AL Weekend Recap
With both NCAAF and the NFL now in full swing, I have shifted my focus away from MLB. But there was still a full schedule of great games this weekend that should not be ignored. The fall season is easily the best time of the year for sports fans.
Yankees hold back Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays closed to within 3.5 games of the AL East leading NY Yankees with a 4-2 victory on Friday night. But the Rays failed to take advantage further of the struggling Yankees dropping decisions on Saturday and Sunday to fall back to 5.5 games behind. A disastrous collapse from the Yankees once again appears unlikely, at least for the time being.
Aaron Judge failed to homer for the 5th consecutive game after going deep in four straight games before that. He still sits at 55 HRs for the season and 21 games to hit 6 more and tie Roger Maris for the American League HR record.
Mariners, Rays, & Jays lead Wild-card race
The wild-card race in the American League now seems locked up with Seattle Tampa Bay and Toronto all essentially tied. The upstart Orioles have now fallen off the pace, 5.5 games behind the pack with only three weeks remaining on the schedule.
Toronto took the first two games of their series in Texas but could not complete the sweep against the Rangers ace Martin Perez on Sunday. Toronto is also dangerous on any night with their ability to score runs in bunches. Dante Bichette continues his red-hot play with another HR in that series and his 5th of the week.
But the game of the weekend was played in Seattle last night. The Braves scored 5 times in the 9th inning to take a 7-6 lead over the Mariners. But Seattle rallied to hit two solo HRs in the bottom half of the 9th for another walk-off victory. Seattle took 2 of three games from the defending World Series champs from Atlanta to remain red-hot.
The three teams look destined to all face each other with the winner of the Central division rounding out the first round of the AL playoffs.
Guardians stretch lead in Central
Cleveland stretched their lead in the Central to 2.5 games over the White Sox and 4.5 over the Twins. For Chicago and Minnesota, their only hope of post-season action is now to catch Cleveland as each of them has fallen out of the race for a wild-card spot.
The Guardians completed a sweep of the Twins over the weekend striking a blow to Minnesota’s playoff run. Shane Beiber (10-8) led the way with a strong performance on Sunday going 6.1 innings and allowing just one run. The Guardian’s starting rotation has been the difference for Cleveland down the stretch and makes a difficult out in the post-season.
Triston McKenzie pitched 7 scoreless innings on Saturday and looks dangerous if Cleveland can get him into an elimination game, regardless of the opponent.
MNF Preview
Seattle Seahawks Vs Denver Broncos, 8:15 EST
Line: Broncos -7, 44.5
Russel Wilson plays his first game of the 2022 NFL season as the starting QB for the Denver Broncos and returns to Seattle to face the Seahawks whom he led for nine seasons.
The Deal
Wilson scored a massive $245M 5-year deal with the Broncos in the off-season. The signing secured the QB position for the Broncos where they struggled to find consistency in the past. The Broncos were sold to new ownership in the off-season for 4.65 Billion dollars. A quarter of a billion dollars for a franchise quarterback was not too much to ask from the deep pockets of the new owners.
Teddy Bridgewater played adequately under center for Denver last season, but new ownership felt an upgrade was required for the club to compete for another Super Bowl and secure their fanbase.
Seahawks struggles
The Seahawks managed 7 wins last season which was a little flattering. Seattle started slowly at 3-8 but improved as the season progressed. The defence particularly struggled early in the season, but the team rallied to win 4 of their last 7 to look respectable.
Geno Smith takes over the reins in Seattle from Wilson after starting 4 games for the team last season. Smith, now in his 9th NFL season, started his first two years with the Jets but has mostly been a career NFL backup. The jury is still out if he can lead a team into the playoffs as a starter.
Broncos disappointed late
The Broncos were also 7-10 last season but reached that mark differently than Denver by finishing poorly. They lost the final four games of the regular season to fall out of playoff contention.
Many people, including myself, were high on the Broncos last year. Their statistical numbers were better than their record suggesting they should have won at least a couple more games than they did. Expectations are higher for the Broncos this season and nothing short of a return to the playoffs would be considered a success.
My Pick: Seahawks (+7)
I don’t like this pick enough to make it an official play, but if I’m forced to take a side, I’ll go with the home dogs on MNF. Both teams still have a lot of question marks and I’ll keep a wait-and-see attitude on both of them.
I had a strong weekend of picks going 3-1 ATS both Saturday and Sunday for 6-2 ATS in total. You can follow all of my picks this season on Blackbook Sports. Please also follow me on Twitter to stay up to date on all blogs and pick this football season.