Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here.

Five teams. One spot. A month of twists and turns has set up a chaotic sprint for the American League’s last Wild Card berth.

That spot currently belongs to the Mariners, but the Rangers (1.5 GB), Royals (2.5 GB), Rays (2.5 GB) and Guardians (3.0 GB) all remain firmly in the mix with less than four weeks left in the regular season.

Each of these clubs has shown flashes of a breakthrough in recent weeks, but none has been able to separate from the pack. The Rays are the latest team to surge, winning six straight games to get back above .500 for the first time since late July. The Rangers have also gotten hot recently, winning nine of 10 from Aug. 22-Sept. 1, though they just dropped two straight to the D-backs.

The Mariners had a moment in early August — bolstered by the excitement of an active Trade Deadline — winning 10 of 11 games to pull into a tie with the Astros entering play on Aug. 13. However, Seattle has gone 6-14 since that date, including a sweep at the hands of the Rays to start off this week.

Similarly, the Royals went 8-2 from Aug. 11-21 but have followed that up with a 4-7 slump. Then there’s the Guardians, who went from eight games under .500 to six games over with a 23-9 stretch from July 7-Aug. 14, only to drop 12 of their past 18.

In a race where momentum has proven so fleeting, there’s no telling which of these clubs will hold the edge when the dust settles.

— Thomas Harrigan

Meanwhile, the NL Wild Card race could have some drama of its own. And the Rafael Devers team-igniting homer/benches-clearing incidentthat got Matt Chapman suspended but also led to his two-dinger gameon Wednesday is only part of it!

While the Cubs, Padres and Mets entered Thursday in a somewhat comfortable position atop those standings, the Giants and Reds are close enough to make things interesting — and make some fan bases nervous. San Francisco sits four games back of the Mets for the final Wild Card spot, while Cincinnati is five games back. But with the Padres just one game ahead of the Mets in the second Wild Card spot, it’s the kind of situation where a hot streak from one team combined with a cold streak from another can flip things in a hurry. And, it turns out, things are set up for that exact scenario.

The Giants have won four straight and 10 of 11, while the Padres have lost four straight and eight of 10. They don’t meet again in the regular season, so both teams will likely need help to get where they want to be. Meanwhile, the Mets are about to play a big weekend series against the Reds in Cincinnati. A series win or sweep by the Amazin’s could make it very hard for the Reds to claw back. But if the Reds win the series or sweep it, they’d be in an excellent position to make some real noise. Because right after that, they visit San Diego for three, making these six games perhaps their most important stretch of the season.

The Mets, Cubs and Padres have other opportunities, though. The Mets still have a three-game series left with both the Cubs and Padres, while Chicago still has four games with Cincinnati. A strong showing in these contests could put the winners in a much better Wild Card position and give everyone else reasons to sweat in the final weeks.

— Jason Foster

• Phillies at Brewers (4:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Last night’s win put the Brewers 5 1/2 games up on the Phils in the race for the NL’s top overall seed, which just might be out of Philly’s reach with three weeks to play. Still, the Phils’ bid for a first-round bye may be even more crucial; they lead the Dodgers for that privilege by two games. The Phillies will have their work cut out today vs. the NL Pitcher of the Month for August, Freddy Peralta, who hasn’t allowed a run since Aug. 5 (24 innings).

• Dodgers at Pirates (6:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Having won four of their last five series, the Pirates go for a sweep of the Dodgers tonight and have the runaway NL Cy Young favorite on the hill. Paul Skenes doesn’t just lead the Majors in ERA at 2.05, he paces all pitchers in bWAR (6.5) as well. Shohei Ohtani, who played through an illness last night, has two hits in nine career ABs vs. Skenes, including a homer on a 100 mph heater last year.

• Yankees at Astros (7:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV, MLB Network): The Astros were one of the Majors’ busiest teams at the Trade Deadline, but if Yordan Alvarez continues to hit like he has since returning from the IL, no addition will be bigger. Alvarez racked up a career-high four knocks in last night’s win and has hit .435 with a 1.171 OPS in 32 PAs since he was activated. AL wins co-leader Carlos Rodón goes for the Yanks tonight against Cristian Javier, who delivered the best of his four starts this year in his last time out.

After making five deals involving 22 players at the Trade Deadline, it’s quite possible that Padres GM A.J. Preller will have to be even more creative with his wheeling and dealing this coming offseason if he hopes to continue to keep pace with the mighty Dodgers moving forward.

While several core stars are locked up for years to come — including Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill (both signed through 2034), Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts (signed through ’33) — significant roster turnover is to be expected.

The pitching staff, in particular, could be hit hard by defections, with starters Dylan Cease and Michael King eligible for free agency this offseason and closer Robert Suarez expected to opt out of his contract. Three-time batting champ Luis Arraez and All-Star slugger Ryan O’Hearn will also be eligible to test their value on the open market.

For more on how Preller and Co. will attempt to plug their holes, check out Mark Feinsand’s excellent deep dive.

— Ed Eagle

Most times when you show up at the ballpark on a Bobblehead Night, you know exactly what collectible you’re going to take home. That is not the case on Friday night in St. Louis — but the good news is, for fans of the 1985 World Series Cardinals, both options are stellar.

The first 20,000 fans aged 16 and older through the gates for Friday’s 7:15 p.m. CT game against the Giants will receive a Mystery 1985 Triple Bobblehead. One boasts three elite position players — Ozzie Smith, Vince Coleman and ’85 NL MVP Willie McGee — while the other features hurlers Joaquín Andújar, Danny Cox and John Tudor. We call that a win-win.

The Mystery Bobbles kick off a great weekend of giveaways at Busch Stadium in honor of Cardinals Hall of Fame Weekend. Older fans can scoop a snazzy HOF Baseball Card Button-Down Shirt before Edgar Rentería, Walt Jocketty and Al Hrabosky are inducted on Saturday. And trust us: younger Cardinals fans will go crazy for Sunday’s stadium-exclusive Build-A-Bear.

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