Hunt for October: Volume Four

Heading into the final week of the regular season, there is still so much to figure out. From the Dodgers playing the Padres for the division, to the Braves hosting the Mets for the Wild Card, it truly is the best week of the season to be a baseball fan. In the American League, we have a team who has seemed to resurrect themselves from the ashes and one that has fallen off a cliff in the past few weeks. This week I break down the race of the week, the series of the week, the story of the week, the team of the week, and a standings update.

Team of the Week: New York Yankees – This was a no brainer for so many reasons, but none took higher precedence over resiliency. This team looked to be in a free fall a few weeks ago but with a revitalized hitting lineup, their defensive struggles seem to have taken a backseat. That said, the Yankees bullpen has certainly stepped up as they have gotten seven saves in their last nine games. The Yankees have scored forty-one runs in their last seven games and have given up just fifteen across that stretch. This bullpen is far from perfect, but with the bats as hot as they have been this team is in a good position headed into the home stretch.

              The Yankees have lost just four games since September fourth, with all but one series win against teams in playoff contention. This includes taking two out of three against a hungry Mariners team fighting for the last playoff spot. With eight wins of the Yankees previous ten games, they are finally hot at the perfect time. In recent years, this team has fallen off right before the postseason and proceeded to see a demoralizing playoff exit. This season, they have the momentum to make a deep run right now, now they must take care of business for their final homestand. The Yankees will play the Orioles in the Bronx and an already eliminated Pirates at home to finish the season. To clinch home advantage throughout the postseason, the Yankees need to win three of their next six games.

Loser of the Week: Kansas City Royals – A few weeks ago, we had a conversation about how the Royals were heating up and they gave themselves a postseason safety net. That safety net meant if they had won just thirteen of their last twenty-three games they would already be in the playoffs, but instead they have won just seven games in that stretch. As of today, the Royals are just one game up on the last wild card spot with their final two series being against the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are in the same exact spot as the Royals, in a tight battle for the last postseason battle due to recent struggles.

Story of the Week: Detroit Tigers – This story warms my heart in so many ways. I will always have a soft spot for the city of Detroit and its sports teams as they have had a long history of struggling. That is not the case this year, as both the Lions and Tigers have had successful seasons. In the month of September, the Tigers have lost a total of six games, which is one more than games the White Sox have won. Since August eleventh, the Tigers have won twenty seven of thirty-eight games. They have been red hot as of late and have found themselves in a great position going into the last week of the season.

              This past weekend the Tigers played the Orioles, who hold the top Wild Card spot and whom the Tigers had just played the weekend prior. In Baltimore, the Tigers were embarrassed in game one, losing by a score of seven runs to one. Over the weekend though, the narrative was flipped as the Tigers won six-to-four in ten innings on Saturday and managed to hold off the Orioles on Sunday to win by a score of four-to-three. With eight wins in Detroit’s last ten games, they have found themselves in a playoff position with a more than manageable schedule. The Tigers have a home series against a recently hot Rays team and a historically bad Chicago White Sox team. The Tigers are inching closer and closer to a playoff spot, as they control their own destiny.

Series of the Week #1: Braves vs. Mets – If the Mets win two games against the Braves they are in the playoffs. If the Braves sweep the Mets, they will be up one game in the Wild Card race with just three games to play. About two years ago I remember being at my grandma’s house watching the Mets collapse in a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets have won seven of their last ten games, but any Mets fan will tell you that there is no such thing as a comfortable lead when you are a Mets fan. That is not what any Braves fan would tell you with any other Braves season except for this one. The Braves have great starters, but their bullpen has been far from reliable which means they are going to have to rely on their bats versus the Mets. The Mets have scored forty runs in their last five games and the Braves have scored thirty-six in that same stretch. The stakes cannot be higher for a series, and means it is one that surely will entertain all who tune in.

Series of the Week #2: San Diego Padres vs. LA Dodgers – The Padres are three games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers but have won seven of the ten games the teams have played against each other. With just six games left the Padres need to win the series to have a chance to win the division. If the Padres sweep the Dodgers in LA, they will have the tiebreaker over the Dodgers which means the Padres will just have to keep pace with the Dodgers to win the division. The Padres have taken three out of five games played at Dodger Stadium, so anything is possible with these two teams this week.

            Where are we?

Division Winners: Teams that have clinched their division: Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians, and the Philadelphia Phillies

In parentheses: games to clinch division.

Division Leaders: Teams that have clinched playoff spots: New York Yankees (1), Houston Astros (2) and the LA Dodgers (4 technically two if they beat the Padres twice, they clinch)

In parentheses: games to clinch playoff spot.

Teams who can clinch playoff spots - Wild Card Teams:

American League: Baltimore Orioles (2), Kansas City Royals (6), Detroit Tigers (6)

National League: San Diego Padres (1 – 3 games back of the division), Arizona Diamondbacks, (4) New York Mets (4 technically two if they beat the Braves twice)

In the Hunt:

In parentheses games back of the wild card

American League: Minnesota Twins (1), Seattle Mariners (1.5 – 4 games back of the division), Tampa Bay Rays (4), Boston Red Sox (4)

National League: Atlanta Braves (2)

Race of the Week: AL Wild Card – In this current moment, there is no certainties as to who will get the three AL Wild Card spots. With the Orioles being two games out it is highly unlikely they will miss the playoffs but with their current skid, they are far from a lock to host the wild card series. The Orioles will play the Yankees this week, and the Twins next weekend with both series being on the road. The Twins are one game back of the playoffs, so should the Orioles lose the series to the Yankees the Twins could overtake the Orioles with a series sweep. The Twins play the Marlins this week who are already eliminated and have nothing to play for. The Royals will see the Nationals who have nothing to play for and the Braves who very well could be eliminated by the time Kansas City sees them.

The Tigers who hold the last playoff spot will see a low playoff probability team in the Rays and the worst team of all time in the Chicago White Sox. The Seattle Mariners will play the Astros and the Athletics, which means they will have to win both series while the Astros still have to clinch the division. The odd thing about the Mariners is they can still win the division if they win out and if the Astros lose two out of three to the Guardians along with the Mariners sweeping the Astros. The Orioles have the hardest schedule of any team in the American League and have lost five of their last seven games. About every team within two games of the Wild Card race has everything to play for, which makes for some quite interesting series to watch. With the Guardians and Yankees almost guaranteed first round byes, they can set up their pitching lineup for the division series, while every other potential playoff team will have to use their best pitchers in the fight to get to the division series.