Can the A’s actually catch the Astros in the AL West?
The red-hot Oakland Athletics have trimmed their deficit in the AL West to a single game, but can they keep going?
In one of the more shocking turns of events in Major League Baseball this year, the Oakland Athletics have been the best team in the entire league since the middle of June. The A’s were 34-36 on June 15 and 11.5 games back in the AL West. A five-game winning streak immediately followed, with a six-gamer coming the following week. Oakland has not looked back, and is 38-12 over their past 50 games, the exact same mark as the Boston Red Sox, who are on track to challenge the single-season MLB record for wins.
Yes, the A’s are for real, and their epic run has cut that 11.5-game hole all the way down to a single game. Is it time for the defending World Series champion Houston Astros to start worrying about their stranglehold on the division?
It had been mostly smooth sailing for the ‘Stros as their title defense kicked off. They entered the All-Star break at 64-35 with a very comfortable five-game lead. The second half has not been nearly as kind. Houston is just 9-12 since play resumed and has been decimated by a rash of injuries that has taken out George Springer, Jose Altuve, Brian McCann and Lance McCullers.
The Astros were a dominant force at the plate last year, but have “slumped” to just fifth in the American League in runs scored. The big story has been the spin-rate monster trio of Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton, who are all striking out over 11 batters per nine. The Astros have the best starter ERA in baseball by nearly a quarter of a run.
Oakland, with their slugging lineup, dominant bullpen and unheralded rotation, has been following a different formula. The front office has smartly added multiple quality relievers over the past month like Jeurys Familia, Fernando Rodney and Shawn Kelley. There isn’t much name recognition up and down the roster, but Matt Chapman looks like the second coming of Josh Donaldson at third base, and definitely won’t be traded for Brett Lawrie any time soon. Jed Lowrie continues his late-career surge at second base, and Khris Davis just keeps hitting dingers. The A’s don’t have many stars, but their offense is on equal footing with the Astros. They have scored only 12 fewer runs than the defending champs on the year (but 39 more in the second half) and have a better OPS.
This division race, which appeared all but locked up in June, is now a dead heat, with the A’s playing better than almost anyone in the league. Without Altuve, Springer and McCann, Oakland is clearly the pick for better lineup. The A’s have the superior bullpen as well. The rotation edge still goes to the Astros, but the A’s actually have the better ERA in the second half. Brett Anderson, Edwin Jackson, Trevor Cahill and Mike Fiers have all stepped up to join Sean Manaea in turning in performances worthy of a legitimate playoff contender.
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The A’s are actually more than just a playoff contender. They have to be taken seriously as a threat to take the whole American League. They’re that good, or at least that red-hot right now. Of course, they can overrun the Astros over the final six weeks of the regular season. The A’s have been a runaway freight train for two months now and show no signs of slowing down. With six games remaining against Houston and eight left against the Seattle Mariners, Oakland controls their own destiny, and it should not shock anyone if they are able to blow right past the Astros to shock the world. In a season where every division race in the American League looked like a snoozer, the most unlikely contender of all is set to deliver a battle all the way to the finish.