Fansided

MLB Wild Card Standings: Rays surge into playoff slot

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Jun 10, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Tim Beckham (1) celebrates as he scores during the sixth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 10, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Tim Beckham (1) celebrates as he scores during the sixth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Jun 9, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) reacts after defeating the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 9, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) reacts after defeating the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

AL Wild Card Standings

Boston Red Sox (34-28, .548, +2)

The Red Sox held on to their lead atop the AL Wild Card Standings with a .500 week that included a series loss in the Bronx, and two wins in three games back at Fenway. Chris Sale improved to 8-2 with a 2.97 ERA after he limited the Tigers to three runs over seven innings June 10. Sale’s seven strikeouts pushed his major league lead to 126, two ahead of Max Scherzer. Craig Kimbrel struck out seven hitters in 2.1 innings of work.

Cleveland Indians (31-29, .517, – GB)

Cleveland held on to the second Wild Card spot, but shares it once again. The back end of the bullpen remains largely unhittable, as Andrew Miller lowered his ERA to 0.29 and his WHIP to 0.61 after allowing a single hit in four innings across three appearances last week.

Tampa Bay Rays (34-32, .515, – GB)

The Rays don’t have a dominant presence in the bullpen, and lost star center fielder Kevin Kiermaier to injury, but were still able to climb into a playoff position with a winning week. Kiermaier’s replacement, Mallex Smith, provided a spark, including three hits Sunday, as Tampa Bay picked up series wins over the White Sox and A’s.

Baltimore Orioles (31-30, .508, 0.5 GB)

Los Angeles Angels (33-33, .500, 1 GB)

Toronto Blue Jays (31-32, .492, 1.5 GB)

Seattle Mariners (31-33, .484, 2 GB)

Texas Rangers (30-32, .484, 2 GB)

Detroit Tigers (30-32, .484, 2 GB)

Kansas City Royals (28-34, .452, 4 GB)

Oakland Athletics (27-36, .429, 5.5 GB)

Chicago White Sox (26-35, .426, 5.5 GB)

It may be hard to believe given their past success, but the Orioles might not be a good baseball team. Baltimore fell out of a postseason position for the first time all season after an ugly weekend sweep at the hands of the Yankees. The Orioles were outscored 38-8 in three games, and have been outscored by 40 runs this season. Only the Royals, A’s, Braves, Phillies, Giants and Padres have posted a worse run differential.

Home/MLB