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With the minor-league season over and our typical 8:00 AM slot suddenly open, I figured it would be worthwhile to take a quick daily look at how the playoff picture has changed in the American League on a day-to-day basis. This will be nothing fancy. Just a look at how playoff contenders did on the day, how it affected the standings and what it means for the Red Sox. I’ll consider any team within five games of a playoff spot as a postseason contender. It is entirely possible this threshold will disappear completely as soon as tomorrow.
Scores
NYY 11, KC 3
TOR 6, BOS 4
HOU 11, TEX 2
CHW 4, LAA 2
Playoff Odds
| Team | Fangraphs | Baseball Prospectus |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Fangraphs | Baseball Prospectus |
| Red Sox | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Indians | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Astros | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Yankees | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Twins | 99.50% | 99.60% |
| Angels | 0.40% | 0.30% |
Division Odds
| Team | Fangraphs | Baseball Prospectus |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Fangraphs | Baseball Prospectus |
| Red Sox | 98.70% | 98.70% |
| Indians | 100.00% | 100% |
| Astros | 100.00% | 100% |
| Yankees | 1.30% | 1.30% |
| Twins | 0.00% | 0% |
| Angels | 0% | 0% |
Playoff Picture Update
With the Angels losing on Monday and the Twins having the day off, Los Angeles moves to five games out of the wildcard and essentially hands it over to Minnesota. Any change in the wildcard at the point would be the result of an epic collapse that would be talked about for years to come. The Yankees also won, of course, meaning they are back within four games of Boston for the division. The last note from the American League is the Astros win, a victory that brings them within two games of Cleveland for the top overall seed in the league. Over in the NL, things are much more interesting. The Rockies lost on Monday while the Brewers had the day off, so the latter is within 1.5 games of the wildcard. St. Louis is right there as well, though they also lost on Monday so they remain 2.5 games back. Hopefully we’ll get this race to go right down to the wire.