MLB Wild Card Standings: Rays surge into playoff slot
The American League Wild Card standings are tight from top to bottom, but the Tampa Bay Rays have emerged as a legitimate postseason contender.
Only one team in the American League East has a record below .500, making it arguably the toughest division in the major leagues. The last-place Toronto Blue Jays are 31-32, and 7.5 games out of first. Toronto is just 1.5 games out of the second AL Wild Card spot.
The Yankees sit atop the division by four games. New York’s five-game win streak, with a dominant weekend sweep over the Orioles serving as an exclamation point, gave the Yankees their largest lead of the season. Conversely, Baltimore’s four straight losses cost them the lead for the second Wild Card spot heading into Monday.
It’s the first time all season the O’s are out of a playoff spot. And it’s the first time since April 9 the Tampa Bay Rays are in position to make it to the postseason.
Powered by a lineup that ranks second in the big leagues with 99 home runs, the Rays have kept their heads above water in the division, and have gained significant ground in the Wild Card standings. Corey Dickerson leads the team in hitting, posting a .328/.367/.959 slash as a leadoff man. Dickerson’s 14 home runs rank second on the team behind Logan Morrison (17), and his 31 RBI are tied with Tim Beckham for third on the team behind Morrison and Steven Souza, who share the lead with 38, and Evan Longoria, who has driven in 31.
Simply put, Dickerson has been the best overall hitter in a lineup that features quite a few offensive weapons. Led by ace Chris Archer, the pitching staff has posted a decent 4.05 team ERA that ranks fifth in the AL, and Alex Colome is tied for the league lead with 18 saves.
Time will tell whether or not they can overcome the loss of star center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, who suffered a hip injury last week that is expected to cost him roughly two months, but if they keep hitting, the Rays have a well-rounded team capable of competing in baseball’s toughest division.
American League Division Leaders
AL East
New York Yankees (37-23, .617)
The Yankees continued to slug their way to a winning week. After dropping the series opener with the Red Sox 5-4 at home, New York won its next five games by a combined 55-6, including a three-game weekend sweep of the Orioles.
Gary Sanchez showed the power that made him a household name as a rookie last year, hitting four home runs and driving in 13 in six games. Both numbers led the American League and tied Scooter Gennett (he of the four-homer game) for the best in baseball. Aaron Judge hit .500/.600/1.000 with three homers, including two Sunday, one of which traveled an estimated 496 feet.
AL Central
Minnesota Twins (32-27, .542)
As they prepare to pick No. 1 overall in this week’s draft — thanks to the terrible 59-103 record the club posted last season — the 2017 Twins maintain their lead atop the AL Central, 1.5 games ahead of the AL pennant-holding Indians.
Minnesota’s turnaround this season can be attributed to a slightly improved pitching staff and a much better defense. Ervin Santana continues to amaze, and improved to 8-3 with a 2.20 ERA after tossing a four-hit shutout June 9 against the Giants.
AL West
Houston Astros (44-20, .688)
Houston ran its winning streak to 11 games before finally losing the second game of a four-game series in Kansas City last week. After the split in KC and two losses in three games against the division rival Angels over the weekend, the Astros maintained their position as the best team in baseball in terms of record, but lost their grip on the record of dominance: Houston’s plus-98 run differential is again second to the Yankees, who have outscored their opponents by 115 runs.