MLB Hunt for October Part: Three

  The penultimate week has set the stage for a wild final week of the regular season in the MLB. From both wild card races still to be completely determined, to the NL West becoming tighter than anyone could have imagined there is a lot for people to be entertained with. This week, we talk about the Tigers, Orioles, and Brewers and give you the standings update. There will be two updates next week, so be on the lookout.

Team of the Week: Detroit Tigers – The Tigers are the team to watch right now. Currently, they are a half-game back of the Minnesota Twins who could find themselves in a battle for the playoffs with the Baltimore Orioles. The Tigers have won eight of their last ten including winning all their last four games. A Royals team who is trying to put themselves in a division battle with the Cleveland Guardians, was swept by these Tigers, as the Tigers gave themselves an excellent opportunity to reach the postseason. They play the Orioles this weekend, the Rays next week, and the White Sox next weekend. The Rays and White Sox have no shot at making the postseason and the Orioles are the coldest team in baseball without question. A postseason berth is for the taking, because the Tigers put them in position to reach the playoffs.

Story of the Week: Milwaukee Brewers – If there was a team in baseball I did not want to see in a five or seven game series it is the Milwaukee Brewers. In a fight for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Brewers won a series against the Phillies. In addition, the Brewers beat the Diamondbacks two out of three games with a final game that was anything but ordinary. The Milwaukee Brewers have been known for having great pitching in recent years, and this year is no different. They are fourth in the league in era (3.64) and are third in saves at fifty. Their weakness has always been hitting as just one year ago, this team was eighth to last in terms of batting average. This season, despite losing their best player (Christian Yelich), they are eighth in the league in batting average. They clinched the NL Central yesterday with a win over the Phillies and in a year that truly could see anybody go all the way, this team is proving to be a major threat.

Loser of the Week – The Baltimore Orioles – Rarely, do I double back on a team. If a team proves to be abysmal two weeks in a row, then they give me no choice. I am sorry Mom, Dad, and Colin, you know how much I love the Orioles. Over the past week, the Orioles have lost all but two games. In last week’s battle for supreme loser of the week, the Orioles prevailed losing two out of three in addition to getting swept by the San Francisco Giants this week. This leads me to say not only do I think they will not win a playoff game, but I also think that it will be a fight to get there.

With ten games left the O’s, they have the third hardest schedule out of any team in postseason contention. With series against the Twins, Yankees and Tigers I would say their schedule is the most difficult. The Tigers and Yankees are the hottest teams in all of baseball. The Twins have struggled, and we will get to them in a moment, but they will play the Orioles in the last series of the season which if the O’s cannot find three wins over their next six games, the series will watch tv.

Series of the Week: Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Tigers – The Orioles with an opportunity to right the ship before the playoffs. The Tigers can increase their chances of being in the postseason with a series win. Last week’s series between these teams saw the Tigers take two out of the three, yet the Tigers are still four and a half games behind. This series will shift the playoff landscape one way or another with the playoffs just one week away.

Standings Update:

              Division Leaders:  New York Yankees (5.0), Cleveland Guardians (6.0), Houston Astros (5.0)

              Division Leaders: Phillies (7.0), Brewers (Clinched), Dodgers (3.5)

              NL WC: San Diego Padres (2.5 on the Mets), Arizona Diamondbacks (2.0 on the Braves), New York Mets (2.0) – Teams Chasing: Atlanta Braves (2.0 GB)

              AL WC:  Baltimore Orioles (4.0 on the Twins), Kansas City Royals (1.5 on the Tigers), Minnesota Twins (0.5) – Team Chasing – Detroit Tigers (0.5 GB), Seattle Mariners (3.0 GB), Boston Red Sox (4.0 GB)

Brendan’s Top Three:

1. Philadelphia Phillies – They beat the hottest team in the league last weekend and dampened their postseason hopes. They play the Mets once again this weekend and can really give the Mets something to sweat about going into the final week of the regular season. The Phillies have not yet clinched their division, but they are a combination of seven wins and seven losses of the Mets away from winning the division. Next Series: New York Mets

2. Houston Astros – The Astros lost a series on the road to the San Diego Padres, this week and lost a series to the Oakland A’s last week. The Astros will play the Angels in a four-game series whom they just swept last weekend. This is a get right series for the Astros with a chance to clinch the division against the Mariners early next week. They finish the season against the Guardians, in what could be a potential divisional series matchup.

3. Milwaukee Brewers – We already talked about the Brewers, but without their franchise player it cannot be stated how impressive their hitting has been. They have gotten hot at the perfect time and with the division being clinched can set their rotation to be perfectly set in time for the postseason. They play the Diamondbacks this weekend, Pittsburgh next week and the Mets next weekend. Not an easy schedule to say the least but the pressure is off them as they can prepare for whomever they matchup with in the first round.