The American League playoff race has reached the point where the calendar matters almost as much as the standings. Sportsnet’s Zach Worden examined the remaining schedules for the wild-card contenders and found a field in which opportunity is distributed unevenly.
As of the report, Texas and Cleveland were tied for the third wild-card position, with Toronto 1.5 games behind. The Blue Jays’ remaining opponents carried a combined .464 winning percentage, while Cleveland’s schedule was only slightly harder at .465. Seattle had the softest remaining schedule in baseball, but first had to overcome a larger standings deficit. Texas faced the American League’s most difficult closing slate.
None of that is a prediction. A favourable schedule only becomes useful when a club wins the games it is expected to win, and head-to-head series can quickly reorder the race. The numbers do, however, identify the pressure points: Texas has little room for error, Toronto and Cleveland have chances to control their position, and every contender has entered the scoreboard-watching portion of the season.
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This page is an original Sporting Page summary. The reporting remains with Sportsnet and writer Zach Worden.
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