The Twins hold a 2.5-game lead over the Indians in the AL Central after today’s action, and in addition to fighting for the division crown, both clubs are desperately trying to avoid facing even more competition in the AL wild card hunt. Cleveland (74-51) is currently in possession of the top wild card spot, with the Rays (73-52) in the second slot, just a game behind.
Despite taking three of four games from the Astros, the Athletics are still 7.5 games behind Houston in the AL West, leaving the wild card as Oakland’s most realistic shot at a postseason berth. The A’s (71-53) are 1.5 games behind the Rays.
Had this poll been posted even a couple of days ago, the Red Sox would likely have been omitted, yet a five-game winning streak merits them a mention. Boston (67-59) is still 6.5 games behind Tampa Bay, and don’t have many head-to-head opportunities remaining against their division rivals, as the Sox and Rays only play four more times this season. The Red Sox do have a three-game set against Minnesota on September 3-5 at Fenway Park.
The Twins have six critical September games lined up against the Tribe, but beyond those two series, Minnesota has a clear advantage over Cleveland in terms of benefiting from their weak division. Twenty-six of the Twins’ remaining 38 games are against the White Sox, Royals, and Tigers, while the Indians only face the AL Central’s lesser lights 16 times in their final 37 games.
It all adds up to a wild final six weeks of action, particularly since injuries, roster shuffles, and players on both incredible hot streaks and cold streaks continue to change the narrative on a near-daily basis. In particularly, all three non-AL Central teams face looming questions about their pitching staffs. Can the A’s get their long-awaited influx of young pitching reinforcements once multiple arms return from the injured list? Can the Rays get by three-fourths of their regular rotation (Blake Snell, Yonny Chirinos, Tyler Glasnow) still hurt? Can the Red Sox mount a late-season comeback even as their own inconsistent rotation has suffered perhaps a critical blow?
Which two teams do you think will emerge from the fray to play in the one-game Wild Card playoff in October? (Poll link for app users)
Twins Rays
Indians are overcoming the Twins? o……………….. k
Yes because Twins don’t have enough pitching.
Twins schedule is easy. They don’t need great pitching to beat those teams when the offense is going against bad pitchers.
Winning in the postseason though…
It is slightly easier on paper but they play each other as well so we will see. Still, don’t buy the Twins! They remind me of the 2013 Braves.
What team will have the most team home runs in one season by the end of the season?
I will give you post season is different, but based on strength of schedule and who will be coming of the IR soon, the overall team home run leaders are going to get better at the plate.. Still wish they had more pitching for the post season
Once the Indians sweep the two upcoming head to head series, the a Twins are done.
Lol floopjack
Twins wouldn’t even be in the AL Central race if the Indians had a healthy Kluber and Carrasco all season or even most of the season….they would be about 7 games back of Cleveland and in the WC hunt only….
Injuries are part of the game. You could make a similar statement about Buxton and sano being injured a lot. They both missed about a quarter of the season. Don’t forget that twins had the best record in the league until mid June
Kluber and Carrasco and even Clevinger bring out for periods of time along with Lindor missing time has hurt more than the loss of Sano and Buxton….Indians would be about 6-8 games ahead of Twins if all things were equal/no injuries to either team
No denying a healthy Indians rotation would be way better than the Twins.
The thing is, the Indians rotation is still way better right now even though they are missing key pitchers. That makes me think that it would not be as big of a separation as you think. And the Twins offense is light years better than the Indians offense.
I think you mean WAS. Indians have been the best team in baseball for months.
Indians pitching much better than Twins but the Twins offense is only a little better than the Indians after trade deadline acquisitions….if at all now….
Twins were lacking pitching and did nothing to improve rotation
Indians were lacking bats and addressed their needs
I think with the Twins only heading by a couple games if you throw in a healthy Kluber and Carrasco and even Clevinger who missed time….the Indians lead would be roughly 5-7 games….
Rays hosting the Tribe (and I’ll be there!) .
You and five other people at the Trop watching the Tribe win. Then get stuck on Dale Maybry, fighting the Buccaneers game day traffic.
Rays and Twins. It’s surprising they even listed Boston as an option.
Surprising you listed a team that has one of the easiest schedules remaining and have players returning from IL. PS – it ain’t the Rays.
and the Rays are getting by Cleveland just how? I just don’t see that happening.
We’ll see about that! by playing Cleveland later this month. we already swept Cleveland in Cleveland in May.
Lol chief wahoo… if it’s rays and twins that means the Indians won the division, what are you getting worked up about
no way the central runner up doesn’t make it. Minnesota and Cleveland are probably 3 and 3a as far as the best teams in the AL. Rays and A’s are too fragile, and Boston has no pitching. Give me Tampa over Oakland for WC2 due to their pitching strategy and overall talent though.
When Rays get back Snell, Lowe, Wendle, Chirinos and if/ when Glasnow comes back Tampa is better than Cleveland
Snell didnt even look like half the pitcher he was in 2018 before the injury. hard to imagine them leaning on him in September. Wendle has had multiple injuries and didnt look good when healthy, and Glasnow simply wolnt be back. I will pick Tampa over the other WC2 contenders, but I cant see them catching a Cleveland team in the same injury boat and has been better the last few months than Tampa.
Glasnow has made more progress to a return than Snell has to this point lol and I’ll take Snell of any single one of the Oakland pitchers and Cleveland except Kluber.
Currently I think I’d take Clevinger over Snell as well
your assertation about Oakland is the exact reason why i favor TB here.
That is like saying when Cleveland gets back all of it’s injured players they are then better than an injured Tampa team. I don’t think that thinking is logical.
Oakland has the better talent just their 2 best top pitching prospects has not been up just yet. With those 2 almost ready and Manaea and Montas back in the rotation the A’s have much more talent than the Rays.
You couldn’t be any more incorrect about your team assessment, you’re banking on prospects to come and help for a short time until playoff rosters are released and Rays will be getting back big league reinforcements who truly no doubt make a difference
The A’s will also be getting back big league reinforcements. Manaea will be back in a week, Laureano in 2 weeks tops and Montas will be available in September regardless of whether he’s eligible for the postseason or not.
We’ve been playing good baseball without our ace from last year all season, ace from this year for 2 months and our everyday center fielder and one of the offensive cogs of this team for almost a month.
Annnndddd the Rays have been playing with basically one starting pitcher for 2 week and only 2 starters before that. While missing the reigning Cy Young award winner and a pitcher who looked nearly unhittable the first month while also missing a potential ROY in Lowe, Diaz who won’t be back but is a well above average bat. The Rays are right up there with the Yankees injury wise please don’t try and tell me Manaea and laureano compare to the players who the Rays have hurt
Manaea also won’t be eligible for postseason
Why wouldn’t Manaea be eligible for the postseason? I think you meant Montas.
Guess what? I’m about to tell you that Manaea and Laureano compare to the players who the Rays have hurt! Because it isn’t just Manaea and Laureano.
And technically the Rays only had 3 starters going into the season, so that’s really an organizational problem, not an injury problem. Can’t tell if it’s because your organization doesn’t trust guys like Yarbrough and McKay or what but you have starters, you just aren’t using them.
In any case, you had your ace at all this season, we didn’t. The Rays losing Morton is like the A’s losing Montas. The Rays losing Lowe is like the A’s losing Laureano and the Rays losing Diaz is like the A’s losing Olson, who we didn’t have until the third month of the season. We also didn’t have our backup catcher until the third month of the season. On top of that Khris Davis has been hurt since May when he hit the wall hard in Pittsburgh and was then hit on the hand by a 96mph fastball, and Chapman just played through injury and hit a month long slump as a result.
Manaea is likely to come up this week, which will make him eligible for the postseason. It’s Montas that won’t be eligible for the postseason because of his suspension.
@arc89 You’re counting on two rookies with little mlb experience as if there’s a guarantee they’ll be successful.. That’s as silly as expecting Deivi Garcia to lead the ranks thru a playoff run. It COULD happen but the odds suggest otherwise.
Montas isnt postseason eligible, Manea likely wolnt be at full strength or perhaps not even starting, and i dont think relying on either Puk or Luzardo is all that wise.
What a shock that the vast majority are picking the current leaders. I think either the Rays or Twins fall off
What would lead you to believe either team will fall off?
Well not the Orioles, that is for sure!!!!!! SMH
If Treinen and Trevino come back to 2018 relief levels, I like the green and golds chances. Already Treinen looks as if he is coming back and Lou had 3 good innings against the Stros on Friday night,. Sucks the AL central is so weak which gives a boost to the Twins and Indians, however you don’t win them on paper.
If you are a fan of a team not named Yankees and maybe the Astros, then you should root for anybody that will beat the Yankees and the Astros. Whether it is the A’s, Rays, Indians, Twins…just beat the Yankees and the Astros (to a lesser extent).
Cleveland and Oakland (I hope) but more than likely Cleveland and Tampa Bay.
Sadly my Redsox have been out since the beginning of the season. They list the season since the west coast trip day 1. I am just happy Sales elbow is the cause of his struggles, so maybe it can be fixed.
OAK & MIN have easier schedules.
MIN having an easy remaining schedule is a pretty strong argument for them NOT being a wildcard team. They’re already up in the division, and have been literally 92% of the season
A’s still have a series against the Astros and 2 against the Yankees, but they also have a series against Detroit and 2 against Kansas City.
Yup,A’s Twins
If the Red Sox actually go on a tear – which a week ago I would have said no way to… I think they’ve got a legit shot at putting themselves back in the mix. Losing Sale is beyond a big blow but after watching Porcello look worse than a AA pitcher for most of the season he goes and throws a gem in his most recent outing. I had been just about ready to give up on their season — and granted I still realize that it’s a bit of a long shot — but the way they’ve looked the past 4/5 games and the way their offense has produced all season long… if they do find a way to claw back in it… I think they could be a legitimate contender — though an enormous “IF” still remains with their P – both SP and RP… BUT what I would have said was a total pipedream a week ago… looks like a little bit more of a chance now… but they’d really have to play unbelievable baseball the rest of the way… which is a HUGE “IF”, I’ll admit
They’ve been playing the orioles though. Honestly it comes down to sale in my opinion. If he needs surgery forget it. Even if their play remains where it has been these past few days and they somehow sneak into the playoffs, who is going to pitch that a decent team isn’t going to demolish?
red Sox have been totally dead since day 1.. Mr Henry did no do his homework with these clowns .. awful coaching.. pitch calling and scouting.. did the scouts run away or sleep ?
The Rays are in the middle of an extremely easy stretch of their schedule and have only been able to gain 1 game on the A’s who have played STL, CHC and HOU during that same stretch.
Oakland will overtake them before it’s over.
red Sox have been totally dead since day 1.. Mr Henry did no do his homework with these clowns .. awful coaching.. pitch calling and scouting.. did the scouts run away or sleep ?
any of them face the orioles, marlins or pirates?
We’re at the time of the year where each week and each injury changes the point of view.: The easiest schedules are HOU, MIN, OAK, TBR. NYY while CLE and BOS have tough schedules. BOS is out.
I think HOU has the best chance to be the AL best record. They have the easiest schedule. NYY is playing some tough series and are taunting umpires as a team. CLE is on a roll and I expect them to take the division regardless of schedule. MIN has such an easy schedule, if they miss the playoffs, I’ll be surprised. MIN and CLE play each other 6 more times. Neither team has an advantage. OAK and TBR have similarly easy schedules and both have key players on the IL OAK seems to have better depth, better pitching, defense and speed on the basepath and are climbing fast.
HOU
NYY
CLE
MIN
OAK
The Savages in the Bronx will have the best record. A’s and runner up in Central as wild card teams. The Rays offense is terrible they have trouble scoring runs against Tigers.
Honestly if I were the As, twins, Cleveland, or Boston I’d be rooting for the yanks to have the best record. Anything can happen in October but I’d take my chances facing NYY pitching over HOU pitching any day. I think the yanks are good enough to win it all IF their pitchers get hot and Boone is smart with the pen… but that’s such a big IF.
red Sox have been dead man playing on vacation since spring training… poor pitching.. poor coaching staff.. poor pitch calling .. they left their coaching staff in Florida for all the good they are..peddy does better at diagnosis than the current clowns… poor mechanics are strictly minor league … shameful to see on field..