Wild Card Standings 2016: Seattle Mariners Are Hottest Team In MLB, Can They End Playoff Drought?

Wild Card standings for the 2016 MLB season have the Seattle Mariners back in the race. The Mariners moved up in the standings again on Tuesday night (September 13) with another impressive win over the Los Angeles Angels. With Taijuan Walker on the mound, the Mariners won 8-0, propelled by an offense that has caught fire again. Nelson Cruz hit a home run so high and hard that stat cast had a hard time measuring it, and Seth Smith hit a grand slam late in the game to add four more insurance runs.

Thanks, in part, to a seven-game winning streak, the Seattle Mariners have taken over second place in the American League West. The Updated MLB standings have the Mariners two games ahead of the Houston Astros in the Wild Card race, but still 9 1/2 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers. Winning those seven games against other AL West teams has certainly helped their cause, but there is still a lot of work to do in the final 17 games. Can the Mariners put together the second-best late season run in franchise history?

In the current AL Wild Card standings, the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays hold down the top two spots with identical 79-65 records. They each trail the Boston Red Sox (81-63) in the AL East as well, showing that the divisional race hasn’t been decided yet. A bit behind them in the Wild Card standings are the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees with identical 77-67 records, followed by the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros. The Astros are still in the race as well, but time is running out on them.

The Mariners finish up a three-game series with the Angels on Wednesday (September 14), before heading home for three games against the Houston Astros and three more against the Toronto Blue Jays. The schedule then has a six-game road trip with stops against the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros. Finally, the Mariners finish up the regular season with a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics that could end up deciding the fate of the team. More starts like the complete game shutout by Taijuan Walker on Tuesday could really help the team.

Updated 2016 American League Wild Card Standings

Baltimore Orioles (79-65)
Toronto Blue Jays (79-65)

Detroit Tigers (2 Games Back)
New York Yankees (2 Games Back)
Seattle Mariners (2 1/2 Games Back)
Houston Astros (4 1/2 Games Back)
Kansas City Royals (5 Games Back)

Over in the National League Wild Card standings, it’s really down to a three-team race as the regular season winds to a close. The San Francisco Giants (77-67) hold the top Wild Card spot by half a game over the New York Mets (77-68). The St. Louis Cardinals (76-68) are half a game behind the Mets, and no other team is closer than fives games from catching the leaders. The Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Colorado Rockies have fallen off a lot in recent weeks. It would take a great deal of work for the Marlins or Pirates to get back in the race with just 17 games left.

The divisional races in the National League have just about been decided, and the Giants are the only team within striking distance, but they trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by four games in the NL West. They have head-to-head games that could shift the outlook for the playoffs, but it would take a long winning streak by the Giants to pull it off. As for the Cardinals, the team has to survive some tough games against the Chicago Cubs, but St. Louis could benefit from the Cubs beginning to rest their starters for the postseason.

Updated 2016 National League Wild Card Standings

San Francisco Giants (77-67)
New York Mets (77-68)

St. Louis Cardinals ( 1/2 Game Back)
Miami Marlins (5 Games Back)
Pittsburgh Pirates (6 Games Back)
Colorado Rockies (8 Games Back)

[Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images]