We are not looking for surprise teams, because such a thing is rare in baseball these days. On Sept. 1 last season, 17 of 30 teams were within 3 1/2 games of a postseason berth, and when it was over, only five clubs made it to October in both 2016 and '17.
Rather than look for surprises, let's go for teams that might be better than we expected them to be. Some, like the Mets and Angels, were widely seen as postseason contenders, if not favorites.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Though this was just a regular-season game, the Giants celebrated their 7-5, 14-inning victory Saturday as if they were their historic forerunners, toasting Bobby Thomson or rejoicing in Travis Ishikawa.