Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels still have a shot at a playoff berth.
As the regular season comes to a close, Mike Trout has a small chance to lead his team to the playoffs. The eight-time All-Star has not been to the playoffs since 2014, where the Los Angeles Angels were swept by the Kanas City Royals in the first round.
The Houston Astros are currently second in the AL West with a record of 29-28. The Angels are 26-31, three games behind the Astros.
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The Astros have three games left in the season, all against the Texas Rangers. The Angels also play three more games to finish the season against the first-place Dodgers.
That being said, Trout must lead his team to a three-game sweep against the very good Dodgers. On top of that, the Angels must get a little luck and hope the Rangers can win the last three games against the Astros.
With this perfect scenario, the Angels and Astros would be tied in the division. The tiebreaker is based on head to head record.
And who would have thought that the Angels have the advantage?
The Angels have played Houston ten times this season. Los Angeles defeated the Astros six times, narrowly giving them the head to head tiebreaker.
To be quite honest, the odds do not seem to be in favor of the Angels who must sweep the loaded Dodgers, and the Astros must lose three straight.
To make the odds worse, Andrelton Simmons opted out several days ago. The Angels will have to manage without their outstanding Gold Glove shortstop.
The Los Angeles Angels did not have Simmons with the team at the beginning of the season due to injury, so it is nothing new for Joe Maddon.
Los Angeles still has Anthony Rendon, Shohei Ohtani, and David Fletcher, which is a pretty good core around Mike Trout.
Baseball is a funny game and anything can happen. The Dodgers have already clinched the playoffs, so will there be a lack of effort from the Dodgers?
I don’t know the answer but we will find out today, as the Angels play at 6:40 Pacific Time to start the crucial series.
Andrew Heaney will face off against Clayton Kershaw today.
The Astros and Rangers start at 5:05 Pacific Time.
Jose Urquidy will start on the rubber against Kyle Cody.
I am crossing my fingers for some Trout magic and a strong finish by the non-contending Rangers.