MLB Series To Watch 9/10-13
There are just over 20 games left in baseball’s regular season and the wild card and divisional races are closer than they’ve been in multiple divisions in quite some time. A quick update:
AL East- The Yankees led Baltimore by one game and Tampa Bay by two games.
AL Central- The White Sox lead the Tigers by two games.
AL West- Oakland trails Texas by 3 1/2 games.
AL Wild Card- The A’s and Orioles are in the postseason for now, but Baltimore leads the Rays and Angels by a single game and Detroit by 4 1/2 games.
NL Wild Card- Atlanta is pretty secure right now, but St. Louis leads the Dodgers by just 1 1/2 games and Pittsburgh by 2 1/2 games. Philadelphia and Milwaukee are six games out.
Series To Watch
Beginning Monday
Tigers @ White Sox- The Chicago could put some serious distance between themselves and Detroit in the AL Central in this four game series. A Justin Verlander-Chris Sale matchup on Thursday is the highlight of the series.
A’s @ Angels- Oakland wants to hold onto its wild card lead while Anaheim wants to break through and continue its torrid stretch after sweeping the A’s last week. Jarrod Parker and Dan Haren begin a four game series this week out west. One player to watch out for is Albert Pujols, who leads the major leagues with seven doubles in September. However, he’s yet to go yard this month.
Pirates @ Reds- Cincinnati is comfortably in the playoffs now, 10 games ahead of the teams gunning for a wild card spot. The Pirates desperately want a postseason berth and their run needs to start now. Wandy Rodriguez and Mat Latos on Monday is the series’ best matchup. One player to watch is the white-hot Jay Bruce, who is .448/.500/1.138 with five homers and 12 RBI’s in September.
Marlins @ Phillies- Philadelphia is still on the fringes of this race and need a sweep agains the lowly Marlins to hang around.
Series Beginning Tuesday
Rays @ Orioles- This is a battle for a playoff spot, and possibly the division title if the Yankees falter down the stretch. Wednesday’s game will be on ESPN2, but Tuesday will have the best pitching matchup with Matt Moore taking on Jason Hammel. One obvious player to watch is Mark Reynolds, who already has seven homers this month! It’s September 10!
Yankees @ Red Sox- New York has a golden opportunity to gain ground on division opponents no matter what, but the dysfunctional Red Sox would like nothing better than playing spoiler at this point. ESPN will show the game on Wednesday and MLB Network on Thursday, but Tuesday’s Hiroki Kuroda-Jon Lester matchup takes the cake.
