Just two weeks left to go in the regular season! Here are three things we’re monitoring around baseball today…
1. Silver Boot series kicks off with huge implications:
The American League west is the tightest division in the majors. The Mariners took over the top spot this weekend and currently sit one game clear of the Astros. That leaves Houston in possession of the final A.L. Wild Card spot but the Rangers are just two games behind them. The Rangers are in Houston for three games starting tonight for a series that should play a huge role in the A.L. playoff picture.
It begins tonight with Jack Leiter taking the ball for Texas against Jason Alexander. The Rangers will turn to Merrill Kelly and Jacob deGrom in the next two games. The Astros don’t have starters listed beyond Alexander but Cristian Javier will likely start one of those contests. They might have to do a bullpen game in the other, with Luis Garcia recently hitting the injured list. Guys like AJ Blubaugh, Jayden Murray, Colton Gordon or J.P. France could cover multiple innings.
2. Division leaders face off in Los Angeles:
Over in the National League, a couple of division leaders are squaring off as the Phillies open a three-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers tonight. The Phils have the East division locked down with the Mets 12 games back. The Dodgers have more of a fight in the West, as they are only 2.5 games up on the Padres. The Phils are in a good spot to earn a bye through the first round as they are behind the Brewers but 4.5 games ahead of the Dodgers, though Los Angeles can tighten things up with a sweep in the coming days.
The Phils are going with Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo while the Dodgers counter with Emmet Sheehan, Shohei Ohtani and Blake Snell. The Padres are off tonight but will be watching and rooting for the Phils, before they start their own important series against the Mets tomorrow.
3. Strahm on verge of vesting:
Circling back to the Phillies for one note of interest, left-hander Matt Strahm is on the verge of being locked up for 2026. His contract originally contained a $4.5MM club option for 2026 but he already bumped that up to $5.5MM when he reached 40 innings pitched this year and then $6.5MM when he got to 50 frames. If he gets to 60, it jumps another million to $7.5MM and becomes guaranteed, pending the result of a postseason physical examination. Strahm is up to 59 1/3 innings on the year now, meaning he’s two outs away from vesting that option.
Photo courtesy of Tim Heitman, Imagn Images
Trey Yesavage’s debut gets an honourable mention
here
It got its own article yesterday fyi
Strahm has put up good numbers, so that 7.5m option won’t be a problem for the Phillies.
AL West tie-breakers come into play in Houston’s final homestand. Rangers hold a tie-breaker on the Astros and clinch it with 1 win vs. Houston. Mariners series at the weekend will decide their Astros tie-breaker; the last game of that series is ESPN’s Sunday-night game. Seattle holds the 3-way tie-breaker in the AL West.
As well, Phillies clinched postseason at the weekend and now need 1 more win to lock up the NL East.
Some really good baseball right now, this is definitely coming down to the wire. Good luck to everyone!
12 to 13 more games left in the regular season. It brings tears to my eyes knowing the season is almost done.
Tighten things up? What things?