MLB Playoff Bracket 2024: Updated image after Francisco Lindor and Mets vs. Phillies | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

And then there were seven.

Only seven teams remain in the Major League Baseball playoffs after the New York Mets eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies with a 4-1 victory in Game 4 of their National League Division Series matchup on Wednesday.

Francisco Lindor played the hero’s role with a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning that turned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead.

In this way, the No. 2 seed in the National League was eliminated and the sixth-seeded Mets continued their impressive streak. New York also eliminated the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers in the wild card round and is now just four wins away from its first World Series since 2015.

The Mets await the winner of the five-game series between NL West rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. That’s because Los Angeles secured its season with an important win in Game 4 on Wednesday.

Mookie Betts opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning, while Will Smith hit a two-run home run in the third inning to provide some insurance and open a 5-0 lead. That was enough for the Los Angeles pitching staff to finish the job in a bullpen game.

Even less has been decided in the American League, although Wednesday was still an important day on that side of the league.

After all, the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers were each just a single win away from reaching the American League Championship Series.

New York defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-2 thanks to the heroics of Giancarlo Stanton and a strong performance from its bullpen. Stanton hit the game-winning solo home run in the eighth and went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a stolen base.

Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver combined for 4.1 shutout innings out of the bullpen, with the latter getting a five-out save to give the Yankees a 2-1 series lead.

Then there are the red-hot Tigers on the other side of the AL bracket.

After defeating the Houston Astros in the Wild Card round, they won their second straight game against the Cleveland Guardians to lead the series 2-1. Detroit hasn’t given up a run since the sixth inning of Game 1 and used six different pitchers on Wednesday to deliver its second straight shutout win.

The offense didn’t have much to do with that kind of pitching performance, and RBI from Riley Greene, Matt Vierling and Spencer Torkelson made the difference.

Now the Tigers and Yankees will look to join the Mets in the next round and have their own closeout opportunities on Thursday.