In the American League, as we approach the last two weeks of the regular season, none of the three division races offer much in the way of drama. Tampa Bay leads the AL East by eight games; the Chicago White Sox lead the AL Central by 11 ½; Houston leads the AL West by seven. The wild card slots, however, are still up for grads. Toronto, the Yankees and Boston are tied at 18 games over .500, with Oakland 3 ½ games back and Seattle four games back. That makes five teams that all have a shot at the two wild card positions. Given that Oakland and Seattle are in the AL West, they will have more matchups against easy opponents down the stretch, so they could catch up. In the National League, only 1 ½ games separate the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the West standings. Both have clinched spots in the postseason, but the division winner will not have to face that one-game play-in that the two wild cards have to go through. The NL EAst is also tight, with Atlanta leading Philadelphia by just 3 ½ games and the Mets by 5 ½. In the NL Central, Milwaukee has a 12 ½ game over St. Louis. The first wild card will go to the second-place team in the NL West; in the race for the second wild card, St. Louis leads San Diego by a game and Philadelphia by three games.
As we look toward the postseason, let’s take a look at some of the top MLB betting choices out there for you.
MLB News: Updated Playoff Picture: Favorites, Dark Horses & Upsets
San Francisco is set to win more than 100 games for the second time since 1962. The last time they won over 100 games, of course, they didn’t make the playoffs, because there was no wild card yet and they finished behind Atlanta in the NL West. Very few baseball people expected this sort of performance from the Giants, but they have fended off challenge after challenge from the Dodgers in the division, using some veterans who are playing their best baseball and some older stars who have turned back the clock. Can the Giants keep things going? The doubters from earlier this summer have faded into the background, but at some point you expect talent to win over heart. Right?
The Dodgers have gotten Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin back off the injured list, which means that their rotation is ready to do some major damage in a postseason series, where teams really only need three starters. Gonsolin returned against Arizona on Tuesday, starting a five-day stretch in which the starters permitted only three earned runs over 31 ⅓ combined innings. The manager’s hook is generally quicker in the postseason, but having five solid starters means having two extra long men in the bullpen.
Tampa Bay just saw Wander Franco hit the injured list with a strained hamstring. It was Franco’s bat that sparked the Rays to their run in the second half of the season. Taylor Walls comes up to fill Franco’s roster spot, but the Rays have shown considerable depth, particularly after the All-Star break. Mike Zunino, Joey Wendle, Randy Arozarena and Brandon Lowe all have bWAR numbers over 3, which bodes well for a postseason run.
Milwaukee got a huge boost out of Freddy Peralta’s start against Detroit on Tuesday. He returned from some shoulder issues and threw his best game since July. In six innings, he threw shutout ball, likely securing him the third starting pitcher slot in the postseason rotation.
Houston looks set for a matchup in the American League Division Series with the White Sox, on the basis of the standings. The Astros have gone to the playoffs five times in six seasons, but they have only advanced to the World Series twice, beating the Dodgers and losing to the Nationals. Is their starting pitching solid enough to get them through three playoff series?
Toronto is the hottest Mlb team right now, and the run differential is starting to catch up to its record. Toronto swept the Yankees in a four-game set in the Bronx last week — a series in which the Yankees never even held a lead. That had not happened to the Bronx Bombers since 1924. Jose Berrios has now started nine games for the Blue Jays since the trade deadline, putting up a 3.31 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.
MLB Betting Odds
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