19 games to go and counting...
Boston Mountain Publishing - September 16, 2022, 1:44 PM
BMPReport.com
We're talking about who's in, who's still hanging in there, and who's out of playoff contention as we head down the stretch. The 2022 Major League Baseball regular season will wrap-up on October 5th in 2022. This leaves most ballclubs with 19 or 20 games remaining on their schedule before the post-season starts up on October 7th.
ASTROS & DODGERS - The West is the Best...right now.
AL West
The Houston Astros will solidify a playoff berth within the week and are considered the favorites to capture the 1st-round bye for the AL. Justin Verlander has led the Astros starting rotation with 16 wins and a league best 1.84 ERA this season. He has been out for the last 3 weeks with a calf injury but returns to the bump tonight against the A's.
NL West
The Los Angeles Dodgers quietly clinched the NL West Division last weekend against the Padres. The Dodgers have been led by starting pitcher, Julio Urias, who has 16 wins and a 2.30 ERA on the season.
Projection: The Dodgers will get a first-round bye and an extra week off when the regular season wraps up on October 5th along with Astros.
Division's still up in the Air
AL East
3-Team race for the division.
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Rays
Currently, the Yankees are leading the division by 6.5 games over the Blue Jays, and 7 games separate the top three squads from taking the division.
The Blue Jays have the toughest schedule remaining. Each of their opponents are still in contention for the playoffs here on out.
The Orioles have the second most difficult schedule left in the regular season, and they will need all the help they can get to remain in the hunt for the Wild Card.
There are multiple head-to-head matchups down the stretch within the division, and each game, win or lose, will have an effect on the other ball clubs in the AL East.
Blue Jays vs. Yankees
3 home games for the Blue Jays
Sept. 26-28
Orioles vs. Blue Jays
3 home games for the Jay's starting tonight
3 home games for the Orioles
Yankees vs. Orioles
3 home games for the Yankees last weekend of the month.
Rays vs. Blue Jays
4 home games for the Rays against Toronto next week.
The Orioles and Red Sox are still mathematically in contention for a Wild-Card berth with a lot of work to do and fingers crossed.
AL Central
It's a 3-team race for the division. The Cleveland Guardians, Chicago White Sox, and Minnesota Twins are all in the hunt. Current situation: Win the division or you are out of the playoffs.
It's too close to call this early. Cleveland is up 3 games on Chicago and 4 on Minnesota today. There are games to be played between these three ball clubs, and each game is going to feel like playoff ball adding pressure to each pitch here on out.
Guardians vs. Twins
5 in Cleveland starting tonight
3 in Minnesota
Twins vs. White Sox
6 games remaining
3 in Minnesota
3 in Chicago.
White Sox vs. Guardians
4 games remaining
3 in Chicago mid-week
1 in Cleveland.
NL East
2-Team race for the division. Mets & Braves
Again, too close to call. There are three games between these two ball clubs in the regular season. They have a 3-game set in Atlanta next week which should be a hot ticket at Truist Park. The Mets are up 1 game with 17 games left in their season. The defending champs have 19 games remaining. Both teams should make the playoffs either way.
The Phillies are also active in the Wild-Card race adding another dimension to the NL East. Philadelphia has 7 games against the Braves, 3 in Atlanta starting tonight and 4 in Philly later in the week.
NL Central
The St. Louis Cardinals are on pace to win the division up 7.5 games over Milwaukee with 18 games left in the regular season. The Brewers and Cards do meet up for a final 2-game series in Milwaukee in a week and a half. Milwaukee will need to add to their Win column if they want to get into this year's Wild Card Series. The Brewers do have a below average schedule remaining other than a 6-game home stand against the New York Yankees starting tonight, and another 3 games against the New York Mets starting Monday.
Wild Card
4-Team Race for 3 spots in AL
#New York Yankees
Seattle Mariners
#Toronto Blue Jays
#Tampa Bay Rays
#Baltimore Orioles
# AL East
4 Teams, one will win the division and the automatic bid
NL
*New York Mets
*Atlanta Braves
*Philadelphia Phillies
San Diego Padres
*Milwaukee Brewers
*NL East
3 Teams, one will win the division and the automatic bid.
AL Leaders
Batting
Aaron Judge
New York Yankees
Batting Average: .310
Home Runs: 57
RBI's: 123
4th in Batting Average (X. Bogaerts: .317)
1st in HR's
1st in RBI's in the AL
Pitching
Justin Verlander
Houston Astros
ERA: 1.84 with 16 wins on the season.
Starting tonight
NL Leaders
Batting
Paul Goldschmidt
St. Louis Cardinals
Batting average: .324
Home Runs: 35
RBI's: 109
2nd in Batting Average (Fredie Freeman: .329)
2nd in Home Runs (Kyle Schwarber: 37)
1st in RBI's
Pitching
Julio Urias
Los Angeles Dodgers
ERA: 2.30 with 16 wins on the season.
The 2022 playoffs resume the 12-team format with the Top 2 teams in the American League and National League receiving a bye in the first round. The 3rd best record team will play the 6th best record team, as well the 4th and 5th best ranked teams will square off in a best 2 out of 3 home series for the higher ranked ball club to lead off the 2022 MLB Wild Card Series.
OUT
AL
Kansas City Royals
Texas Rangers
Los Angeles Angels
Detroit Tigers
Oakland Athletics
NL
Miami Marlins
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Washington Nationals
Pittsburgh Pirates
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