Wild Card Standings: What Happens If Three Teams Tie For NL Wild Card?


Wild Card standings in the National League just got really exciting. So, what happens if three teams tie for the NL Wild Card? The New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants all lost on Wednesday (Sept. 21), giving the three teams identical 80-72 records in the updated MLB standings. These are also the top three teams in the NL Wild Card race, creating some very interesting scenarios for how the final 10 regular season games could play out.

If three teams end up tied in the final Wild Card standings, the regular season will require two extra games to decide which teams advance to the postseason. A rough schedule is pictured below with the Wild Card game and second-round series with the Chicago Cubs laid out. To get to that point, though, there are several Wild Card tie-breakers that are figured into the equation. It begins with how the teams fared head-to-head this season as that decides the seeding for the extra games.

The New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals each won the season series against the San Francisco Giants. It means that the Mets and Cardinals will play in the first “extra” game to decide which team clinches the first National League Wild Card slot. The loser then plays against the Giants in the next game with the winner there getting the second NL Wild Card slot. The Cardinals would host the first game by securing the better divisional record over the Mets.

[Image by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images]

Within the rules of Major League Baseball and the way that the playoff seeding works, the schedule could shake out slightly differently based on how the franchises want it to look. In a three-way tie, the St. Louis Cardinals actually get to choose how the Wild Card schedule would work. The team could decide to host the first game against the New York Mets or the second game against the loser of the first game.

The Mets then get the second choice, opting to either play the Cardinals on the first day or to wait on the second day for the loser of the first game. The possible advantage in choosing the October 4 game is that they would get to host it and not have to play on the road. By doing that, though, the Mets would give up a second chance should they lose the first game, putting everything on the line in that second game. It’s not a choice that any other team has made since the second Wild Card came into play, but it’s there if the Mets want to try to protect a starting pitcher.

The National League Wild Card standings still have 10 games left for things to shake out this season. That’s a lot of time for two of the teams to go on winning streaks that will settle everything during the regular season. If there isn’t a three-way tie for the two Wild Card spots, then the extra games won’t even be necessary. It would certainly add a lot of excitement to the schedule for an additional city to be in the mix, though, with Chicago Cubs fans forced to watch as the other teams beat up on themselves.

[Image by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images]

So what could the schedule possibly look like for the New York Mets? The Mets play in Philadelphia on Oct. 2, would then travel to St. Louis on Oct. 3, then to San Francisco on Oct. 4, back to St. Louis on Oct. 5, and finally to Chicago on Oct. 7. This gives the Mets every incentive to go on a hot streak and make sure that there isn’t a three-way tie in the Wild Card standings when that final bell rings.

Schedule For Wild Card Tie

October 3: New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals

October 4: St. Louis or New York at San Francisco Giants

October 5: National League Wild Card Game Between Winners

October 7: Wild Card Winner at Chicago Cubs

[Featured Image by Michael Reaves/Getty Images]

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