The American League playoff race has been heating up for some time now. Since late August, two new teams have entered the Wild Card race: the Seattle Mariners and the Cleveland Indians.
Even though the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland A’s have controlled those two Wild Card spots, the Mariners’ 37-27 road record and the Indians’ 39-26 record at Progressive Field have kept themselves in the race. With that said, each team has to put their foot on the gas if they want to overthrow the A’s and the Tigers for the top two Wild Card spots in September.
Unfortunately, there has been less excitement in the AL division race. Granted, as of Sept. 2, the Tigers are only a half game back of the surprising Kansas City Royals in the AL Central. Therefore, the odds look favorable for the Royals to break their 29-year postseason drought as they have the easiest strength of schedule for the rest of the season.
However, the AL East seems to be in the bag. The Baltimore Orioles have a towering 8.5 game lead on the second place New York Yankees entering September. The Orioles are anchored by their solid bullpen which includes Darren O’Day, Tommy Hunter and Zach Britton. Unless, if the Orioles collapse down the stretch, then they are a shoe-in for the AL East title.
In the AL West, the Los Angeles Angels have begun to separate themselves from the Oakland A’s for the division title. The Angels have a 4.5 game lead entering September and are lead by AL MVP front-runner Mike Trout and first baseman Albert Pujols. The Oakland A’s are falling behind in the race after a lackluster 12-13 record in August. Newly acquired pitchers Jon Lester and Jeff Samardzija have to put the team on their back if the A’s want to repeat as AL West champions.
When it comes down to the National League, the race for October seems to be more intense, with the exception of the National League East. The Washington Nationals have a seven game lead in the NL East entering the month and seem to be coasting to the division title. The Nats are lead by their formidable starting rotation which is lead by Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, and Doug Fister. Also, outfielder Bryce Harper is finally producing the star power that he is capable of since coming off thumb surgery in mid July. In the end, there seems to be no debate that the Nats will conquer the NL East.
The NL Central has the most wide open race for the division title with three teams battling it out to the finish: the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cardinals have a one game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers, who have struggled during the second half of the season after a surprising first half. St. Louis is lead by their an infield that consists of catcher Yadier Molina, first baseman Matt Adams, second baseman Kolten Wong, third baseman Matt Carpenter, and shortstop Jhonny Peralta. The third team that is still in the race is Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates are only three games back of St. Louis and by no means are out of the race just yet. Starting Pitchers Gerrit Cole and Francisco Liriano must rev up their performance when it matters most. Overall, expect a Wild Card team to come out of the NL Central.
Last but not least, there is the NL West. In September, the NL West will be a two team race between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. L.A has a two game lead in the division and is led by Cy Young and MVP candidate Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw anchors a pitching staff that includes Zach Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Also, the Dodgers have one of the league’s best outfields: Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier, and Matt Kemp. In addition to winning the NL West, the well-rounded Dodgers are the favorite to take home the National League pennant.
The only team in their way is the San Francisco Giants. While they lost ace starting pitcher Matt Cain, the Giants are still in the hunt for a playoff spot. They are tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for the top Wild Card spot, but the Giants pitching staff will qualify them for October baseball. Tim Hudson, Ryan Vogelsong, and Madison Bumgarner’s performance will be imperative to stopping the Los Angeles Dodgers quest for a title. In other words, look for the Giants to make some noise come playoff time.
Philip Novotny can be reached at philip.novotny@theminaretonline.com