We are now at the midway point of the 2022 MLB season and without a doubt the biggest surprise of them all has been the Baltimore Orioles who enter the All-Star Break with a .500 record at 46-46.
Although the O's are in last place in the AL East one would be hard pressed to find anyone who predicted they would be a .500 team let alone be in the AL Wild Card hunt. So far this month, the O's are 11-4 which included a 10 game winning streak. On the strength of this surge, the O's are only 3.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the third AL Wild Card spot. To put this into perspective, Baltimore finished May 2021 with 14 consecutive losses en route to a 52-110 record. They need only 7 wins to top their win total of last season.
However, this might prove to be easier said than done. In the midst of their 10 game win streak, 9 of those wins came against teams with losing records. After starting their streak with a win against the AL Central leading Minnesota Twins, the O's swept the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and Chicago Cubs before losing two out of three this past weekend to the Tampa Bay Rays who currently have the top spot in the AL Wild Card race. After the All-Star Break, the O's next seven games are against the New York Yankees and the Rays albeit at Camden Yards. By the end of this month, we shall see if the Orioles are going to soar or be grounded.
After all, the Yankees have a 13 game lead on the Rays and still have a chance to eclipse the 114 wins recorded by the 1998 Yankees. After a mediocre June, the Rays are 11-6 thus far in July and aren't going anywhere. The Blue Jays have the third AL Wild Card spot but this didn't stop management from firing Charlie Montoyo last week. Thus far the Jays have won 4 of their first 5 games under interim manager John Schneider. One wonders if Alex Cora is looking over his shoulder in Boston as the Red Sox are 5-12 in July having lost 7 of their last 10 games and are now 2 games back of the Jays for the third AL Wild Card slot.
In the AL Central, the Minnesota Twins lead the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White So by 2 and 3 games, respectively. The Guardians and Chisox are also 2.5 and 3.5 games back of the Jays for the third AL Wild Card spot. The Chisox finish the first half with a .500 record (identical to the O's) having won 7 of their last 10 games. The Detroit Tigers have lost four in a row and 8 of their last 10 games and are only game ahead of the last place Kansas City Royals. Both teams will likely be selling off parts by the trade deadline at month's end.
The Houston Astros still have a comfortable lead in the AL West with a 9 game advantage over the Seattle Mariners. No one is sorrier than Seattle for the first half of the season to end as the M's have won 14 consecutive games and are in the second AL Wild Card spot only a half game back of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Mariners entered June 21-28 and have gone 30-14 since. There is a long way to go but perhaps the end to the Mariners' 21-year post-season drought is in sight.
Then again, the Texas Rangers got to .500 at the end of May with a 17 win month. They have won 17 games since having gone 5-11 in July. The Los Angeles Angels are even worse having gone 2-12 thus far in July and are 12-25 since Phil Nevin replaced Joe Maddon on June 7th. At the start of the season, the Angels were competing with the Astros. They could soon be competing with the Oakland A's for the worst record in the AL.
In the NL East, the New York Mets lead the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies by 2.5 and 8.5 games, respectively with the Braves holding down the first NL Wild Card spot with the Phillies in a virtual tie with the St. Louis Cardinals for the third NL Wild Card spot and a half game ahead of the San Francisco Giants. The Miami Marlins had a shot to reach the .500 mark but were swept this weekend by the Phillies. Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals are 27.5 games back of the Mets and own MLB's worst record at 31-63.
The Milwaukee Brewers lead the St. Louis Cardinals by a half game in the NL Central with the Cardinals in a virtual tie with the Phillies for the third NL Wild Card spot. The Pittsburgh Pirates are 11 games back of the Brew Crew and on their way to their sixth losing season in the past seven years. The Chicago Cubs are only a half game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds who at the beginning of 2022 bore a strong resemblance to the 1962 New York Mets.
Since the start of July, the Los Angeles Dodgers have expanded their lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West from 2.5 to 10 games. Nevertheless, the Padres still own the second NL Wild Card spot with the San Francisco Giants only a half game behind the Phillies and Cardinals for the third NL Wild Card spot despite not having a winning month since April. The Colorado Rockies have won 7 of their last 10 games and could be a sleeper team. The Arizona Diamondbacks who were flirting with .500 on Memorial Day Weekend have won 15 games since June 1st after winning 15 games in May. The D'Backs will likely have another last place finish in the NL West though I don't think they'll lose 111 games like they did a year ago.
So where will MLB be in a fortnight? Can the Orioles beat their AL East rivals? Can the Twins hold off the Guardians and White Sox? Can the Mariners maintain their momentum and expand their 14 game winning streak? Can the Braves catch the Mets? Will the Brewers or Cardinals take charge of the NL Central? Will the Dodgers still have a double digit lead in the NL West? As always, we'll find out at the end of the month.
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