Congratulations, Astros!

With their 6-1 loss at home against the Cardinals on Monday, the Houston Astros earned the right to pick first in the 2013 draft. This marks the second consecutive year the Astros will pick first.

Many exciting battles still remain, including those for second pick (the Cubs and Rockies are tied with nine games remaining; the Cubs would win a tiebreaker on the "strength" of their 71-91 record in 2011) and fourth pick (the Indians have moved a game ahead of the Twins with eight games left; Minnesota's 63-99 showing last year is enough to push them ahead in the event of a tie).

Meanwhile, congrats again to the Astros on finishing what they started. With the National League in line to have the first three picks in the 2013 draft, it is good that Houston is switching to the American League (with sincerest apologies to the "Death Before DH" crowd). Having one league dominate doesn't benefit baseball.

Standings through 9/23

Thanks to @zacharylevine for reminding me that ties in draft order are broken by previous year's record. Since the Astros also had the worst record in 2011, they win all tiebreakers.

This means that their magic number is one less than what I've been reporting and also that elimination dates I've provided were wrong. The corrected dates are listed here. I strive for accuracy and apologize for the earlier error.

If the Astros win on Monday or the Rockies lose, the race is over. Houston will have secured the right to pick first in the 2013 draft.

Team	W	L	GB
Houston	50	103	0
Colorado	58	94	-8.5

Houston's magic number: 1

Eliminated from contention:

1. Washington, 8/22/12
2. Cincinnati, 8/23/12
3. Texas, 8/25/12
4. NY Yankees, 8/26/12
5. Atlanta, 8/28/12
6. San Francisco, 8/29/12
   Chicago Sox, 8/29/12
   Oakland, 8/29/12
7. Baltimore, 8/30/12
   Tampa Bay, 8/30/12
   St. Louis, 8/30/12
8. LA Dodgers, 8/31/12
   LA Angels, 8/31/12
   Detroit, 8/31/12
   Pittsburgh, 8/31/12
9. Arizona, 9/5/12
   Milwaukee, 9/5/12
   Seattle, 9/5/12
10. Philadelphia, 9/7/12
11. San Diego, 9/9/12
12. NY Mets, 9/10/12
13. Kansas City, 9/12/12
    Toronto, 9/12/12
    Boston, 9/12/12
14. Miami, 9/14/12
15. Minnesota, 9/19/12
    Cleveland, 9/19/12
16. Chicago Cubs, 9/23/12

Today's key games:

• St. Louis at Houston
• Arizona at Colorado

Standings through 9/22

It almost certainly is "too little, too late" but the three remaining combatants are making this end game as interesting as possible. Houston keeps beating the Pirates, while the Rockies and Cubs keep losing. If the Astros lose on Sunday and the Cubs win, this becomes a two-team race... but those are big ifs, and in this topsy-turvy world of September baseball, nobody is celebrating their draft position just yet.

Team	W	L	GB
Houston	50	102	0
Colorado	58	93	-8.5
Chicago Cubs	59	93	-9

Houston's magic number: 3

Eliminated from contention:

1. Washington, 8/23/12
2. Cincinnati, 8/25/12
3. Texas, 8/26/12
4. Atlanta, 8/28/12
   NY Yankees, 8/28/12
5. San Francisco, 8/29/12
6. Baltimore, 8/30/12
   Chicago Sox, 8/30/12
   Oakland, 8/30/12
7. Tampa Bay, 8/31/12
   St. Louis, 8/31/12
8. LA Dodgers, 9/1/12
   LA Angels, 9/1/12
   Detroit, 9/1/12
9. Pittsburgh, 9/2/12 
10. Arizona, 9/5/12 
11. Milwaukee, 9/7/12
12. Seattle, 9/8/12
    Philadelphia, 9/8/12
13. San Diego, 9/10/12
14. NY Mets, 9/12/12
    Kansas City, 9/12/12
15. Toronto, 9/13/12 
16. Miami, 9/14/12
    Boston, 9/14/12
17. Minnesota, 9/19/12 
18. Cleveland, 9/20/12

Today's key games:

• Pittsburgh at Houston
• St. Louis at Chicago Cubs
• Arizona at Colorado

Standings through 9/21

With the Astros and Cubs both winning on Friday, Houston must wait until at least Sunday to pop the cork. Meanwhile, Colorado lost big at home, slipping into second. The Rockies have gotten serious about this.

Team	W	L	GB
Houston	49	102	0
Colorado	58	92	-9.5
Chicago Cubs	59	92	-10

Houston's magic number: 3

Eliminated from contention:

1. Washington, 8/23/12
2. Cincinnati, 8/25/12
3. Texas, 8/26/12
4. Atlanta, 8/28/12
   NY Yankees, 8/28/12
5. San Francisco, 8/29/12
6. Baltimore, 8/30/12
   Chicago Sox, 8/30/12
   Oakland, 8/30/12
7. Tampa Bay, 8/31/12
   St. Louis, 8/31/12
8. LA Dodgers, 9/1/12
   LA Angels, 9/1/12
   Detroit, 9/1/12
9. Pittsburgh, 9/2/12 
10. Arizona, 9/5/12 
11. Milwaukee, 9/7/12
12. Seattle, 9/8/12
    Philadelphia, 9/8/12
13. San Diego, 9/10/12
14. NY Mets, 9/12/12
    Kansas City, 9/12/12
15. Toronto, 9/13/12 
16. Miami, 9/14/12
    Boston, 9/14/12
17. Minnesota, 9/19/12 
18. Cleveland, 9/20/12

Today's key games:

• Pittsburgh at Houston
• St. Louis at Chicago Cubs
• Arizona at Colorado

Standings through 9/20

The Indians are the latest to bite the proverbial dust. Only three teams remain, although Houston can clinch as early as Saturday. The champagne is on ice...

Team	W	L	GB
Houston	48	102	0
Chicago Cubs	58	92	-10
Colorado	58	91	-10.5

Houston's magic number: 3

Eliminated from contention:

1. Washington, 8/23/12
2. Cincinnati, 8/25/12
3. Texas, 8/26/12
4. Atlanta, 8/28/12
   NY Yankees, 8/28/12
5. San Francisco, 8/29/12
6. Baltimore, 8/30/12
   Chicago Sox, 8/30/12
   Oakland, 8/30/12
7. Tampa Bay, 8/31/12
   St. Louis, 8/31/12
8. LA Dodgers, 9/1/12
   LA Angels, 9/1/12
   Detroit, 9/1/12
9. Pittsburgh, 9/2/12 
10. Arizona, 9/5/12 
11. Milwaukee, 9/7/12
12. Seattle, 9/8/12
    Philadelphia, 9/8/12
13. San Diego, 9/10/12
14. NY Mets, 9/12/12
    Kansas City, 9/12/12
15. Toronto, 9/13/12 
16. Miami, 9/14/12
    Boston, 9/14/12
17. Minnesota, 9/19/12 
18. Cleveland, 9/20/12

Today's key games:

• Pittsburgh at Houston
• St. Louis at Chicago Cubs
• Arizona at Colorado

Standings through 9/19

The Twins, behind Josh Willingham's 4-for-5, 4 RBI performance, beat the Indians in the opener of the battle for fourth place on Wednesday. And by winning the game, they are losing the battle. BENCH WILLINGHAM!

Team	W	L	GB
Houston	48	101	0
Chicago Cubs	58	91	-10
Colorado	58	90	-10.5
Cleveland	61	88	-13

Houston's magic number: 4

Eliminated from contention:

1. Washington, 8/23/12
2. Cincinnati, 8/25/12
3. Texas, 8/26/12
4. Atlanta, 8/28/12
   NY Yankees, 8/28/12
5. San Francisco, 8/29/12
6. Baltimore, 8/30/12
   Chicago Sox, 8/30/12
   Oakland, 8/30/12
7. Tampa Bay, 8/31/12
   St. Louis, 8/31/12
8. LA Dodgers, 9/1/12
   LA Angels, 9/1/12
   Detroit, 9/1/12
9. Pittsburgh, 9/2/12 
10. Arizona, 9/5/12 
11. Milwaukee, 9/7/12
12. Seattle, 9/8/12
    Philadelphia, 9/8/12
13. San Diego, 9/10/12
14. NY Mets, 9/12/12
    Kansas City, 9/12/12
15. Toronto, 9/13/12 
16. Miami, 9/14/12
    Boston, 9/14/12
17. Minnesota, 9/19/12

Today's key games:

• Houston at St. Louis
• Reds at Cubs
• Rockies at Giants
• Twins at Indians (Battle for Fourth; Indians eliminated with a win)

Standings through 9/18

Congrats to the Astros on losing their 100th game of the season Tuesday night. Huge milestone for them.

Meanwhile, the Cubs and Rockies find themselves engaged in a fierce battle for second, while the Twins and Indians are deadlocked at fourth. You can't ask for much more than what these teams are doing right now.

Team	W	L	GB
Houston	48	100	0
Chicago Cubs	58	90	-10
Colorado	58	89	-10.5
Minnesota	61	87	-13
Cleveland	61	87	-13

Houston's magic number: 5

Eliminated from contention:

1. Washington, 8/23/12
2. Cincinnati, 8/25/12
3. Texas, 8/26/12
4. Atlanta, 8/28/12
   NY Yankees, 8/28/12
5. San Francisco, 8/29/12
6. Baltimore, 8/30/12
   Chicago Sox, 8/30/12
   Oakland, 8/30/12
7. Tampa Bay, 8/31/12
   St. Louis, 8/31/12
8. LA Dodgers, 9/1/12
   LA Angels, 9/1/12
   Detroit, 9/1/12
9. Pittsburgh, 9/2/12 
10. Arizona, 9/5/12 
11. Milwaukee, 9/7/12
12. Seattle, 9/8/12
    Philadelphia, 9/8/12
13. San Diego, 9/10/12
14. NY Mets, 9/12/12
    Kansas City, 9/12/12
15. Toronto, 9/13/12 
16. Miami, 9/14/12
    Boston, 9/14/12

Today's key games:

• Houston at St. Louis
• Reds at Cubs
• Rockies at Giants
• Twins at Indians (Battle for Fourth!!!)