The A.L. Wild Card standings are giving us plenty to talk about. Entering Monday, there are six teams with a viable chance at making the playoffs through the Wild Card in the American League. The Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers are tied for the top spots in the standings and neither of them wants to find themselves chasing as all the other teams are pretty hungry.
Here are the standings entering Monday with the Rays and Rangers locked in first and second place with identical records.
Tampa Bay Rays 81-67
Texas Rangers 81-67
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Cleveland Indians 81-68
Baltimore Orioles 79-70
New York Yankees 79-71
Kansas City Royals 78-71
So how does this break down?
The Indians are half a game behind both teams. They face off against the sixth-place Royals, who are 3.5 games back. How interesting is that? The Royals could help themselves climb up the ladder, chances are either the Yankees or Orioles would get to the top before they do.
As a matter of fact, the Yankees' Wild Card hopes are feasible. They are facing the Toronto Blue Jays, while the Orioles, who are 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race face the red hot team from Boston. The Yankees are only three games back in the standings. If the Rays or Rangers can manage a sweep, somebody might find themselves in third or fourth place by the time Thursday comes around.
There are only two weeks of baseball left. Now would be a good time to tune in to these games as the A.L. Wild Card may probably not be resolved until the final days of the 2013 season.
Here are all of these teams' matchups. It's easier to remember since four of them are facing each other.
Rays vs. Rangers Today
Indians vs. Royals Today
Orioles vs. Red Sox- Tuesday
Yankee svs. Blue Jays- Tuesday
