The Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres have five days left to determine which will finish atop the Wild Card standings in the National League. Chicago has the upper hand in the event the three teams remain tied at season's end, as it dominated its 2026 series against the other two clubs.
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The Cubs (87-70) attempt to maintain at least a share of the top Wild Card spot when they host the Miami Marlins (77-80) at 7:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday for the middle contest of their three-game series at Wrigley Field. Chicago, which lost the opener 8-2 in 12 innings, can clinch a wild-card berth with either a victory or a loss by the Arizona Diamondbacks in their game against the San Francisco Giants. Arizona is four games back in the wild-card race with just five remaining.
After falling behind 2-0 in the sixth inning, the Cubs scored twice in the bottom half to forge a tie but fell apart in the 12th as Miami rallied for six runs to prevent them from clinching a postseason berth. Chicago, which ended its four-year playoff drought last season and has a magic number of 1 for a second straight appearance, would secure the first NL Wild Card spot should it finish the campaign with the same record as Philadelphia and/or San Diego as it went 6-1 against the Phillies and 5-1 versus the Padres.
San Diego (87-70) also hopes to, at worst, remain tied for the No. 1 Wild Card spot when it continues its three-game set against the two-time reigning world champion Los Angeles Dodgers (97-60) at 10:10 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium. The Padres had their five-game winning streak halted with Tuesday's series-opening 7-0 loss to Los Angeles, which is one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers (98-59) and one ahead of the American League East champion Tampa Bay Rays (96-61) for the best record in the major leagues and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs -- including the World Series.
The Padres can punch their ticket to the postseason Wednesday with a victory over the Dodgers and a Diamondbacks loss to the Giants. However, San Diego loses tiebreakers against Chicago and Philadelphia as it dropped its season series with both clubs. The Phillies would secure their fifth consecutive playoff berth win a win over the Brewers and a loss by either Arizona or San Diego.
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MLB's Wednesday evening schedule includes 11 other games, one of which has the Rays visiting Yankee Stadium at 7:05 p.m. ET for the third contest of their four-game set against the New York Yankees (90-67). New York won the opener of Tuesday's doubleheader 2-0 behind an eight-inning masterpiece by Carlos Rodon, but Tampa Bay took the nightcap 6-1 to clinch the AL East title for the first time since 2021. The setback ended the Yankees' chances for the division crown but secured the top Wild Card spot for them.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds (73-84) try to post back-to-back wins for the first time in more than two weeks when they visit the NL East champion Atlanta Braves (92-65) at 7:15 p.m. ET for the middle contest of their three-game series at Truist Park. The Reds, who last won consecutive games on Sept. 5-6 against Milwaukee, ended Atlanta's three-game run with Tuesday's 4-0 triumph.
The Cubs are -177 money-line betting favorites against the Marlins in the latest consensus MLB betting odds, and the Dodgers are enormous -222 betting favorites over the Padres. The Yankees are -145 favorites versus the Rays for fans who want to wager at the best sports betting apps, while the Braves are a massive -269 to defeat the Reds.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Wednesday, Sept. 23. All times Eastern
MLB best bets, where to watch
Rays at Yankees
Time: 7:05 p.m. | Location: Bronx, N.Y. | TV: Prime Video
SportsLine picks -- Model: Over 6.5 (-116) | Expert: Gerrit Cole Under 5.5 strikeouts (-154, PropBetGuy)
The Rays and Yankees combined for seven runs in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader and produced at least eight in half of their 10 meetings during the first half of the season. New York is third in the American League with 716 runs, with Tampa Bay ranking fourth with 713. Rays left-hander Ian Seymour's road ERA (4.96) is nearly a full run higher than his home mark (3.98) and Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole surrendered five runs over 4 1/3 innings in his last outing in the Bronx. The SportsLine Projection Model doesn't see a shortage of runs on Wednesday as the Over hits in well over 72% of its simulations. The 36-year-old Cole has recorded fewer than six strikeouts in four of his last five starts, and SportsLine prop betting expert PropBetGuy (127-84, +2521 on his last 211 MLB player prop picks) believes he'll fall short of that total again against Tampa Bay.
Reds at Braves
Time: 7:15 p.m. | Location: Atlanta | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks -- Model: Reds +1.5 (-105) | Expert: Braves -1.5 (-105, Matt Snyder)
Braves southpaw Chris Sale is third in the major leagues in ERA (2.18) and fifth in WHIP (0.99). The 37-year-old also owns a 1.76 ERA over three career starts against the Reds, allowing fewer than three runs in each turn. However, Atlanta was involved in one-run decisions in six of his last eight outings this year, and the SportsLine Projection Model thinks the Reds will make this one close as well, as its simulations have them covering the spread betting run line 62% of the time, and has given this pick an 'A' grade. But SportsLine expert Matt Snyder disagrees, considering Cincinnati lefty Andrew Abbott yielded four or more runs in each of his last four road starts.
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Marlins at Cubs
Time: 7:40 p.m. | Location: Chicago | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks -- Model: Over 6.5 (-121) | Expert: Cubs -1.5 (+132, Eric Cohen)
The Cubs are the highest-scoring team in the major leagues with 837 runs, and they've combined with their opponents for at least seven in each of their last 16 games. Runs haven't been scarce in Miami's contests of late either, as only one of the team's last 23 has had a total of fewer than seven. Each of the first four meetings between the Cubs and Marlins have had more than six runs scored in them, and the SportsLine Projection Model sees that streak continuing Wednesday as the Over on the Over/Under betting line of 6.5 hits in 77% of its simulations. Chicago failed to clinch a playoff berth with an extra-inning loss in the series opener, but SportsLine expert Eric Cohen (74-44, +2873 on his last 118 MLB picks) feels it will get the job done behind right-hander Kevin Gausman while defeating Miami by multiple runs.
Padres at Dodgers
Time: 10:10 p.m. | Location: Los Angeles | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick -- Model: Padres +1.5 (-116)
The Padres came up small in a big spot Tuesday, producing just five singles in a 7-0 shellacking that halted their five-game winning streak. Things don't figure to get easier against Los Angeles' Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the middle game of the series, as the Japanese right-hander won two of his previous three starts versus San Diego this season and allowed fewer than three runs in each. But there's an extra incentive for the Padres in Wednesday's matchup with 2025 World Series MVP as they can clinch a playoff berth with a win and an Arizona Diamondbacks loss to the San Francisco Giants. The SportsLine Projection Model thinks the Dodgers will prevail but sees a tight battle as its simulations have the Padres covering the run line 61% of the time.
