By Jordan Long
The Major League Baseball season is into its’ final month of the season. Of course, every team’s goal is to play in October with a chance to win the World Series. The American League Wild Card game will be on October 5th while the National League is on October 6th. Divisional and Wild Card races are heating up.
In the American League East, it hasn’t been much of a race. The Tampa Bay Rays lead the New York Yankees by 7.5 games. It looks like it is Tampa Bay’s division. Then again anything can happen. The Rays could fall off and have a poor ending to the year. New York could catch fire and find a way to win the division but for right now the Rays’ lead is safe.
In the American League Central, it is pretty much locked up by the Chicago White Sox. The Chicago White Sox have a healthy lead of 9.5 games over the Cleveland Indians. The White Sox are the top team in that division and should stay there. Chicago’s goal is not to win the Division although that is step one but to win the World Series. They are most likely going to capture the American League Central. They are the best team in the division and are looking to do damage in the postseason.
The American League West is the tightest in the American League. The Houston Astros head into the final month with a 4.5 lead over the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics. The Astros must keep winning and hope Seattle or Oakland go away. The Astros can’t have a losing streak because Seattle and Oakland are too good. They could take advantage and cut the lead of the Astros to 1 or 2 games. Anything is possible. The Astros should still stay on top, but they don’t have a safe lead.
The National League East has one of the tightest divisional races. The Atlanta Braves are 2 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. Both teams are playing well. It could come down to the final series of the year as they face each other for a 3-game set which is on September 28th and ends on September 30th. That final series could be the biggest of the year for both. It would be a playoff-like atmosphere if the Division is still up in the air.
The National League Central is pretty much wrapped up by the Milwaukee Brewers. They have the largest advantage in all of baseball as they sit 11 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds. There is no way the Brewers are going to fall off the map and let the Reds climb back. The Brewers aren’t playing for anything at this point but they would still like to play their best baseball this month and head into the playoffs with momentum.
The National League West will take this month to determine the winner. The San Francisco Giants and the L.A. Dodgers are neck and neck. The Giants hold a 1 game lead over the Dodgers. Many experts predicted the Dodgers to win the Division and the San Diego Padres to stay with them. The Giants are keeping pace and are trying to hold off the Dodgers for the division. No matter what both teams are going to be in the playoffs. The question is who will win the National League West? It could be they tie and end up with a one game tiebreaker for the division to decide who will be the wild card.
In the American League, the Wild Card leaders are the Yankees and the Red Sox. Boston is 3 games up on Seattle. That would be one great Wild Card game between two heated and long-standing rivals. Then again Seattle could ruin the party if they can somehow win games and the Red Sox blow it.
In the National League, the Dodgers are the first Wild Card team. It will either be them or the Giants. After that, it is the Padres who are the 2nd wild card team. They are only a half game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies are 2.5 games back and St. Louis is 3. The Padres have to stay hot to claim the playoff berth, but if not the Reds, Phillies or St. Louis could end up in the Wild Card game.
The hunt for October is on. It is going to be one exciting month for baseball. This is the time of year a franchise wants to play their best baseball and be in important games. Expect to see some of these teams in the postseason and who knows, maybe even advance their way to the World Series. That is every franchise’s dream.
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