MLB Hunt for October: Volume One

It is September and that means playoff baseball is fast approaching. Over the next four weeks, this column will break down what is happening in the pennant races across the MLB. This week, we talk about our series of the week, a team whose postseason hopes are alluding to them, a team that just keeps on fighting and our race of the week.

              It is Slipping Away: Seattle Mariners – Since August Thirteenth, the Mariners are six and twelve in their last eighteen games. From about June Nineteenth to July Fifteenth, a nine game lead the Mariners had on the Astros for the division evaporated. The Mariners are currently six games behind the Astros for the NL West and five and a half games behind the Royals for the last Wild Card spot. They play three teams the rest of the season with winning records, which means they need to start making up ground now. They play the Athletics and the Cardinals this week, both series they need to win if they even want a chance at making the playoffs. With the Red Sox playing the Mets and the Royals playing the Guardians, it is not crazy to say without a series win against the A’s their postseason hopes will be on life support. (Mariners lost game one)

              Story of the Week: The Fightins - Yes, we are talking about the Fightins. Over the past weekend, the Phillies played the Braves in a four-game series. In that series the Phillies needed to win one game to keep the Braves five games behind them, so the stakes were not high. For the Braves, the Mets have been heating up and took two out of three against the Diamondbacks last week to bring Atlanta’s wild card leading to four games coming into this series. Atlanta had to split, to keep pace in the Wild Card race and win the series at least to keep their division title hopes alive.

              In the first game of the series, the Braves went up by four runs and took the life out of the fans at the bank. In fact, in the sixth inning the Braves went up four nothing and then put a runner in scoring position with a chance to put the game out of reach with one out, but the Braves could not convert. The Phillies would score three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and two in the seventh to give themselves the lead. The Braves did not get another hit the rest of the game. To make matters worse for the Braves, they would split the next two games despite having a lead again in the third game of the series.

In the final game of the series on Sunday, the Braves would go up by two runs in the sixth inning. At the bottom of the inning, the Phillies would be down to their final out of the inning and it was looking like the series would be split. Then Nick Castellanos became the bad news that normally precedes his big hits. He drove in two runs to tie the game in the sixth inning. In the top of the ninth inning, the Braves would have the bases loaded with one out against a pitcher Strahm who could not seem to control his pitching and did not score.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, would then have a fielder’s choice they could not turn to a double play which led to a Nick Castellanos Walk off single. Manager Snitker of the Braves was heard saying during the eleventh that he made a managerial decision that he deeply regrets and apologizes to any Braves fan that is offended by their mediocre performance. He continued by saying that he prides himself as a hard worker and a champion and there is a shot by Nick Castellanos up the middle and that will give the Phillies. (Manager Snitker did not say this if you want the reference search up Thom Brennahan and Nick Castellanos.) This made the Braves Wild Card lead just one game, with the Mets seeming to catch fire.

Series of the Week: Boston Red Sox vs. New York Mets – Both teams are on the prowl for the last spot in the playoffs in their respective leagues. The Red Sox are four and a half games behind the struggling Kansas City Royals and the Mets are one game behind the slacking Braves. The interesting thing is the Red Sox have an easier schedule than the Mets and the Royals have a much more difficult schedule than the Mets. With about twenty-five games left for all teams, the Mets need to keep their four-game win streak alive, and the Red Sox need to make up ground on the Royals since they are trailing by a fourth of their remaining games. The series is in New York, but given how inconsistent these teams have been, it is truly anyone’s guess as to how this series will play out. (Mets took game one on Monday.)

Race of the Week: AL East – The Orioles and the Yankees are neck and neck for the division lead. As of Today, there is no separation between these teams. Baltimore has one of the five easiest schedules left whereas the Yankees have one of the ten hardest. In the second to last series of the year these teams will face each other for what if they continue the same pace will be the division. The Yankees lost the series last week to the Cardinals and Nationals, neither team will end up in the playoffs. Whereas the Orioles split with the Astros, lost to the Dodgers, and beat the Rockies, exactly what they were expected to do.

This week, the Yankees play an opponent like the Cardinals in the Rangers, who just put up a football score on them and the Orioles play the worst team since 1962, in the Chicago White Sox. If the O’s sweep, (which is embarrassing if they do not) and the Yankees do not sweep the O’s take the lead of the division. For the first time this season, it feels like the Yankees are faced with immense pressure. The Yankees took game one on Monday and game two of the series is Tonight.

             Standings Update:

              National League Division Leaders: Philadelphia Phillies (7+), Milwaukee Brewers (10+), LA Dodgers (5+).

              American League Division Leaders: New York Yankees (.5+), Cleveland Guardians (3.5+) and Houston Astros (6+).

              Wild Card: AL: (1) Baltimore Orioles, (2) Minnesota Twins and (3) Kansas City Royals - Teams Chasing: Boston Red Sox (4.5 GB) Detroit Tigers (5.0 GB)

              Wild Card: NL: (1) San Diego Padres, (2) Arizona Diamondbacks and (3) Atlanta Braves. Teams Chasing: Mets (.5 GB), Cubs (3.5 GB)

Brendan's Top Three:

L.A. Dodgers – The Dodgers have been hot all season long and are holding on for dear life for home advantage in the postseason. Shohei Ohtani is on the prowl to become the first player ever to have fifty stolen bases and fifty home runs. In addition, the Dodgers opened a six-game lead on the Arizona Diamondbacks by taking three out of the four games. They have an easier schedule in the month of September so all they must do is keep pace with the Phillies and they will be set for October. (Playing the Angels) 

Philadelphia Phillies – For the past two years, the Phillies have been runners up in the National League and the World Series as the Wild Card. Currently, they are atop the NL East by seven games, and it is almost a certainty that the Phillies will win the division with just twenty-four games left. The Phillies are currently playing for the first time in the National League, a spot they are just one and a half games out of. (Playing the Toronto Blue Jays)

Houston Astros – The Astros have been RED HOT since June. That said, they did lose game one to the Reds, so hopefully they can bounce back tonight. The Astros took three out of four games from the Royals as the Mariners continued to struggle so the Astros took full advantage. The Astros are currently just five games back of the top spot in the American League, which is being held by the Yankees who have been far from consistent to say the least. (Playing the Reds)