Playoff Snapshot: Showdowns in Chicago

There are about 15 games left for each team in the regular season, which means every game is crucial in the playoff hunt. Monday offers a taste of such important games.

By Dayn Perry

Sep 17, 2012 at 9:18 am ET • 2 min read

Playoff Snapshot

There are about 15 games left in the regular season for each club, which means each game is critical for teams jockeying to get into the postseason. So let's see where we stand.

Playoff Picture page | Sunday scoreboard | Three-day schedule

As usual, Monday doesn't offer us a full slate of games. But it's not hard to find five contests with serious bearing on the playoff races.

1. Tigers at White Sox, 2:10 p.m. ET

A makeup of Thursday's rainout, this one features Doug Fister against Jose Quintana. In his last start, Quintana ended a string of bad outings and dominated Detroit over 7 2/3 innings. This will be the last time the teams meet in the regular season.

2. Braves at Marlins, 7:10 p.m. ET

After the home sweep of the Nationals, the Braves are now 5 1/2 games out of first place. While a run at the division title is unlikely at this late hour, it's not out of the question. So it's worth noting that the Braves are about to play 12 straight games against losing teams.

3. Red Sox at Rays, 7:10 p.m. ET

The Rays return home having dropped five of six and fallen to four games off the wild-card pace. Needless to say, they need to take care of business against the struggling Sox. Tampa Bay will play its next nine against the Red Sox and Blue Jays, which means the chance to make a move starts now. Alex Cobb goes for the home team.

4. Pirates at Cubs, 8:05 p.m. ET

Despite their recent backslide, the Pirates are only three games behind the Cardinals for the second wild-card spot in the NL. Kevin Correia goes for the Bucs. Pittsburgh will end the season with six games against the Reds and Braves, so the time to make a move is now. Yes, it's another critical make-up game in Chicago.

5. Orioles at Mariners, 10:10 p.m. ET

Chris Tillman will make his first start for the O's since Sept. 2. How he responds after missing time with elbow discomfort will be telling. He has been one of Baltimore's most effective starters when healthy. A victory puts the O's even in the win column with the first-place Yankees.

Playoff chances, via coolstandings.com:

AL East champion

Yankees 74.1%
Orioles 23.2%
Rays 2.7%

AL Central champion

White Sox 75.1%
Tigers 24.9%

AL West champion

Rangers 77.7%
A's 21.9%
Angels 0.4%

AL Wild Card

A's 71.9%
Orioles 46.4%
Angels 22.4%
Rangers 21.7%
Yankees 19.4%
Rays 13.3%
Tigers 3.2%
White Sox 1.7%

NL East champion

Nationals 96.4%
Braves 3.6%

NL Central champion