The AL East is shaping up to be the best battle in the MLB. The Yankees and Rays, two of the best teams in baseball are deadlocked at the top of the division and neither team is yielding an inch.
It’s anyone’s guess right now who will eventually take the division but it’s safe to say this thing will be decided in September. Go ahead and mark September 13 on your calendar, as the Rays will host the Yankees for a three games series. The following week, the Yankees will host the Rays starting September 20 for another huge four game series which may very well decide who wins the AL East division. These games should generate plenty of action and interest from bettors as their outcome may very well decide the AL East champion.
If you looked at both teams and their upcoming schedules you’d have to say that the Rays have the more favorable schedule down the homestretch of the season. The Rays end the season on a homestand against Mariners and the Orioles. The Yankees on the other hand finish up against the Red Sox who may or may not still have something to play for at the end of September.
Now there are those who think the Boston Red Sox still have a chance even though they currently sit at 6.5 games back of both the Rays and the Yankees, I’m not buying it. The Red Sox have shown me one thing this season and that is that they are not in the same class as Yankees or the Rays, and I don’t expect that to change in the last month of season. Injuries have riddled the Red Sox, and even their healthy players are playing hurt, like Adrian Beltre. People like to think that players returning from injury can turn around a team, that’s generally not how it works in sports, at least not right away. Even if they get back some of their injured players, there’s just not enough time for them to make an impact in my opinion, hitters need at-bats to get their rhythm back, as far as I’m concerned, they might as well start practicing their golf strokes. I expect the Red Sox to finish on the outside looking in, with the entire off-season to heal their wounds.
