The Major League Baseball season is coming to an exciting end. With less than two weeks remaining, division races are close and wild cards are up for grabs. The AL East is getting closer by the day as the Red Sox continue to free fall. The Yankees have destroyed Baltimore pitching to close to 2.5 games of the AL East. There are no games remaining between the two teams, but the Yankees recent hot streak combined with the Sox cold streak leaves this division up in the air. The AL Central and West are basically over as the Indians and Angels both have leads over seven games. If the Red Sox can start winning again, they will have to fight with the Indians and Angels for the American League’s best record. All three teams are within half a game of each other, so that competition will likely go down to the final day. Finally is the AL Wild Card, where the Yankees have all, but locked that one up too. Detroit is only behind the Yankees by five games, but the way the Yankees have played lately, the Tigers need to win the rest of their games. That is a quick overview of the American League. My prediction for the first round playoff matchups: Sox vs Indians, Yankees vs Angels

Now for the National League which is much closer. Each division is within two games and the wild card is equally as close. The NL East has the Mets leading by only a game over the Phillies. After having a big lead all year (like the Red Sox), the Mets have struggled recently and it has been magnified with the Phillies success. This division mirrors the AL East in many ways, though the records are much worse. The Phillies have won six straight could pose a big threat for the Mets down the stretch. The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers are tied atop the NL Central. Though the Cubs made a great comeback to get back in the division, the Brewers have picked up their level of play recently. This division is probably going to go down to the last day as both teams have been consistently good and have not faltered much down the stretch. In the NL West, the Arizona Diamondbacks hold a slim one game lead over the San Diego Padres. Like the NL Central, this should be close up until the last day. The Diamondbacks have led for most of the season, but have seen their lead slowly decrease over the last few weeks. With only game seperating the two teams, anything could happen down the stretch. Last, the NL Wild Card is even closer as than the division races. Seven teams are within 5.5 games with the Padres leading the way. They are only a 1.5 up on the Phillies though and could easily give the Wild Card away. The Phillies and Padres could each win their division though and let the Mets and Diamondbacks battle for the wild card. Anything could happen in the National League as the playoff races are all so close. I’ll venture a prediction at the National League, but don’t expect it to be right: Mets vs Padres, Brewers vs Diamondback