The Seattle Mariners entered the weekend on a three-game win streak, eyeing an opportunity to shake things up in the American League wild-card race with a pivotal three-game series against the Houston Astros.
Three wins later, they’re certainly doing just that. Seattle’s sweeping of the Astros — which included a 10-run showing on Saturday — gained them crucial ground on the club, which now holds onto its second-place AL West position by a thread. Seattle is now just one win shy of matching Houston’s current 70-55 record, while their .556 win percentage sees them just barely edge out the Toronto Blue Jays (.552) for the third wild card spot heading into Monday evening’s action.
And now, they have a chance to keep on rolling — thanks both to their hot bats and a pretty favourable schedule.
Seattle’s next four opponents are nowhere near the playoff race. After their three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox, which opens Monday night, the Mariners host three games against both the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics, followed by a three-game stint against the Mets in New York.
September is fast approaching. Let’s check in on the AL picture to see where things stand following an eventful weekend.
IF THE POST-SEASON STARTED TODAY
No. 1 and AL East-Leading Baltimore Orioles (77-47): Bye
No. 2 and AL West-leading Texas Rangers (72-52): Bye
No. 3 and AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins (65-60) vs. No. 6 Seattle Mariners (69-55)
No. 4 Tampa Bay Rays (75-51) vs. No. 5 Houston Astros (70-55)
WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE
The New York Yankees’ recent skid, which has seen them lose eight straight games and nine of their last 10 to fall to the bottom of the AL East, has made room for teams like the Boston Red Sox (66-58) and Los Angeles Angels (61-64) to get in on the conversation. Boston took advantage of the Yankees’ struggles — and made up for some of their own — with a three-game series sweep in New York while the Angels couldn’t keep pace with the Rays. L.A. emerged from their weekend series against Tampa Bay with just one win and a bruised ego after the Rays put up a whopping 18 runs on Saturday alone.
While it’s worth keeping an eye on things in L.A. and Boston, it’s the Toronto Blue Jays that are the closest to catching up with Seattle and Houston for a wild-card spot. The Blue Jays emerge from their weekend series against Cincinnati with a pair of wins, including Sunday’s 10-3 victory led by starter Hyun-jin Ryu, a strong bullpen and some energy on offence to the tune of 10 runs and back-to-back homers for the fourth time this year.
LOOKING AT THE WILD CARD RACE THIS WEEK
Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays are already looking pretty comfortable atop the AL wild-card race, and have the chance to give themselves an even bigger cushion. Fresh off winning their three-game series against L.A. over the weekend, Tampa now hosts the 48-76 Rockies followed by three games against the Yankees.
Houston Astros: Houston’s surely feeling the heat after three straight defeats against Seattle. How they recover against what will be a desperate Red Sox team will tell us a lot about how this wild-card race could shape up in the weeks to come.
Seattle Mariners: Can the White Sox cool off Seattle’s hot bats? That’s a tough assignment, especially considering just how well the Mariners have been hitting of late — we’re looking at you, Julio Rodriguez. If they can extend their win streak against a Chicago team that’s miles outside the playoff race, the Mariners could jump into the second wild card spot by week’s end.
Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays’ offence has been a rollercoaster ride all season and now faces a tall order as Toronto visits the AL’s top team, the Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays are off Monday night before the Battle of the Birds begins Tuesday — a series that has massive ramifications for Toronto’s playoff hopes. This three-game series will be these clubs’ final meeting of the season, with the Blue Jays looking to improve their 2-8 season record against Baltimore.
Boston Red Sox: If the Red Sox are to keep pace in the wild card race, it won’t be an easy feat. First up is a three-game date against a Houston Astros squad looking to right the wrongs of their series against Seattle, followed by a series against the L.A. Dodgers.
Los Angeles Angels: Can the Angels make a run? If they can, it’ll have to start with a strong showing against a Cincinnati Reds team that’s in the mix in the NL.
PLAYOFF ODDS REPORT
Here is what FanGraphs and Baseball Reference are projecting, as of Monday morning, in terms of playoff odds among AL teams battling for post-season spots.
Baltimore’s FanGraphs odds: 99.3% | Baltimore’s Baseball Reference odds: 99.9%
Texas’ FanGraphs odds: 83.2% | Texas’ Baseball Reference odds: 94.5%
Minnesota’s FanGraphs odds: 95% | Minnesota’s Baseball Reference odds: 91.8%
Tampa Bay’s FanGraphs odds: 96.9% | Tampa Bay’s Baseball Reference odds: 97.1%
Houston’s FanGraphs odds: 79.8% | Houston’s Baseball Reference odds: 64.0%
Toronto’s FanGraphs odds: 64.7% | Toronto’s Baseball Reference odds: 65.7%
Seattle’s FanGraphs odds: 59.4% | Seattle’s Baseball Reference odds: 69.7%
Boston’s FanGraphs odds: 15.8% | Boston’s Baseball Reference odds: 8.7%
New York’s FanGraphs odds: 0.5% | New York’s Baseball Reference odds: 0.2%
Los Angeles’ FanGraphs odds: 0.5% | Los Angeles’s Baseball Reference odds: 0.1%
Cleveland’s FanGraphs odds: 3.8% | Cleveland’s Baseball Reference odds: 5.9%
