Each week on Camden Chat, we’ve been checking in on the American League postseason contenders. Six teams are solidifying their bids for the playoffs, but two division races are very much up in the air at the moment. Where will the Orioles land when it’s all said and done?
Each week on Camden Chat, we’ve been checking in on the American League postseason contenders. Six teams are solidifying their bids for the playoffs, but two division races are very much up in the air at the moment. Where will the Orioles land when it’s all said and done?
AL East
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 78 | 56 | 0.582 | — |
| ORIOLES | 77 | 58 | 0.57 | 1.5 |
The Orioles couldn’t overtake the Yankees for first place this past week, which is not a surprise considering each team’s opponents. The Yanks got to face the sub-.500 Rockies and Nationals, and even though they went a mediocre 3-3 during that stretch, it was enough to fend off an O’s team that had to play seven against the division-leading Astros and Dodgers, dropping four of them.
The Yankees will continue to stroll through an easy stretch of competition, with their next six games coming against the Cardinals, a .500 team that’s slipping out of the NL wild card race, and the Rangers, who fell out of contention quite some time ago. But the Orioles get a welcome reprieve in their schedule, too, with three games against the 50-85 Rockies and then three against the 31-104 White Sox. No, that record is not a typo. 31-104.
I know I should be feeling confident about the Orioles’ upcoming week of games, but honestly I’m kind of terrified. On paper it should be a great opportunity for them to finally stack some wins, but I can absolutely picture something going horribly wrong and the O’s going, like, 2-4 in that stretch. If the O’s lose even one game to the White Sox, well, I advise you to stay away from social media because it’s going to be an ugly scene.
AL Wild Card
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORIOLES | 77 | 58 | 0.57 | (+)4 |
| Kansas City Royals | 75 | 60 | 0.556 | (+)2 |
| Minnesota Twins | 72 | 61 | 0.541 | — |
| Boston Red Sox | 69 | 65 | 0.515 | 3.5 |
| Seattle Mariners | 68 | 66 | 0.507 | 4.5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 68 | 67 | 0.504 | 5 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 66 | 67 | 0.496 | 6 |
The heavyweight matchup of the week was between the Guardians and Royals, fighting for first place in the AL Central, and it was Kansas City that answered the call. The Royals stunned the Guards by winning the first three games of the series, temporarily pulling into a first-place tie, before Cleveland rallied back from a 5-2 seventh-inning deficit in the finale to avert a sweep.
This competition could go down to the wire, and while both clubs will probably make the postseason regardless, no doubt they’d prefer to win the division — and likely get a first-round bye — rather than settling for a wild card. The Guardians and Royals will play each other again this coming week in Kansas City. Before that, the Royals face a challenging four-game series in Houston (where they lost the opener last night) while the Guardians get a cakewalk by facing the lowly Pirates.
AL East
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 78 | 56 | 0.582 | — |
| ORIOLES | 77 | 58 | 0.57 | 1.5 |
The Orioles couldn’t overtake the Yankees for first place this past week, which is not a surprise considering each team’s opponents. The Yanks got to face the sub-.500 Rockies and Nationals, and even though they went a mediocre 3-3 during that stretch, it was enough to fend off an O’s team that had to play seven against the division-leading Astros and Dodgers, dropping four of them.
The Yankees will continue to stroll through an easy stretch of competition, with their next six games coming against the Cardinals, a .500 team that’s slipping out of the NL wild card race, and the Rangers, who fell out of contention quite some time ago. But the Orioles get a welcome reprieve in their schedule, too, with three games against the 50-85 Rockies and then three against the 31-104 White Sox. No, that record is not a typo. 31-104.
I know I should be feeling confident about the Orioles’ upcoming week of games, but honestly I’m kind of terrified. On paper it should be a great opportunity for them to finally stack some wins, but I can absolutely picture something going horribly wrong and the O’s going, like, 2-4 in that stretch. If the O’s lose even one game to the White Sox, well, I advise you to stay away from social media because it’s going to be an ugly scene.
AL Wild Card
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORIOLES | 77 | 58 | 0.57 | (+)4 |
| Kansas City Royals | 75 | 60 | 0.556 | (+)2 |
| Minnesota Twins | 72 | 61 | 0.541 | — |
| Boston Red Sox | 69 | 65 | 0.515 | 3.5 |
| Seattle Mariners | 68 | 66 | 0.507 | 4.5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 68 | 67 | 0.504 | 5 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 66 | 67 | 0.496 | 6 |
The heavyweight matchup of the week was between the Guardians and Royals, fighting for first place in the AL Central, and it was Kansas City that answered the call. The Royals stunned the Guards by winning the first three games of the series, temporarily pulling into a first-place tie, before Cleveland rallied back from a 5-2 seventh-inning deficit in the finale to avert a sweep.
This competition could go down to the wire, and while both clubs will probably make the postseason regardless, no doubt they’d prefer to win the division — and likely get a first-round bye — rather than settling for a wild card. The Guardians and Royals will play each other again this coming week in Kansas City. Before that, the Royals face a challenging four-game series in Houston (where they lost the opener last night) while the Guardians get a cakewalk by facing the lowly Pirates.
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