By mid-August we are also in the middle of the home stretch of the season.
Unlike in previous years, it is a three-horse race in the AL Central: The Twins and the Royals are chasing Cleveland and only four games separate the individual teams.
Minnesota and Kansas City are separated by just half a game and a massive three-game series is on the horizon. This time next week, the Twins could be leading the division or fighting for survival in third place.
There’s also a chance we could be exactly where we are now. A four-game series against Cleveland left the standings tied and no team closer to winning the division than they were last week.
All of this is to say that postseason racing will be more exciting as everyone slowly runs out of roads to continue racing on.
AL Central Table
|
team |
Record |
Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
|
Cleveland Guardian |
69-49 |
— |
|
Minnesota Twins |
65-52 |
3.5 |
|
Kansas City Royals |
65-53 |
4.0 |
|
Detroit Tigers |
55-63 |
14 |
|
Chicago White Sox |
28-91 |
41.5 |
The separation from Cleveland is both good news and bad news.
The Twins didn’t lose any ground in the division, but they didn’t gain any either. Things are right where they were when the series began on Friday, which is actually a big win for Minnesota given the number of injuries.
The flip side of that is that the same is true for Kansas City. Minnesota hasn’t been able to extend the gap on the Royals, but could do so with a big series against them starting Monday.
It just goes to show how close the race in the AL Central is and how much chaos will reign from now until the end of September.
AL Wild Card Table
|
team |
Record |
Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
|
New York Yankees |
70-49 |
— |
|
Minnesota Twins |
65-52 |
— |
|
Kansas City Royals |
65-53 |
— |
|
Boston Red Sox |
62-55 |
3.0 |
|
Seattle Mariners |
62-56 |
3.0 |
|
Tampa Bay Rays |
59-58 |
5.5 |
|
Texas Rangers |
55-63 |
10.0 |
|
Detroit Tigers |
55-63 |
10.0 |
Right now, the Twins are considered a wild card team, but the margin for error is slim. Two teams to keep an eye on are Kansas City and Boston, as Minnesota is only 3.5 games away from being eliminated from the playoffs.
It’s going to be an exciting ride until the end of the season, and as things stand, there seem to be more opportunities for the Twins to secure a ticket to the postseason than to miss it.
Here’s what it would look like if everything stayed the same for the rest of the season:
Fortunately, there is still plenty of time for changes to happen, and they will certainly occur outside of the tight race for the AL Central spot.
The battle is even tighter in the AL East, where the Yankees and Orioles will be neck and neck for the remainder of the race to win the division. Whoever comes out on top in that race will almost certainly have the best record in the American League and secure first place.
Houston has since crept back to the top spot in the West, but will play in the Wild Card round because it has the worst record among division winners. That’s bad news for the Royals, and potentially even worse news for the rest of the AL.
Minnesota is focused solely on winning the AL Central title, which would not only give them a chance to get a first-round bye, but also avoid an opening series against the Yankees.
More news and rumors about the Minnesota Twins
