AL contenders check-in: Break up the Seattle Mariners

Despite a stressful series loss against the Houston Astros, the Orioles had a good week overall, increasing their lead in the AL East by a game. As we enter mid-August the team is starting to look like a near-lock for the postseason in some capacity. They remain Baseball Reference’s pick to be the top seed in the AL postseason. Is this real?

Elsewhere around the league, the Angels are out of the race unless something goes incredibly right for them and incredibly wrong for many other teams. But their division mates, the Mariners, are suddenly back into things, just 1.5 games back of the final wild card spot. And the Red Sox and Yankees are floundering without much way forward to the…