There are less than 50 games left for Major League Baseball teams, so it’s getting to be crunch time. The marathon of an MLB season is about ready to enter the final couple of laps, so it’s a good time to start looking at individual schedules that could affect the playoff picture the rest of the way.
That’s just what MLB.com did Friday morning, ranking the strength of schedule for each of the 18 clubs with at least a 1 percent chance of making the playoffs. (That’s according to FanGraphs.)
The result? Good news for Twins fans, whose team has the easiest schedule left of the bunch. The most difficult belongs to the Philadelphia Phillies. Let’s dive in and see who’s in between.
Which contenders have toughest schedules? https://t.co/rPct2dzPmg via @MLB
— Jimmy Randolph (@60regular) August 9, 2019
Challenging finish
It’s not just the Phillies. The five most challenging schedules remaining among playoff contenders all belong to teams chasing one of the National League wild card spots.
Following Philadelphia are the San Francisco Giants (who only have a 1.7 percent chance of making the playoffs), New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers. Of those, only the Brewers have a realistic path toward winning a division title. The rest will be competing against one another, so that might even out the scheduling difficulties.
And next, the Cardinals and Nationals, two more wild card contenders (who both still have a shot at their respective division title) are tied for sixth.
The only teams ostensibly in the wild-card race who aren’t among those seven hardest schedules? The Cubs, who lead the NL Central anyway, and the Reds, who are 3.5 games out of the playoffs and have only a 5.4 percent chance of the playoffs anyway.
How will the NL Wild Card race shake out? 🤔
Fran Charles & @AlexaDatt look at how strength of schedule may impact the chase. #TheRundown pic.twitter.com/buJsC62bDM
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 9, 2019
Easy street
After teams like the Braves, Dodgers and Yankees, who are all making the playoffs almost no matter what happens, the bottom of the list is again interesting.
The Cleveland Indians rank eighth on this list, with an average schedule left — remaining opponents’ combined winning percentage is exactly .500. But compare that to the Twins, whose opponents only combine for .466.
Minnesota, which holds a one-game lead in the AL Central over Cleveland, plays the Tribe for three this weekend. They meet again Sept. 6-8, but in between, the Twins have a much easier schedule. We’ll see if that makes the difference.
And if the Indians do fall into the wild-card race? The Athletics (.492), Red Sox (.491) and Rays (.482) all have easier schedules, too.
Sergio Romo on his first save with the @Twins: “I can’t say thank you enough for having me on this cool ride. It’s already playoff baseball.” pic.twitter.com/R1PUbSPK0b
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) August 3, 2019
