The American League’s playoff picture has been outlined for months now. Sure, there’s still some squishiness around the center—Red Sox or Yankees?—but the boundaries, just halfway through the season, are all but officially settled. In terms of simple probability, there’s not much room for surprises here, and in terms of sheer practicality, there’s far less.
Or, at least, that appeared to be the case as recently as a week ago. But Oakland’s recent hot streak has pushed just the tiniest bit of ambiguity into the room. Currently riding a 19–5 run, they’re now just five games out of the second wild card spot.