Here is where things stand for the Royals in MLB’s playoff tiebreaker procedures

What a difference a year makes.

Last season, four of the American League Central teams finished with a losing record. This year, four Central teams are in the playoff race with less than two weeks to play.

The Royals are among eight teams in the American League vying for one of the six spots in the postseason field. Their path to the playoffs most likely will be as one of three wild-card teams.

Here are the wild-card standings as of Thursday morning.

Orioles 84-68

Royals 82-71

Twins 80-72

Tigers 80-73

Mariners 77-75

The Yankees, Guardians and Astros all have at least a five-game lead in their respective divisions and probably won’t need to be a wild-card to make the playoffs.

MLB tiebreakers

Major League Baseball’s tiebreaking procedures are fairly simple. If two teams, regardless of division, finish with the same record, the team that won the season series wins a tiebreaker.

If three teams finish with the same record, then the team that won the season series against the other two would win a tiebreaker. If two teams have a better record than the third, then those two would determine a tiebreaker based on their season series.

However, if those tiebreakers don’t apply, then the team with the best record within its division wins a tiebreaker. This applies to teams in different divisions.

One other thing to know: There no longer is a one-game playoff to determine a division champion or break a tie for a wild card. MLB did away with what was colloquially known as Game 163.

In an odd scheduling twist, the Royals don’t play another American League foe this season, so their tiebreakers are locked in place. Here is a closer look at how things stand.

Royals tiebreakers

Guardians

The Royals’ chances of winning the AL Central are dim. They are six games back of the Guardians with nine games to play. However, if the Royals manage to finish the season tied with Cleveland, KC would win the division based on its 8-5 record in head-to-head games.

Twins

The Royals’ sweep of Minnesota earlier this month didn’t affect the season series. The Twins won it 7-6 and would hold a tiebreaker over the Royals if the teams finish with the same record.

Tigers

Likewise, Detroit’s sweep of the Royals this week at Kauffman Stadium didn’t affect the tiebreaker. The Royals won the season series 7-6 and would beat out the Tigers if the teams end with identical records.

Three-team tiebreaker

The Twins won the season series against the Tigers and Royals, so they have the edge if all three teams finish with the same record.

Orioles

The top wild-card team (along with the division winner with the third-best record) will be home to an entire three-game wild-card series. The Royals can still catch Baltimore, but the Orioles won the season series 4-2. Thus, the Royals need to have a better record than the Orioles to be the No. 1 wild-card team.

Mariners

The Royals and Mariners split the six-game season series. If Seattle and the Royals tie for a playoff spot, it would go to intradivisional records even though they don’t play in the same division. The Royals have a 33-19 record against Central teams. The Mariners are 25-18 against West teams with nine divisional games to be played.

Should the Mariners end with a 33-19 record against West teams, it would go to the next tiebreaker: record against non-divisional teams in the American League. The Royals would win that tiebreaker because they have 30 wins against teams in the East and West. The most victories Seattle could achieve against East and Central teams is 27.

Bottom line: The Royals hold a tiebreaker on the Tigers, Guardians and Mariners. But they lose a tiebreaker against the Twins and Orioles.