The race for a berth in the postseason continues in MLB tonight, including several critical divisional matchups. Here’s a look at some of the important games on tap. 

Marlins Host Padres In Final Season Matchup

The San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins face each other for the first of a three-game series tonight in south Florida. San Diego took three of four games in their first meeting on their home field. Since going all-in at the trade deadline and acquiring Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals, the Padres have a 5-6 record but hope to gain some ground on the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead them by 16 games in the standings.

Miami has been a disappointment in 2022 and is currently fourth in the NL East. They trail the first-place New York Mets by 25 games and are hoping to avoid their fifth straight loss after being swept in four games by the Atlanta Braves in their last series. However, they have not won two consecutive games in over a month and have lost 13 of their last 16 games overall. 

Joe Musgrove takes the mound for San Diego and is 8-5 with a 2.91 ERA. He’ll be facing Sandy Alcantara for the Marlins, who is 10-5 with a 2.01 ERA, which is third in the Majors. 

Miami wins at home with their ace on the mound tonight.

Orioles Face Blue Jays In Tight AL East Battle

The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays meet once again as the two teams battle for second place in the division behind the New York Yankees. This is one of the tightest division races in baseball, as they sit just one game behind the Seattle Mariners for the second wildcard playoff spot in the AL. Since their recent five-game winning streak, the O’s are 3-4 and hope to avoid losing their third straight.  

Toronto hasn’t been winning lately either and just finished a series with the Cleveland Guardians where they lost two of three and scored just four runs. They have a 7-9 record since their last seven-game win streak. However, the Blue Jays still hold second place in the division, ten games behind the Yankees and 2.5 games ahead of the fourth-place Orioles. 

Kyle Bradish is 1-4 with a 6.42 ERA for Baltimore and will take on Yusei Kikuchi, who is 4-6 with a 5.13 ERA with Toronto this season.

Toronto gets the win at home to avoid a second straight loss.  

Mets Seek Fourth Straight Over Braves

The New York Mets travel to face the Braves Monday night in Atlanta in a battle to establish dominance in the NL East Division. New York has the upper hand against Atlanta so far this season, winning eight of the twelve games they’ve faced each other. 

Although they’ve won 17 of their last 20 games, their lead in the standings is just 5.5 games over the second-place Braves. Continuing their winning momentum in this series could give them some breathing room and help them in their quest for a division title. 

Atlanta is currently the hottest team in the Majors and will go for their seventh straight win against a pitching staff for New York that hasn’t given up a run in the last 18 innings. Atlanta hasn’t done that bad themselves on the mound during the recent win streak, giving up just eight runs in four games against the Marlins in their last series.

Carlos Carrasco brings his 13-4 record and 3.76 ERA to the mound for the Mets against Spencer Strider, who is 6-4 with a 3.11 ERA for Atlanta. 

Atlanta wins in a close contest at home.