The race to October is heating up and several sets of teams play each other this weekend that are all hoping to make it.
Of course, all the games of playoff contenders are important this weekend but the match-ups that pit two contenders against each other are where we can see potentially see the biggest moves up and down.
Here’s who to watch this weekend:
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Why you should watch: On August 17th, The Brewers held a three game lead on the Cardinals. That lead has turned around by 6 games in less than three weeks. They have a 4 game series in Milwaukee starting up tonight. Three games is not very comfortable for the Cardinals when they are playing the Brewers at home.
Another reason to watch: Michael Wacha is back for the Cardinals. They jockeyed themselves into 1st place without one of their best pitchers who hasn’t started a game since June.
New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals
Why you should watch: A three game set kicks off Friday night in Kansas City. The Royals hold a slim 1.5 game lead over the Tigers who have a tough series coming against the Giants. Like Cleveland, the Yankees are 4 games back in the wildcard race and everyone with a brain knows that you don’t count out the Yankees until you have to. Both of these teams need to win 2-3 of these games to gain some ground but they both can’t get what they want.
Another reason to watch: The pitching match-up for game 1 or the series is a deja vu from their August 25th game. Shields gave up 6 runs in that game and Pineda got the win, but I don’t expect the Yankees will beat on Sheilds that bad two times in a row.
Detroit Tigers vs. San Francisco Giants
Why you should watch: This interleague match-up pits two wildcard contending teams against each other and allows the Giants the rare opportunity to throw in a DH.
Another reason to watch: The Giants swept the Tigers in the 2012 World Series. that was two years ago but you can bet the Tigers are still not happy about it and would love to win this series.
Other key games:
The Indians are 4 games back in the wildcard race and they play a three game series with the White Sox over the weekend where they really need to pick up some wins.
The Braves is only a half game back in the wildcard race and they should pick up some winds against the Marlins this weekend.
The Pirates take on the Cubs for three games and really need to close the 2 game gap that have in the wildcard race.
If you count all teams within 4 games of a division title or wildcard spot you’ve got 8 contending teams in the AL and 7 contenders in the NL. It’s going to be an exciting next few weeks!
