MLB predictions: The Astros have the edge in baseballs worst division race
The Red Sox are being lauded by the baseball world for their midseason turnaround and for good reason.They had every reason to throw in the towel at their lowest point and have bounced back with a fervor that certainly put the rest of MLB, especially the American League, on notice.But the Red Sox aren’t the only team in the midst of a hot stretch after some pretty bad baseball.If you haven’t paid much attention to the AL West (no one would blame you if you haven’t), there’s another team experiencing its own midseason surge at the most opportune time on the baseball calendar.The Astros were lagging behind the Rangers and Mariners in the division for most of the season and even trailed the Athletics in the standings as recently as June 26.The Astros went 4-6 in their 10 games played before the All-Star break and lost three straight immediately after it.
At that moment, they were seven games below .500 and four games off the division lead.From there, they flipped the switch.The Astros have won 12 of their past 15 games entering play on Friday and only the Red Sox (13-3) have a better record over that stretch.The Astros now lead the AL West by 1.5 games ahead of their series against the Padres.It’s not quite the same as the red-hot Red Sox chasing down the Yankees and Rays in the AL East, but the Astros are having a moment right now.
What remains uncertain is if this is just a moment, or a signal of things to come in Houston.The biggest difference between Houston and Boston is that no other team in the AL West seems to want the division crown.As impressive as the Astros have been, they are just two games above .500 with the Rangers and Mariners in the mix despite being below .500.That said, someone has to win the division and sportsbooks give the Astros a very slight lead over the field with their price tag to win the AL West hovering between even money and +115 odds.
The Rangers and Mariners are in the +200 to +250 range, which means the books aren’t ent...