After sleeping, the standings change. Three teams are at war in one game. The race for the American League wild card in Major League Baseball’s American League West is on, with the Toronto Blue Jays, the “Korean Monster” Ryu Hyun-jin, and the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers battling it out in the American League.
It’s hard to tell. Texas has been on a roll lately, winning four straight against Toronto on the road. However, they’ve since lost four straight. Toronto has rebounded, sweeping a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox in the American League East to move into sole possession of the second American League wild card. In between, Seattle has sneaked in and is tied with Texas for third place.안전놀이터
The first, second, and third wild cards punch their tickets to the Fall Classic. First place is a virtual lock. The Tampa Bay Rays are currently in first place. They have a whopping 9.5-game lead over second-place Toronto. The Rays have their sights set on winning the American League East. They trail the Baltimore Orioles by 2.5 games. In any case, the first wild card spot is likely to go to either Tampa Bay or Baltimore.
There are three teams battling for second and third place. The fourth- and fifth-place New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are six and 7.5 games behind third-place Seattle and Texas, respectively. In effect, Toronto, Seattle, and Texas are fighting for two tickets. All three teams have 12 games left to play. Expect it to be a tight race to the end.
If I had to pick a favorite, I’d give Toronto the edge. They currently have the best record at 83 wins and 67 losses. They can still get a wild card if they maintain their current pace. The rest of their schedule is a bit better. They have six games against Tampa Bay and six against the Yankees. Of course, facing teams from the same division isn’t easy. However, Tampa Bay has already clinched a postseason berth, and the Yankees are far from strong this season.
Seattle and Texas will face off against each other seven times. They’ll play a three-game series at Texas from Sept. 23-25 and a four-game series at Seattle from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2. Those seven games will likely determine who makes the Fall Classic. Toronto is very fortunate to have Seattle and Texas on the schedule at the same time, as they are tough to beat. If they rack up the wins, at least one of Seattle and Texas will likely fall to the bottom of the standings.