Final week of MLB season will be very interesting

And down the stretch they come!

Now that we can officially see the finish line to this 162-game marathon, here’s a glance at how the wild-card packs for each league shape up entering the last week of the season.

While only one divisional race had been decided through Friday’s games — incredibly, the Phillies clinched the NL East last Monday, the earliest date in franchise history — we feel comfortable saying that only two other division titles are effectively still in play (maybe three).

The Tigers are clinging to a one-game edge on the surprising Guardians, who gained 1 1⁄2 games on Detroit on Saturday, and the Mariners took a two-game lead over the Astros by beating Houston in Game 2 of their weekend showdown on Saturday night at Daikin Park.

The Yankees also moved within two games of the AL East-leading Blue Jays on Saturday night, although Toronto holds the tiebreaker and will be tough to catch.

Going by those parameters, we focused only on the teams currently listed in the wild-card hunt through Friday’s games. Also, the playoff chances referenced come courtesy of FanGraphs.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

YANKEES (86-68)

Record last 20 games: 12-8

Wild Card scenario: First (plus-2.0 G)

Games remaining: 8, vs. Orioles (5), White Sox (3)

Playoff chances: 99.6%

Final week forecast: The Yankees spent 100 days atop the AL East, leading by as many as seven games on May 28, but never got back there since relinquishing the lead on July 3. Still, with the East all but over, the Yankees have been trending in the right direction at the right time, with Max Fried (5-0, 1.60 ERA in last seven starts) and Aaron Judge (5 HRs, 1.472 OPS last 11G) primed for a playoff run.

RED SOX (84-70)

Record last 20 games: 10-10

Wild Card scenario: T-second (plus-1.5G)

Games remaining: 8, vs. Rays (2), Blue Jays (3), Tigers (3)

Playoff chances: 88.0%

Final week forecast: It’s been a nightmare on Jersey Street for the sweating-it-out Sox, who are 6-8 this month since rookie phenom Roman Anthony landed on the IL with an oblique strain. Without Anthony sparking them in the leadoff spot, Boston has slipped to the MLB’s bottom-10 in OPS (.696) in his absence. While they have the tiebreaker edge on Yankees (9-4) and Astros (4-2), they do not have it against the Guardians (2-4).

ASTROS (84-70)

Record last 20 games: 10-10

Wild Card scenario: T-second (plus-1.5G)

Games remaining: 8, vs. Mariners (2), Angels (3), A’s (3)

Playoff chances: 84.1%

Final week forecast: The Astros were thinking AL West title all the way until this week, when the surging Mariners (13-7 in last 20 games) leapfrogged them in first place. Yordan Alvarez going on the IL with a left ankle sprain that manager Joe Espada described as “pretty significant” is worrisome, but the Astros did get back Issac Paredes, who had 19 hom ers and .830 OPS before going on the IL on July 19.

 GUARDIANS (82-71)

Record last 20 games: 15-5

Wild Card scenario: Fourth (minus-1.5G)

Games remaining: 9, vs. Tigers (3), Rangers (3), Twins (3)

Playoff chances: 35.4%

Final week forecast: How are the Guardians even here? They have a bottom-six payroll ($101M), sold at the deadline (Shane Bieber, Paul Sewald) and lost two top relievers to gambling accusations, yet are 19-11 over their last 30 games. But perennial MVP candidate Jose Ramirez is still there, and he’s only one homer short of back-to-back 30-30 seasons. Cleveland’s 3.13 ERA also is MLB’s best over the past month.

RANGERS (79-75)

Record last 20 games: 12-8

Wild card scenario: Fifth (minus-5.0G)

Games remaining: 8, vs. Marlins (2), Guardians (3), Twins (3)

Playoff chances: 1.0%

Final week forecast: The Rangers looked ready to make a serious run at this whole playoff thing when they tormented the Mets last weekend at Citi Field. But that dream faded fast when Texas was subsequently swept by the Astros, which included Jacob deGrom getting dented for five runs in five innings, bumping his ERA up to 3.01. The Rangers also slipped to 15-11 in deGrom’s starts this season.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

CUBS (88-66)

Record last 20 games: 12-8

Wild Card scenario: First (plus-8.0G)

Games remaining: 8, vs. Reds (2), Mets (3), Cardinals (3)

Playoff chances: 100% (clinched postseason berth)

Final week forecast: The Cubs, who haven’t won a playoff game since losing the NLCS in 2017, should be hosting the wild-card round barring any major screw-ups down the stretch. Aside from their positioning, however, Chicago does have the chance to be a big-time spoiler, especially with the Mets showing up at Wrigley next week. Still, the status of Kyle Tucker -- who has not played since Sept. 2 because of a groin injury -- is ominous going forward.

PADRES (83-71)

Record last 20 games: 8-12

Wild Card scenario: Second (plus-3.0G)

Games remaining: 8, vs. White Sox (2), Diamondbacks (3), Brewers (3)

Playoff chances: 99.7%

Final week forecast: Can’t say the Padres looked all that impressive getting soundly beat twice by the Mets, especially with their brain-dead behavior on the basepaths. Losing Friday to the lowly White Sox was a disturbing sign in what was supposed to be a layup series, and then they’ll have their hands full with a D-Backs team fighting to stay alive and the Brewers trying to hold off the Phillies for the NL’s best record.

METS (80-74)

Record last 20 games: 8-12

Wild Card scenario: Third (plus-2.0G)

Games remaining: 8, vs. Nationals (2), Cubs (3), Marlins (3)

Playoff chances: 89.9%

Final week forecast: Of course the Mets will visit the Marlins on the season’s last weekend, showing that the baseball gods (or at least the MLB schedule-makers) have a sense of humor. The Marlins were the catalyst for the 2007-08 collapses, but it won’t happen this time, with Juan Soto (17 HRs, 41 RBIs, 1.068 OPS since Aug. 1) making a late MVP run and Nolan McLean (historic 1.19 ERA) emerging as the obvious Game 1 starter pick.

REDS (78-76)

Record last 20 games: 10-10

Wild Card scenario: Fourth (minus-2.0G)

Games remaining: 8, vs. Cubs (2), Pirates (3), Brewers (3)

Playoff chances: 8.8%

Final week forecast: Cincy didn’t appear serious about staying in the wild-card derby, as the Reds are just 14-16 over their last 30 games, but they’re fortunate nobody else was all that interested in pulling away either. This would be a good time for Elly De La Cruz to step up after a so-so season for him, and Friday’s homer was his first since July 31 -- ending a 43-game drought, a stretch where he batted .205 with a .545 OPS.

DIAMONDBACKS (77-77)

Record last 20 games: 12-8

Wild Card scenario: Fifth (minus-3.0G)

Games remaining: 8, vs. Phillies (2), Dodgers (3), Padres (3)

Playoff chances: 1.4%

Final week forecast: The Diamondbacks by far face the roughest road to October, schedule-wise. But manager Torey Lovullo didn’t have any problem looking ahead to the playoffs in switching to a four-man rotation down the stretch, which would set up Zac Gallen (5-2, 2.68 ERA since Aug. 2) for Game 1. Geraldo Perdomo has been the offensive spark, hitting .322 this month with a 1.041 OPS).

GIANTS (76-78)

Record last 20 games: 10-10

Wild Card scenario: Sixth (minus-4.0G)

Games remaining: 8, vs. Dodgers (2), Cardinals (3), Rockies (3)

Playoff chances: 0.2%

Final week forecast: Turns out, having to battle the Dodgers seven times in two weeks went as poorly as expected for the Giants, who lost for the fourth time in five tries Friday night as LA clinched its own playoff berth. That pretty much dashed any hope of seeing Drew Gilbert on the October stage, as the former Met farmhand -- dealt at the deadline -- has come back down to Earth, hitting .077 (2-for-26) in his last nine games.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.