here, and we will have only 12 teams remaining as the chase for a World Series title begins. We are now less than a month away from the end of the regular season, which means it's officially scoreboard-watching season — when fans around the league become as invested in what their rivals are doing as their own team.
Since 2022, tiebreaker games have been a thing of the past. No longer is there a Game 163 to break a deadlock in the standings. Instead, the league typically relies on head-to-head record. Such was the case last year with the final two Wild Card spots in the National League: The New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves all went 89-73, but Arizona lost the season series with both teams, so they missed the playoffs.
How are those tiebreakers shaping up right now? We're going to look at the head-to-head tiebreaker scenarios in each division as well as both Wild Card races, and what things would look like entering September if teams finished tied for certain spots.
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AL East
We'll start with the AL East. The Toronto Blue Jays are up 3.5 games on the Boston Red Sox, who sit in second place. But really it's more like 4.5: Toronto is 7-3 against Boston this season; they have already won the season series, so they would be awarded the AL East title if the two teams finish tied.
Toronto is also four games ahead of the New York Yankees and 7-3 against them. If New York finished tied with Toronto in the standings, Toronto would be awarded the division title and higher seed.
AL Central
This race has pretty much already been decided. The Detroit Tigers lead the Kansas City Royals by 8.5 games in the division and are up 5-2 in the season series. The two teams are set to play a crucial set this weekend.
If Detroit wins two out of three, they win the season series, so even if Kansas City somehow comes back and finishes tied with Detroit, the Tigers would have the head-to-head tiebreaker. The teams have six more games with one another. To win the season series, Kansas City has to go 5-1 in those contests.
AL West
This is where things get interesting. The Houston Astros have a two-game lead on the Seattle Mariners. The two teams have one series left and have split the first 10 games they've played against each other this year. Whoever wins the next series holds the tiebreaker and would gain a massive edge in the race for a division title down the stretch.
AL Wild Card
The Red Sox have a half-game lead over the Yankees for the top AL Wild Card spot. Boston is 8-2 against the Yankees in the season series. They already hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, so they would receive the higher seed if the two finished tied in the standings (or the AL East title in the event of a Jays collapse).
Boston is also two up on the Seattle Mariners. The two split their season series, so the tiebreaker would come down to intra-division record, where the REd Sox hold a slight edge (27-16 against the East while Seattle is 27-18 against the West). The Yankees, meanwhile went 5-1 against Seattle, so they have the head-to-head tiebreaker there.
For the third Wild Card spot, Seattle has one more series against the Royals. They were swept in their first series against Kansas City, so even if the Mariners sweep the next one, the tiebreaker comes down to intradivision record. Seattle went 9-4 against the Texas Rangers, so they hold that tiebreaker.
NL East
The Philadelphia Phillies have a five-game lead over the New York Mets for the top spot in the NL East, but New York has already won the season series. If the Mets tie Philadelphia on the last day of the season, they get the NL East title.
NL Central
The same goes in the NL Central. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the Chicago Cubs by six games, but the Cubs recently secured the season series victory thanks to winning a five-game set at Wrigley Field, so Milwaukee has to hold its lead and not fall into a tie before the end of the season to remain on top.
NL West
The NL West is tight. The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the San Diego Padres by two games and have won the season series, holding an 8-2 record over the Friars. All they have to do is not fall behind again to secure the NL West title.
NL Wild Card
The Cubs and Padres are in the top two Wild Card spots, respectively. The teams went 3-3 against each other, so this would come down to intradivision records, but there's a tie there as well at 24-18. Still lots to be decided over the next few weeks.
Chicago lost two out of three to the Mets earlier this year and are trailing the season series. The two teams meet again in a massive matchup from Sept. 23-25. If the Mets win the series, they receive the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Cubs would have to sweep to clinch it for themselves.
The Padres swept the Mets in their previous matchup. They meet again from Sept. 16-18. All San Diego has to do is win one game in that series to clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Mets have a four-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds for the third Wild Card spot. They play a series from September 5-7. The Mets lost two out of three in July, so they would need a sweep to secure the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Reds need to win two out of three and pass the Mets.