The Yankees pulled even with a homer of their own in the bottom of the first and, after two more blasts and some tidy work from their relief pitchers, won 8 to 4. ![]() Luis Severino, the 23-year-old flamethrower, gave up two home runs to the first four Minnesota Twins he faced, and the manager Joe Girardi removed him just one out into the game-a decision he’d never have made in August. In Tuesday night’s American League Wild Card contest, the New York Yankees fell behind in a hurry. Viewed from a standpoint of competitive integrity, it has undeniable flaws a lone game is a sample size that even the most forgiving statistician would call insignificant, hardly a fair basis by which to judge World Series hopefuls. ![]() It is a departure, for good or ill, a dose of hurry-up excitement shot into a sport that usually prefers to take its time. What both sides agree on is the Wild Card’s essential difference from the normal rhythms of baseball. It’s like eating the cake before the meal.” “Not every postseason series will include a winner-take-all game,” Kepner wrote. Tyler Kepner, writing for The New York Times between Tuesday’s game and Wednesday’s, ranked it as “one of the league’s most inspired decisions.” The New Yorker’s Roger Angell called it “deplorable.” Traditionalists bemoan the reducing of a season’s worth of gains and falters to a single fluky set of nine innings, while adrenaline junkies love it for the same reason. The setup, in which the two non-division winners in each league’s bracket start things off with a one-game play-in, has no casual admirers it usually provokes absolute disdain or total admiration. Those teams enter Saturday trailing the Guardians by 1.5 games and 2.5 games, respectively.Six years into its existence, Major League Baseball’s current Wild Card system still prompts plenty of chatter. The White Sox (6.5 games back) and Twins (7.5 games back) are technically hanging around in the AL Wild Card race, but both of them have their eyes fully set on the AL Central title. They are in a strong spot to end the longest playoff drought among major men’s North American pro sports teams (20 years). Beyond this weekend’s series versus the Braves and two games against San Diego, Seattle will end its regular season playing teams that have already set their October tee times. 1 spot as well, and they have the lowest remaining opponents’ win percentage in all of baseball. The Blue Jays and Rays will see each other nine times down the stretch, so that’s what will decide the top of the Wild Card standings. Nineteen of their final 25 games will be against teams with winning records, and they will end the regular season with a nine-game road trip that will take them through Cleveland, Houston and Boston. Tampa Bay got Wander Franco back in its lineup on Friday, and ace starter Shane McClanahan should return to the rotation next week, but the Rays have arguably the toughest road ahead of any contending team. With Saturday’s matinee loss to the Yankees, the Rays are 4.5 games back of the Yanks in the AL East and only one game ahead of the Jays for the top Wild Card spot. Baltimore is 20-22 against that trio this season. If the Orioles want to shock the world and make the postseason, they will have to topple their AL East nemeses as 15 of their final 24 contests will come against the Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox. Baltimore is just 6-6 over its past 12 games and has lost ground in the standings as the Rays (9-3), Blue Jays (9-3) and Mariners (8-4) have all played better baseball over that same span. The Orioles (73-65) are the final legitimate threat to claim a Wild Card spot, but they have cooled in recent weeks. Sweeping those series could go a long way. The Orioles face Toronto six more times this season. The only way Baltimore can claw in is through the Jays. That’s not easy when the other three teams are super close in the standings. There are around 20 games left for each team and the O’s are 5.0 games back. Things are tight between the three WC teams, but it does appear the Orioles won’t be making the postseason. ![]() Update - The Blue Jays and Rays split a double-header on Tuesday. 14Ģnd WC spot: Tampa Bay Rays (79-62) - 0.5 GBģrd WC spot: Seattle Mariners (79-62) - 0.5 GB ![]() Do the upstart O’s have enough time to catch up with just 24 games remaining? He’s a look at the Wild Card standings as of Saturday afternoon. We’ve seen some separation in the American League Wild Card standings recently as the three teams currently in Wild Card position have largely taken care of business, leaving the Baltimore Orioles four games back.
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