The MLB playoffs standings are starting to take shape with just a few games left of the season, as the LA Dodgers and Detroit Tigers have clinched postseason berths and now the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals are still battling for wild card position, while the Mariners are three games back and barely hanging on as the final four days of the 2014 season wrap up.
The Dodgers clinched the AL West title and now the Dodgers and Angels are in as division winners from the west and it comes after these Southern California teams raced ahead of their Northern counterparts. The Dodgers were back 10 games at one point this season in the west before getting hot, while the angels got blazing hot just as the Athletics faltered down the stretch. The two teams are considered World Series contenders and they are now both officially in the playoffs, with the Dodgers getting in after another epic game from Clayton Kershaw.
The Orioles have already made it in as AL East champions, while the Tigers now have clinched a spot after the Mariners lost. The AL Central is still up for grabs, but they are in control over the Royals, who are locked in with the Athletics for wild card position. The two teams want to get the wild card game at home and now the final stretch of matchups will decide that. The Mariners are out of it, but they remain alive until those teams win again and even though the dream is dead and the team is imploding, there still is a chance.
The Athletics have lost two in a row and the Royals have lost one and now those teams can lock up their spots by just winning out. The Athletics have imploded, but they are still in playoff position and they would love to have that wild card game at home. Clayton Kershaw had another fantastic game for the Dodgers and now he is basically a Cy Young lock.
