American League East heating up; West remains inconsistent

AL CENTRAL

After losing two out of three against the New York Yankees, The Minnesota Twins swept the Texas Rangers to finish 4-2 on the week. The Detroit Tigers didn’t have as much success.

The lack of consistency gets them again. They finished 1-4 on the week, including a two game sweep at the hands of the Seattle Mariners and a series loss to the Oakland Athletics. The worst part of the situation is the third place team made up some ground against them.

The Chicago White Sox won two of three from the Cleveland Indians and had a four game split with the Tampa Bay Rays, the best team in baseball. The impressive wins allowed them to gain two games on the Tigers during the week. Although the race is still the Twins and Tigers, The White Sox can sneak up if they can continue to play well.

AL EAST

The Rays had their first set back of the year. The Boston Red Sox swept them, and they could only manage a split at home against the White Sox. Although, they still hold a big lead. The division race is getting larger.

The Yankees are three and a half games back, and the Toronto Blue Jays, after finishing 4-2 on the week, are four and a half games back. There is now a fourth team in the mix.

The Boston Red Sox are 10-3 since being 19-20, including sweeps against Tampa Bay and Minnesota. The good play is because the pitching finally started to play to its potential. They allowed only 1.8 runs in their 10 wins, and they scored 5.7 runs a game.

AL WEST

The West is at it again. Who doesn’t want to win the division? The Oakland Athletics are now a half game in first place over the Rangers. The worst news for these teams is the Angels working their way into the mix.

They went 4-2 on the week and now stand only two and a half games behind the top teams. With the decent play of the Angels and the lack of consistency from the top teams, the Angels have snuck into the mix. As it stands now, decent is all it will take to win this division.

TOP FIVE AL TEAMS APRIL 26:

1.) Tampa Bay Rays - Despite the tough week, they still hold the best record in baseball.

2.) Minnesota Twins– A sweep of the Rangers and a tough week by the Tigers gives the Twins a nice cushion.

3.) New York Yankees– They better have eyes in the back of their heads. The rest of the division is sneaking up on them.

4.) Toronto Blue Jays – Without Roy Halladay, they continue to surprise with timely hitting and even better pitching.

5.) Boston Red Sox – They have the pitching to make a run, and David Ortiz is finally beginning to hit like an All-star.