Sports Time Radio

The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 8-3 last night in Fenway Park. This was the first of a three game series between these two teams this weekend and it’s looking like this may also be the match up in the American League wild card game.

Even with the loss the Red Sox are still in possession of the top wild card spot in the American League. The Red Sox currently have a one game lead on the Yankees for that first wild card spot. The Yankees are sitting in that second wild card spot heading into this afternoons game with the Red Sox. The Yankees are two games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners for that second wild card spot. The Oakland A’s are four games out of that second wild card spot, but with just eight games left on their schedule it’s going to be very difficult for the A’s to pass three games in the standings and getting into the wild card game.

Scheduling will probably have a lot to do with who ends up with those two wild card spots in the American League.

The Yankees have those two Games left with the Red Sox before they go to Toronto for a three game series against the Blue Jays. The Yankees finish the season at home with a three game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

After this series with the Yankees the schedule really seems to favor the Red Sox even though they’ll be on the road. After this series the Red Sox head to Baltimore for three games against the Orioles and then they finish the season with a three game series against the Washington Nationals.

The Blue Jays have lost four of their last five games and have to right the ship in these final two games of there series against the Minnesota Twins this weekend. The Blue Jays will host the Yankees for a three game series starting on Tuesday before they wrap up their season with a three game series against the Orioles.

The Mariners have been the biggest surprise in the American League this season and are currently on a six game winning streak. They’re going to have to keep winning games if they’re going to get into the wild card game though. Seattle has two more games left in this current series with the Los Angeles Angels before they return home to host the A’s for three games. The season wraps up for the Mariners at home with three games against the Angels.

The A’s will probably have to win their final eight games if they’re going to have any chance at a wild card spot. That means the A’s will need to beat the Houston Astros in the final two games of their weekend series. Oakland then finishes the season on the road with three games against the Mariners in Seattle before they finish the season with three more games against the Astros in Houston.

So who ends up as the two American League wild card teams? Do you have two teams from the American League East getting into the wild card game? Or do you see a team like the Mariners or maybe even the A’s finding a way to get into that game?

Over in the National League we already know that either the San Francisco Giants or the Los Angeles Dodgers will be one of the wild card teams and it looks like the St. Louis Cardinals will be the other wild card team.

The Cardinals are currently on a 14-game winning streak and have opened up a five game lead in the wild card race. The Philadelphia Phillies are the team that is five game back while the Cincinnati Reds are six games back and the San Diego Padres have slipped to seven games back in the race for that second wild card spot.

Now even though it looks like five of the six playoffs spots are wrapped up in the National League there still is some intrigue on who might won the National League East.

The Phillies are in second place, but are just a 1 1/2 behind the first place Atlanta Braves and while the National League West division winner is still up in the air we know that both the Giants and the Dodgers will be in the playoffs. That race is just a matter of who ends up where while either the Braves or the Phillies won’t make it into the playoffs.

The Phillies are currently on a four game winning streak as they head into their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon. Philadelphia has today and tomorrow against the Pirates before they head to Atlanta for a three game series that might decide the division. The Phillies then wrap up their season with a three game series against the Miami Marlins in Miami.

The Braves are wrapping up a west coast trip where they’ve won five of their last six games. Atlanta has two more games against the Padres before they return home to finish the season with those three games against the Phillies before the New York Mets come into Atlanta for the final three games of the season.

In the National League West we’re waiting to see which team wins that division and which team gets stuck in the one game wild card; the Giants or the Dodgers.

The Giants are currently leading the National League West by one game over the Dodgers.

San Francisco has won three of it’s last four game and six out of their last eight games. The Giants are currently finishing up a series against the Colorado Rockies in Colorado. The Giants return home after this series to finish the season with a three game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks and then a three game series against the Padres.

The Dodgers keep winning games to as they’ve won five of their last six games. Los Angeles is wrapping up a three game series against the Diamondbacks in Arizona before they also return home like the Giants to finish out the season. Los Angeles will host the Padres for a three game series starting on Tuesday before the Milwaukee Brewers head in town to for a three game series to end the regular season.

Alight; so what do you have happening in the National League. Do you see the Phillies being able to pass the Braves in the East? Then who do have winning the West? Do you have the Giants or the Dodgers?

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