Astros Clinch Back to Back AL West Titles; A's Get 2nd AL Wild Card Berth

The Houston Astros were able to clinch back to back AL West titles with both a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays along with the Oakland A's losing 10-8 in 11 innings to the Seattle Mariners. Notwithstanding the loss, the A's secured the second AL Wild Card berth and will play the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card game one week from today. Where it is to be played will depend on which team has the better record. As of right now the game would be played here in NYC. It is the A's first post-season appearance since 2014.

No one is surprised the Astros won the division. After April 20th, the Astros were never more than a game out of first and had at least a share of the lead after June 13th. But everyone was surprised with the A's. Most pundits expected the Astros to be challenged by the Angels. Then the Mariners showed life in May and early June. On June 15th, the A's were 34-36 and 11.5 games back of the Astros. They have gone 61-27 since and briefly tied the Astros for first place in mid-August.

If given the choice I think the Boston Red Sox would much prefer to play the Yankees than the A's in the ALDS. The A's beat the Sox 4 out of 6 games this season and this was before they got hot in mid-June. Meanwhile, the Astros will play the Cleveland Indians in the other ALDS. Most are going to favor the defending World Series champions. And why not? They've earned back to back 100 win seasons. To put this into perspective, the Red Sox who have won a franchise record 106 games and counting haven't had a 100 win season since 1946. Nevertheless, the Astros won't be taking Cleveland lightly and neither should we even if they are only marginally better than the Tampa Bay Rays.

While the AL playoff picture is clear (save for the site of the Wild Card game), the same cannot be said for the NL. Aside from the Atlanta Braves clinching the NL East last weekend, everything else is up in the air. The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers have a half game lead in the NL Central and NL West over the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies, respectively. If play ended today the Brewers and Rockies would be in the NL Wild Card game. But those standings could easily reverse by this evening. The St. Louis Cardinals are only a half game out of a NL Wild Card berth. This might not be settled until Sunday and even then that might not be enough.