The Tampa Bay Rays are coming off a big series victory against the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays locked in the head to head tiebreaker while also keeping themselves ahead of the Orioles in the wild card standings. I couldn’t have imagined typing those words in 2022, but here we are.
There are eight teams playing for four American League playoff spots with the Houston Astros and New York Yankees 10.0 plus game leads in their division as we near September. Unless you are the 2011 Boston Red Sox or Atlanta Braves that is a nearly insurmountable lead.
The American League Central Cleveland Guardians would be tied with the Seattle Mariners for the second wild card sitting 0.