AL West race historically close – MLB.com

AL West race historically close

\n”, “providerName”: “Twitter”, “providerUrl”: “https://twitter.com”, “type”: “oembed”, “width”:550, “contentType”: “rich”},{ “__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “Before we look at each team, here’s an explanation of how a potential tiebreaker would work if all three finished with the same record after 162 games:\n\ n* If a team If a team finishes with a better head-to-head record against each of the other two teams, that team would be the AL West champions. That’s not the case right now, which underlines how close this race is. Texas leads Seattle 5-1 (seven games to go between the two), Seattle leads Houston 8-2 (three games to go), and Houston leads Texas 6-4 (three games to go).\n\n* If this continued and each team had a better head-to-head record over the other, the tiebreaker would be determined by the combined record of the tied teams. Currently, Texas is 9-7 (.563 winning percentage), Seattle is 9-7 (.563) and Houston is 8-12 (.400). In this case, the Rangers would be the division winner since they are tied with the Mariners and currently have a better head-to-head record against Seattle.\n \n* If this three-way tie also included a wild card spot, then Seattle would position based on its head-to-head record against Houston received a case for and against every AL West contender”,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content=”Here’s a look at each team for the Rest of the way:\n\n\ \*\\*\\*\\*\\*\n\n**MARINERS (76-57)**\n\n**Playoff odds (FanGraphs): ** 86.3% \n**Division title odds:** 32.3% \n**Record vs. TEX:** 1-5 \n**Record vs. HOU:** 8-2 \n* *Remaining Schedule:** 3 at NYM, 3 at CIN, 4 at TB, 3 vs. LAA, 3 vs. LAD, 3 at OAK, 3, at TEX, 3 vs. HOU, 4 vs. TEX \n**Strength of Schedule: ** .524 Winning Percentage (seventh- (Toughest in MLB)\n\nAfter spending almost all of the first four months taking one step forward and then one step back, the Mariners have since the hottest team in the AL for over a month. Seattle spent 23 days at .500 this year — still an MLB high — but it hasn’t since July 24, when it was 50-50 and 8 1/2 games out of games one and five more represented in the standings 1/2 games away from the final AL Wild Card spot.\n\nWould the Mariners have preferred to get started earlier? Naturally. But with confidence in their process and the long-standing trust between players and coaches, Seattle hasn’t let up. “It’s going to be a wild race for sure,” manager Scott Servais said. “And that’s fun. Every game means something. And if you look back to a few months ago, did you think, “Oh God, what do we have to do to make these games important in September?” Imagine: We’ve done enough to make them important, really important close. … That’s what September baseball is all about.”\n\nThe biggest factor in their turnaround was Julio Rodríguez, who played like an MVP, hitting .429/.474/.724 (1.198 OPS) with seven home runs, 10 doubles, 30 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in August. And a lingering nerve problem in his left foot that sidelined him in the last two games of the month could weigh heavily on their postseason pursuit.\n\n\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\ n\n **ASTROS (77-58)**\n\n**Playoff odds (FanGraphs):** 94.5% \n**Division title odds:** 53.1% \n** Record vs. SEA:** 2 -8 \n**Record vs. TEX:** 6-4 \n**Remaining Schedule:** 3 vs. NYY, 3 at TEX, 3 vs. SD, 3 vs. OAK, 3 at KC, 3 vs . BAL, 3 vs. KC, 3 at SEA, 3 at ARI \n**Strength of the Game:** .459 Win Percentage (3rd lightest place in MLB)\n\nThe Astros’ odds of winning their sixth league In the last seven years, the title-holders have improved with a five-game winning streak, which they capped with a win over the Red Sox on Wednesday. After three home games this weekend against the Yankees and a crucial three-game series at the Rangers starting Monday, Houston’s schedule is getting really favorable.\n\nThe reigning World Series champion has six games left against the last-place Royals, so three games remaining against the last-place A’s and three games with the Padres, who are in fourth place in the NL West. During that time, they will host Baltimore, the AL East’s top-ranked team, but Houston won three of four games in Baltimore in August. ,”contentDate”: “2023-08-27T19:44:37.732Z”, “preferredPlaybackScenarioURL({\”preferredPlaybacks\”:\”mp4AvcPlayback\”})”: “https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb. “Justin Verlander hits seven batters in five scoreless innings Deployment, which recorded his 100th career win at Comerica Park.[{“__typename”:”GameTag”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-117″,”title”:”Houston Astros”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:117″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-434378″,”title”:”Justin Verlander”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:434378″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”in-game-highlight”,”title”:”in-game highlight”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”game-action-tracking”,”title”:”game action tracking”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”highlight”,”title”:”highlight”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”pitching”,”title”:”pitching”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”highlight-reel-starting-pitching”,”title”:”highlight reel starting pitching”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”highlight-reel-pitching”,”title”:”highlight reel pitching”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”milestone”,”title”:”milestone”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”eclat-feed”,”title”:”Eclat feed”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”international-feed”,”title”:”International Partner feed”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”fan-duel”,”title”:”Fan Duel”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”imagen-feed”,”title”:”Imagen feed”,”type”:”taxonomy”}],”thumbnail”:{“__typename”: “Thumbnail”, “templateUrl”: https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/iy9rzzsepmlre0noti6s”},”title” : “Justin Verlander rings up seven”,relativeSiteUrl”:”/video/justin-verlander-rings-up-seven”},{“__typename”:Markdown”,”content”The Astros struggled with injuries for a long time. The season ended with the Star offensive players Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez, who were out for extended periods, and veteran outfielder Michael Brantley finally returned after shoulder surgery to make his 2023 debut on Tuesday. Houston is as healthy as it has been all season and was joined by Justin Verlander throws like ace in his return to the Astros.\n\n• [Altuve’s big presence has Astros at height of their game](https://www.mlb.com/news/jose-altuve-delivering-in-big-way-for-astros)\n\n“We have been there and done this for a long time, the last seven years closer Ryan Pressly said. “I think this is kind of when we turn it on. This team is built to win championships and go deep into the playoffs. We know what it takes to get there and we just have to string together good innings and good at-bats and just keep doing what we’re doing and we’ll be good to go.”\n\n– _Brian McTaggart_\n\n \\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\n\n**RANGERS (75-58)**\n\n**Playoff odds (FanGraphs):** 71.1% \n **Division title odds:** 14.6% \n**Record vs. SEA:** 5-1 \n**Record vs. HOU:** 4-6 \n**Remaining schedule:** 3 vs. MIN; 3 vs. HOU; 3 against OAK; 4 at TOR; 3 in CLE; 3 against BOS; 3 against SEA; 3 at LAA; 4 at SEA \n**Strength of Schedule:** .507 winning percentage (15th easiest/hardest in MLB)\n\nThe Rangers’ largest lead at the top of the division grew to 6 1/2 games on June 23 . But last week, after an eight-game losing streak, they fell behind for the first time since April.\n\nEvery team that plays Texas in September, except Oakland, is theoretically still in playoff contention. The Rangers will need to be at their best if they want to win the division for the first time since 2016. “2023-08-27T01:40:28.51Z”, “preferredPlaybackScenarioURL({\”preferredPlaybacks\”:\”mp4AvcPlayback\”})”: “https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023 /2023-08/26/1b5264c5-693fd554-5c89baf6-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4”, “type”: “video”, “description”: “Max Scherzer struck out 10 over seven innings in his start against the Twins” , “displayAsVideoGif”:false, “duration”: “00:01:02”, “slug”: “max-scherzer-s-ten-strikeouts”, “tags”:[{“__typename”:”GameTag”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-140″,”title”:”Texas Rangers”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:140″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-453286″,”title”:”Max Scherzer”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:453286″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”in-game-highlight”,”title”:”in-game highlight”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”highlight”,”title”:”highlight”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”game-action-tracking”,”title”:”game action tracking”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”pitching”,”title”:”pitching”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”highlight-reel-starting-pitching”,”title”:”highlight reel starting pitching”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”imagen-feed”,”title”:”Imagen feed”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”samsung-vod”,”title”:”Samsung VOD”,”type”:”taxonomy”}],”thumbnail”:{“__typename”: “Thumbnail”, “templateUrl”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/bfnac0ece5rdfdmnlvrl”}, “title” :”Max Scherzer’s 10 Strikeouts”, “relativeSiteUrl”:/video/max-scherzer-s-ten-strikeouts”},{“__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “I’m honest, I don’t want to look \ \[the standings\\] because that’s how we’re playing right now,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “If you win now and play great baseball, you’ll probably look a little better, but right now we have to worry about what’s going on with us. And it didn’t go very well, let’s be honest.\n\n“That was a really tough track in every way. So what’s the point of looking at other results if we don’t win? It does not matter. So we have to win ball games. But it’s human nature to look, so I’m sure the guys are looking. But it won’t do you any good if a team in your division loses and you can’t win a game.”\n\n– _Kennedi Landry_”,”type”:”text”}],”contentType”: “news”, “subHeadline”:null, “summary”: “There’s still a whole month left and a lot can still happen or change in the grand scheme of the postseason.” But at this rate, it sure looks like the race will be the American League West comes down to the very last games of the season.\nEarly Thursday, when all three teams competed”,”tagline({\”formatString\”:\ “none\”})”:null,”tags”:[{“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”daniel-kramer”,”title”:”Daniel Kramer”,”type”:”contributor”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-136″,”title”:”Seattle Mariners”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:136″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-117″,”title”:”Houston Astros”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:117″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-140″,”title”:”Texas Rangers”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:140″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”}]”type”: “story”, “thumbnail”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/lwginbp11q5nwuspvqf7”, “title”: “AL West race historic close “}},”Team:136”:{“__typename”:”Team”,”id”:136},”Person:677594″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:677594},” Team :117″:{“__typename”:”Team”,”id”:117},”Person:434378″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:434378},”Team:140″:{ ” __typename”: “Team”, “id”: 140}, “Person: 453286”: {“__typename: “Person”, “id”: 453286}}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId”: “mlbglobal08, mlbcom08” , “linkInternalFilters”: “mlb”} window.globalState = {“tracking_title”: “Major League Baseball”, “lang”: “en”} window.appId = ” /*–>*/