Six divisions, four runaways, one battle to see which club proves less feeble.
Thank goodness for the American League Central.
Never thought you’d be hearing that, eh? Yet, that’s where most of the tension will be focused over the final two weeks of this Major League Baseball season – beginning with a long-anticipated head-to-head battle.
The surprising Chicago White Sox are hanging by a thread, taking a half-game Central lead to Cleveland where the always-resilient Guardians aim to steal off with their third consecutive division title.
The clash on the Cuyahoga highlights four series with significant playoff ramifications this week:
Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians
When: Monday-Wednesday, Progressive Field
Key matchup: Tuesday – White Sox RH Davis Martin vs. Guardians LH Foster
Griffin
Outlook: A consequence of the more-balanced schedule that features beaucoup interleague play is that division rivals often do not play each other in September. Not this time, baby!
The White Sox have held at least a share of the AL Central lead since July 4, with the Guardians yapping at their heels the whole time. Now, the dog has caught up to the car: Chicago holds just a half-game lead entering this tussle. And on paper, all the pitching matchups favor Cleveland.
Lefty Sean Newcomb will try to battle Cleveland right-hander Gavin Williams, whose 228 strikeouts are tied for the major league lead, on Monday, Sept. 14. The Martin-Griffin matchup is also intriguing; they strike out 7.6 and 8.1 batters per nine, respectively, and require exquisite command to be effective. Not much margin for error.
Parker Messick, the Guardians left-hander who’s a worthy Rookie of the Year candidate, will face a TBD White Sox starter in the Wednesday afternoon finale (ESPN). The Guardians would need a sweep to win the season series, which of course may loom large.
If the season ended now – and it does not – both teams would make the playoffs; Cleveland has a one-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild card spot. The Guardians also lost the season series to the Blue Jays. Speaking of which…
Toronto Blue Jays at Texas Rangers
When: Friday-Sunday, Globe Life Field
Key matchup: Friday – Blue Jays RH Dylan Cease vs. Rangers RH Kumar Rocker
Outlook: Ah, isn’t this the life: A 75-75 team just a game out of a wild card spot, and a 74-76 squad just a game out of the division lead. Welcome to Blue Jays-Rangers, where a winning record may not be a prerequisite to make the playoffs.
The Blue Jays, at least, are trending positively, not only winning a de facto elimination series against Baltimore but also learning that 2025 playoff hero Trey Yesavage will likely return to the rotation this week – probably Tuesday – after August arthroscopic knee surgery. That will be a big boost to their rotation as they can likely skip Spencer Arrighetti’s turn.
Either way, the Rangers will get both Cease and trade deadline prize José Soriano, giving Toronto a significant edge in this series. The Blue Jays haven’t been two games over .500 since April 1, the Rangers since July 28. The odds are stacked against Texas this week, with the Red Sox preceding the Blue Jays into Arlington.
Atlanta Braves at Houston Astros
When: Friday-Sunday, Daikin Park
Key matchup: Friday – Braves LH Chris Sale vs. Astros RH Hayden Wesneski
Outlook: There’s a chance the Braves may soil the carpet in the visiting clubhouse with champagne this weekend, as they take a magic number of four to clinch a playoff berth and seven to clinch the NL East into this week. It’s more likely they’ll wrap up the playoff spot at Wrigley Field, while the division may have to wait until early next week. That said, the Braves could be closing in on a marginally competitive situation: The division salted away and a first-round bye too far out of reach.
Atlanta remains three games behind the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed, certainly an achievable goal in these last 12 games. Yet, it will be interesting to see how they handle Sale, the 37-year-old ace, in his last regular season starts. They’ve given him a week’s rest between starts and he threw 109, 103 and 94 pitches, respectively, his past three outings, all key victories over the Dodgers and Phillies, twice.
The Astros took it on the chin at Tampa Bay, perhaps a grim harbinger of their playoff fate should they hold onto their one-game cushion over the Rangers. Other than this series, the schedule is in their favor: Three games against Kansas City on the front half of this week, Atlanta and then a season-ending trip to Seattle and Yolo County to finish the schedule against the last-place Athletics.
New York Yankees at Arizona Diamondbacks
When: Friday-Sunday, Chase Field
Key matchup: Saturday – Yankees RH Cam Schlittler vs. Diamondbacks LH Eduardo Rodriguez
Outlook: Twenty-five years after Mariano Rivera’s blown save in the desert, these clubs renew acquaintances with much smaller, though not inconsequential, stakes. Can’t fault either club for looking ahead a bit: After leaving Chase Field, the Yankees return home for a four-game series against first-place Tampa Bay, which holds a four-game lead in the AL East . And the Diamondbacks finish the season with three games at San Diego, the club directly above them in the wild-card standings.
But Arizona can’t afford to fall much further behind. The Diamondbacks are 2½ games out of a playoff spot, and the Padres have four games this week at last-place Colorado. Saturday’s matchup should be dandy. Schlittler’s 1.95 ERA is tied with Jacob Misiorowski for the major league lead, while Rodriguez’s 2.62 mark is tied for third in the NL.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White Sox-Guardians clash highlights four MLB pennant race showdowns
