AL playoff race 2022

[Zakath]

All spots clinched, and order of wild-card teams is now settled. Final records.

New York - clinched AL East and first-round bye (#2 seed)
99-63 (57-24 home, 42-39 road)
11-8 vs. Toronto
11-8 vs. Tampa Bay
5-1 vs. Cleveland
2-5 vs. Houston
2-4 vs. Seattle

Toronto - clinched wild-card spot and home field for wild-card playoff (#4 seed)
92-70 (47-34 home, 45-36 road)
8-11 vs. New York
9-10 vs. Tampa Bay
2-5 vs. Cleveland
4-2 vs. Houston
2-5 vs. Seattle

Tampa Bay - clinched wild-card spot (#6 seed)
86-76 (51-30 home, 35-46 road)
8-11 vs. New York
10-9 vs. Toronto
2-4 vs. Cleveland
1-5 vs. Houston
5-2 vs. Seattle

Cleveland - clinched AL Central (#3 seed)
92-70 (46-35 home, 46-35 road)
1-5 vs. New York
5-2 vs. Toronto
4-2 vs. Tampa Bay
3-4 vs. Houston
1-6 vs. Seattle

Houston - clinched AL West, first-round bye, and home field throughout AL playoffs (#1 seed)
106-56 (55-26 home, 51-30 road)
5-2 vs. New York
2-4 vs. Toronto
5-1 vs. Tampa Bay
4-3 vs. Cleveland
12-7 vs. Seattle

Seattle - clinched wild-card spot (#5 seed)
90-72 (46-35 home, 44-37 road)
4-2 vs. New York
5-2 vs. Toronto
2-5 vs. Tampa Bay
6-1 vs. Cleveland
7-12 vs. Houston

[Dumpjerry]

If Judge were not playing for the Yankees, George Steinbrenner would leap out of his grave and start taking prisoners. Judge is carrying the team like no other player in recent memory. He is 90% of their offense.

If they don't sign him in the offseason, Yankee fans will burn down Yankee Stadium.

[Zakath]

9/6 update: Twins and Yankees rained out, will be part of a true DH tomorrow. Rays pound the Red Sox, while the Orioles outlast the Jays. Guardians take their second in a row in KC, while the Sox whiff their way to a shutout loss in Seattle. Texas takes advantage of 3 Astro errors to down Houston.

[voodoochile]

If anyone wants to check out the Riot standings which claim to be more accurate than true basic MN based on head to head competition and other factors: RIOT -- Real Magic Number

[Zakath]

9/7 update: Yankees sweep doubleheader from the Twins, because beyond death and taxes, Minnesota losing to the Bronx Bombers is one of the few certainties in life. Tampa uses a platoon of pitchers to shut out the Red Sox, while Toronto leaves Baltimore with a series win after eight strong innings from Alex Manoah. Cleveland gets walked off by KC, after Clase comes in to close the game out and blows the save. White Sox overcome having the first seven batters whiff against Luis Castillo to take the series win in Seattle (who now has no games left with any of the other AL playoff contenders), while Houston needs extras and a wild pitch to down Texas.

Most contenders are travelling today, but the Twins and Yankees finish their series in the Bronx, while the White Sox start a four-game series in Oakland.

[Zakath]

9/8 mini-update: Yankees actually find a way to lose to the Twins, who now head home for a huge series with the Guardians. Meanwhile the Sox clubbed Oakland in the series opener.

[Zakath]

9/9 update: Everyone in the East picks up a game on the slumping Yankees, as Tampa goes into the Bronx and takes the opener, while the Orioles come back with 3 in the sixth to knock off Boston and Toronto takes advantage of Tapia's speed to break a tie in the top of the ninth and edge Texas. Cleveland holds off a late Twins rally to take the first in Minnesota, while the Sox, dead for 8 innings, mount a furious rally in the ninth to knock off Oakland. Houston comes back on the Angels, while Seattle drops the opener to the now-first place Braves.

[Zakath]

9/10 update: Yankees decided to beat up their former starter, chasing Cory Kluber before the first inning was over in a rout of the second-place Rays. Toronto wins its third in a row, lighting up Ranger pitching for 11 runs in the first four innings, while the Orioles got demolished by Boston. Cleveland takes the second of three in Minneapolis, getting out to big enough leads and holding them long enough that the Twins can't come back. Sox pound the A's with a 20-hit barrage to stay within 1.5 games of the Guardians. Ohtani shuts down the Astros, while the Mariners get a much-needed win over the Braves.

[Zakath]

9/11 update: Something must have gotten into the Yankees, because the bats have woken up the past two days, as the Bronx Bombers plated 10 in the first two innings to take the series from the Rays. Toronto and Baltimore can't keep pace, as the Jays drop the finale in Texas while the Orioles were being shut out at home by the Red Sox. Cleveland completes its sweep in Minneapolis, while the Sox fall after a disastrous fifth inning in Oakland. Houston clobbers the Angels behind a 5-HR attack, while Seattle homers twice off of Kenley Jensen in the ninth to beat the Braves, who had erased a 6-1 Mariner lead with 1 in the eighth and 5 in the ninth.

[LITTLE NELL]

Guards with a 4-0 lead against the Angels, looks like they’re on a mission, might be hard to catch.

[Harwar]

now 4-4 thanks to Trout.

[Zakath]

9/12 update: Toronto takes the first game in a key series with the Rays north of the border, as Bo Bichette hits a 2-run shot in the eighth to erase a 2-1 Rays lead. The win puts the Jays in second in the East and ties them with the idle Mariners for the top wild-card spot with 22 left to play for both (Seattle holding the all-important tiebreaker over their co-1977 entrant into MLB). Cleveland refuses to lose, even after once again racing out to a big lead and then holding on, this time letting the Angels tie them before plating the winning run in the 7th. Astros edge closer to the AL West title with a wire-to-wire shutout win over the Tigers in Detroit, scoring the first run before recording an out.

[Zakath]

9/13 update: The once-moribund Yankees pull off their third win in a row, this time in Fenway as Torres hits a bases-loaded double in the top of the 10th to break a 4-4 tie and plate 3, only to hold on for dear life as the Red Sox scored 2 in the bottom and left the game-tying run on 2nd as Devers struck out to end the game. They gain a half-game on the second-place Jays, who split a doubleheader with the visiting Rays, while Baltimore kept its slim hopes alive with a win in DC. Cleveland continues to be invincible, topping the Angels while both the White Sox and Twins win to keep pace with time running out. Houston wins another one in Detroit and gets help from the Padres, who shut out the Mariners in Seattle.

[Chez]

Not that it matters, but coming off a weekend sweep in Minneapolis, the first-place Guardians have been greeted the past two nights by home crowds of 12,000 and 14,000 to face Trout, Ohtani and the Angels. That ballpark was sold out every night for several years running back in the 1990's. Seems to me that this Cleveland team would be an easy team to get behind. I wonder what the problem is?

[TooManyCooks]

Not that it matters, but coming off a weekend sweep in Minneapolis, the first-place Guardians have been greeted the past two nights by home crowds of 12,000 and 14,000 to face Trout, Ohtani and the Angels. That ballpark was sold out every night for several years running back in the 1990's. Seems to me that this Cleveland team would be an easy team to get behind. I wonder what the problem is?

I have often wondered why good Cleveland teams can't draw at all when the 90s teams sold out every night.