The Major League Baseball season is going to see some wild and crazy action as the stretch run is here, and will continue over the next 3.5 weeks. There are some great races, with many of them coming from the National League. Let’s take a look at the races that are going on in Major League Baseball:
American League East
The American League East is all but over. The Tampa Bay Rays are going to be one of those teams that finishes with one of the best records and does not make the playoffs, they will battle Seattle for that. The Blue Jays and Orioles are dead. Boston leads the Yankees comfortably. The Red Sox are going to have home field advantage throughout, the only question is – can the Yankees hold of the Athletics for home field in the one game wildcard playoff. The Yankees lead by 4.5 games.
American League Central
While Chicago White Sox fans are thrilled to see their team in third place in the division, they are among four teams dead in the division. The Twins, Tigers, White Sox and Royals are going home. They are a collective 112 games under .500. The Indians are going to be the third seed in the playoffs, and will take on the American League West divisional winner.
American League West
The defending World Series Champions are 47-21 on the road and just 7 games over at home. Houston has won four in a row heading into Wednesday’s game and hold a 3.5 game lead on Oakland. The Athletics will look to stay hot and catch Houston, or settle for a wildcard spot. If they cannot catch the Astros, they are 5.5 games up on Seattle for the wildcard. Tampa Bay is trying to make a push as well
American League Postseason
If the postseason started today – the Yankees would host Oakland, in the postseason game, with the winner taking on Boston. Cleveland would start a best of five series in Houston as well.
National League East
The National League East sees a couple surprises. The team that many expected to win the division are 69-70 on the season. The Washington Nationals are 7. games back in the division and 8 games back in the wildcard. They are dead. The Braves hold a three-game lead on the Phillies with 24 games to go. The way the National League is going – both teams are in play for the NL Wildcard.
National League Central
The Milwaukee Brewers won back to back games against the Cubs; moving the divisional lead to just 3 games. The Brewers are red hot, and 16 games over at home. The Brewers are the top wildcard team but do not count out St. Louis. The Cardinals are 4.5 back in the division and 1.5 in the wildcard. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are dead.
National League West
What a wild and crazy division. The Colorado Rockies currently lead the Los Angeles Dodgers by 1/2 game and the Arizona Diamondbacks by 1.5 games. The Giants have dropped to 9 back, and the Padres are dead. Colorado has been red hot, and balanced at home and away. The Dodgers have been very up and down but recently won 8 out of their last 10 games. All three teams are in the mix for the wildcard.
National League Postseason
As of Wednesday – the Cubs would have the top record and home-field advantage. They would play the winner of the game between the next two best records. St. Louis would be at Milwaukee for a one-game wildcard. In the other divisional round game, the Braves and Rockies currently sit with the exact same record of 76-62. Nothing is settled in the National League, with the biggest lead at 3. In fact, the Cubs are just 5.5 games out of NOT making the postseason, despite having the best record in the league.
As Chuck Tanner used to say when talking about the pennant race:
“It’s hard to win a pennant, but it’s harder losing one”
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