MLB Playoff Races Continue This Weekend!

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MLB Playoff Races Continue This Weekend!

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It’s the second-last weekend of baseball’s regular season, so how many series pitting contender versus contender are there on the schedule for those doing baseball betting?

Well, unless you consider the Cardinals and Marlins true contenders (both are real big longshots to win the NL Wild Card), then there’s one such marquee series on the schedule: Justin Morneau and the Twins travelling down to Tampa to take on the Rays.

Minnesota still has a shot at winning the AL Central title this season, although they’ll have to hope that the White Sox stumble over the next 10 days. The Rays, of course, are battling the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. Even if Tampa Bay falls short in that race, though, it’s very unlikely that the Twins will pass them for the AL Wild Card.

The pitching matchups for the upcoming Twins/Rays games are projected as Nick Blackburn (10-9, 3.89 ERA) vs. Edwin Jackson (11-11, 4.33 ERA) on Friday, Kevin Slowey (12-10, 3.66 ERA) vs. Scott Kazmir (11-7, 3.50 ERA) on Saturday, and Francisco Liriano (5-3, 3.62 ERA) vs. Andy Sonnanstine (13-7, 4.33 ERA) on Sunday.

The notable names there are Kazmir and Liriano, but both those pitchers were rocked when they last took the mound. Kazmir surrendered nine earned runs on six hits over just three innings of work against the Red Sox on Monday, with Boston batters hitting four home runs off the lefthander. Liriano gave up eight runs (four earned) on six hits in just 2 2-3 innings of work against the Indians on Tuesday. Both of those pitchers will be looking to bounce back from those bad outings and lead their teams to weekend wins.

The other American League contenders are all on the road this weekend, with Boston in Toronto, the White Sox in Kansas City, and the Angels in Texas. Of those teams only the Angels have locked up a playoff berth, as they’re well ahead of the other AL West squads. Boston, like Tampa, is the likely Wild Card if they finish second in the AL East.

Other AL series are Detroit at Cleveland, Seattle at Oakland, and Baltimore at the Yankees. New York will play the final game in Yankee Stadium history on Sunday night.

Over in the National League the Cubs have almost clinched the NL Central crown, while the Dodgers have surged ahead of the Diamondbacks to take control of the NL West. Chicago will play host to the fading Cardinals this weekend, while Los Angeles will get a visit from San Francisco as they try to basically lock up their position in the postseason.

The most scoreboard watching will be done in the NL East ballparks, as the Phillies (who play in Florida) and the Mets (who play in Atlanta) jockey for top spot in the division. The Brewers also have a stake in those results, as they’ll be battling the NL East’s second-place team for the Wild Card spot. The Astros have an outside shot at the Wild Card as well. Milwaukee will be in Cincinnati, Houston will be up in Pittsburgh.

And the Diamondbacks’ collapse is not quite complete, but a poor result in their road series against the Rockies this weekend pretty much finishes them. The other NL series on tap: San Diego at Washington, in a matchup of the very worst in the National League

Check the BetUS MLB odds section for all of the latest lines and totals for the weekend.