The Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners are neck-and-neck in what appears to be a two-team race for the second AL Wild Card. The next team (Angels) is seven games back of Oakland, and the rest of the league after that is .500 or worse. In the other direction, the defending champion Astros haven’t locked up the AL West crown but are the universal favorites to hang on, and the Yankees have a healthy lead on the first Wild Card until further notice.
We might reach a point where the Astros and/or Yankees become relevant prey in Oakland’s postseason hunt, but for now let’s focus on the task at hand.