With 7 games left in the regular season, the Los Angeles Angels have scraped together a mediocre campaign. The Angels have not been over 5 games above or below the .500 mark. The Angels still find themselves in playoff contention despite that, but they need to both play well and hope the surging Minnesota Twins experience a late-season meltdown.
Where the Angels stand today
After a tough week when they faced the Cleveland Indians, who have only lost twice in the last month, and the Houston Astros, the Angels’ magic number dropped to 3, while their probability of making the playoffs has dropped to 2.0%, according to FanGraphs. This situation means they will automatically eliminate themselves if they lose 4 games this week. The Twins can also eliminate the Angels if they win 4 games this week.
But any hope the Angels had further dwindled as they lost the first of a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox last night. That’s not good since the Angels swept Chicago earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the Twins will start a start a series tomorrow at the Cleveland Indians who, as was stated earlier, only lost two times in the last month.
The road ahead
The baseball gods could not have given a much easier schedule to close out the season. The Angels will play a Chicago team that sits 29 games under .500. Even though the White Sox have played .500 baseball in September, the thought of the impending offseason might creep into the minds of the White Sox players.
After this series, a possibly easier opponent comes to town as the Angels will host the Seattle Mariners, who were just eliminated yesterday as they lost their final home game of the season. The Mariners have won only 2 of their last 10 games.
But that will be all for naught without a great deal of luck. Even if Los Angeles wins tonight, they will be out of playoff contention if Minnesota beats Cleveland.
Just the same, for Angels fans and players, the chances of making the playoffs are small but the can rightfully still exist. After all, any clutch hit or big-time play can galvanize any team to make an amazing run.
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