We could see some clarity in AL wild-card chase after this week

With roughly one-fourth of the season’s games left to be played, there is little clarity in the American League wild-card race.

There are still nine teams battling for the two spots, but it wasn’t a good week for three of the teams in the East as the Rays, Orioles and Blue Jays had a combined 7-13 record and dropped back in the pack.

But if we’ve learned one thing, it’s that a good week can help a team make up ground in the race.

Here are the standings from MLB.com:

There was movement on the magic number for victories to make the Wild Card Game. The Twins and Angels, who are tied for the second wild-card spot, are on pace to win 84 games this season. That is up last week when the pace was 83 victories.

FanGraphs says there is a 17 percent chance that there will be a two-way tie for the second wild-card spot and a 1.7 percent chance of a three-way tie.

This is a look at how things stand in the wild-card chase, and what the week ahead looks like. We could start to see some separation in the pack as only two of the teams in the race (Royals and Orioles) don’t face another wild-card contender this week.

Yankees 66-57

This week’s games: 3 at Tigers, 3 vs. Mariners

Last week: 5-2 (4-0 vs. Mets; 1-2 vs. Red Sox)

Season run differential: Plus-111 (630-519)

Playoff chances: 91.7 percent (Baseball Prospectus); 76.0 percent (FanGraphs)

Last week’s playoff chances: 84.3 percent/65.4 percent

Twins 63-59

This week’s games: 5 at White Sox, 3 at Blue Jays

Last week: 4-2 (1-2 vs. Cleveland; 3-0 vs. Diamondbacks)

Season run differential: Minus-42 (578-620)

Playoff chances: 33.4 percent (Baseball Prospectus); 32.1 percent (FanGraphs)

Last week’s playoff chances: 24.0 percent/22.2 percent

Angels 64-60

This week’s games: 4 vs. Rangers, 3 vs. Astros

Last week: 3-2 (1-1 vs. Nationals; 2-1 vs. Orioles)

Season run differential: Minus-2 (532-534)

Playoff chances: 26.1 percent (Baseball Prospectus); 33.3 percent (FanGraphs)

Last week’s playoff chances: 22.4 percent/32.4 percent

Royals 62-61

This week’s games: 3 vs. Rockies, 3 at Indians

Last week: 3-3 (2-1 vs. A’s; 1-2 vs. Indians)

Season run differential: Minus-28 (549-577)

Playoff chances: 15.0 percent (Baseball Prospectus); 22.0 percent (FanGraphs)

Last week’s playoff chances: 18.1 percent/26.2 percent

Mariners 63-62

This week’s games: 3 at Braves; 3 at Yankees

Last week: 4-2 (2-1 vs. Orioles; 2-1 vs. Rays)

Season run differential: Minus-12 (586-598)

Playoff chances: 14.1 percent (Baseball Prospectus); 15.2 percent (FanGraphs)

Last week’s playoff chances: 13.0 percent/12.0 percent

Rangers 61-62

This week’s games: 4 at Angels, 3 at A’s

Last week: 5-2 (3-0 vs. Tigers; 2-2 vs. White Sox)

Season run differential: Plus-35 (628-593)

Playoff chances: 12.4 percent (Baseball Prospectus); 11.0 percent (FanGraphs)

Last week’s playoff chances: 9.3 percent/8.2 percent

Rays 61-65

This week’s games: 3 vs. Blue Jays, 3 at Cardinals

Last week: 2-5 (1-3 vs. Blue Jays; 1-2 vs. Mariners)

Season run differential: Minus-16 (538-554)

Playoff chances: 5.4 percent (Baseball Prospectus); 5.8 percent (FanGraphs)

Last week’s playoff chances:

Orioles 60-64

This week’s games: 3 vs. A’s, 3 at Red Sox

Last week: 2-4 (1-2 vs. Mariners; 1-2 vs. Angels)

Season run differential: Minus-47 (589-636)

Playoff chances: 1.9 percent (Baseball Prospectus); 2.4 percent (FanGraphs)

Last week’s playoff chances: 6.9 percent/7.8 percent

Blue Jays 59-65

This week’s games: 3 at Rays; 3 vs. Twins

Last week: 3-4 (3-1 vs. Rays; 0-3 vs. Cubs)

Season run differential: Minus-81 (529-610)

Playoff chances: 1.5 percent (Baseball Prospectus); 2.8 percent (FanGraphs)

Last week’s playoff chances: 3.9 percent/5.7 percent

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 9:55 AM with the headline "We could see some clarity in AL wild-card chase after this week."