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00:00The full final week of the MLB regular season starts on this Tuesday. Only four games yesterday.
00:06Why? A ton of teams resting up to begin their second-to-last series of this Major League
00:12Baseball regular season. Some in the hunt for October. Some trying to claim a playoff berth.
00:19Some trying to clinch a division. So let's set the stage with all of the competitive races
00:26that you need to know over these final six days and games of the MLB regular season. We start in
00:33the American League, Joe, by looking at the AL playoff picture. The Yankees need one win to
00:39claim the American League East. They have built up a hefty lead over the O's, who are four games
00:45below 500 since the All-Star break. 92-64 for New York. Not just a big lead, Joe, for the Yanks.
00:52Over the Orioles, also a pretty substantial difference now in front of the Guardians.
00:58They've got a two-and-a-half game lead for the top overall seed in the American League. The Astros
01:03had an opportunity, like the Phillies did in the National League East, to claim the American
01:07League West divisional crown last night. Bryce Miller, seven innings of two-hit baseball, shutting
01:12out the Astros. They did end up scoring one run, but Seattle keeps the hope alive ever so slightly
01:19in the American League West. Those are the divisional standings.
01:23Now let's get to the really good stuff. It's the wildcard race. The Orioles, all right, they're
01:29not going to win the American League East, but still, they have a four-game lead for the top
01:33wildcard spot. The Royals have lost seven straight. The Tigers are playing out of their mind since
01:41August 22nd. Those two American League Central teams are tied for the final two AL wildcard spots.
01:47The Twins on a slide. They are now a full game outside of the wildcard standings,
01:54and the Mariners only back by a game-and-a-half, even if the American League West seems a little
01:59bit out of reach. Yeah, and boy, it got real interesting over the last week-and-a-half,
02:06Ben, mostly because the Royals have fell apart, and now all of a sudden, with the way Detroit's
02:12been playing, Minnesota, the Mariners now, can they win enough games and get some help here?
02:19I really thought it was pretty solidified there that we were going to just get the Orioles,
02:25the Royals, and the Twins, but anything but that can happen. It might look totally different by
02:31the end of the week here, Ben. It's kind of crazy. And, Joe, that is the crazy thing,
02:36and you are completely correct in that at least estimation. If the All-Star break,
02:40even in the few weeks after, by the time we got to the middle of August, it seemed pretty
02:45determined. The Red Sox were struggling. The Mariners were not going to catch the Astros,
02:50who were surging in the American League West, that in some former fashion, the team that lost
02:55out on the American League East would be the top wildcard team, and it would be the Twins
03:00and the Royals, in some order, taking the final two spots. Minnesota has struggled mightily.
03:08Detroit has been great, and KC is holding on for dear life as they have lost seven in a row. So,
03:15let's look at those playoff odds available on the FanDuel Sportsbook. Exactly a week ago,
03:22I bet the Tigers, at plus 140, to make the American League postseason, you could have
03:27got them closer to plus 700 a few days prior to that. Now, where the odds are in the American
03:34League, Detroit is minus 405. Minnesota, minus 138. Kansas City, minus 178. The Tigers have the
03:45best price of the American League Central Trio to get to the postseason. It really is kind of crazy
03:53what's been going on here. The Royals could very well, if they can't turn this thing around, Ben,
04:00this is just heartbreak city here for Kansas City, but I do think they should have enough
04:07to be able to close it out down the stretch here this week. I'm banking on them making the playoffs.
04:13Yeah, you know what's so interesting, Joe? It's not like the Royals have been on this slide the
04:17entirety of the second half, or all of September, even since the middle of August. They had won
04:22seven of nine prior to the seven-game skid that did feature a sweep against the Tigers. So,
04:28the Tigers, who have now won six of their last seven games, and since August 22nd, when they
04:35were four games below .500, have won 20 of 28. They are in prime position. The Tigers end with
04:44two home series, and here is why Detroit is greater than a $4 favorite. They play the Rays
04:50at home, Tampa below .500, and they end the year against the White Sox. The Royals have to go on
04:57the road for their final two. They go to the nation's capital to take on the Nats, then they
05:02end the year against Atlanta. Obviously, we'll get to the National League wildcard chase, because
05:06that's the story. The Braves and the Mets start a series against one another today. We'll go to the
05:13NL up next. It's going to be a good final week of this MLB regular season. Stay with us on The Early
05:19Line. All right, from the American League playoff picture, now we go to the National League. Most
05:24has been decided, but of course, we have a monumental series about to start today in Atlanta
05:30between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves. So let's go to the top. The Dodgers, three-game
05:36lead in the National League West. The reason that is interesting is because the Dodgers begin a
05:40series today against the Padres, who have won four straight. San Diego sweeping the White Sox over the
05:46weekend. Good for the Padres. The Phillies clinched the National League East last night, their first
05:51divisional crown since 2011, trailing the Dodgers by a half game for the number one overall seed.
05:58The Brewers clinched the National League Central, the first team to clinch a division last week.
06:03They're going to host the wildcard round. Outside of that, probably going to be on the road. The
06:08Padres in advantage, as you see there. Three games up over the Mets for the top wildcard spot. The
06:16Mets and the Braves will get to. The D-backs lost yesterday, Joe, in San...or actually at home against
06:22the Giants. They were booked as the home favorite. Matt Chapman had a good day at the dish for San
06:29Francisco. So the D-backs and the Mets were tied following the weekend. Arizona falls back by a
06:35half game. Now just a game and a half in front of Atlanta. So let's talk about the series that
06:42everybody will have an eye on this week. I mean, of course, we're going to be tapped into everything
06:47here that has some sort of significance and importance for the MLB playoff race. But when
06:53you have two teams squaring off for the same spot, that's where you focus, especially if it's a
07:00divisional rivalry. We start today in Atlanta. The Braves and the Mets. Spencer Schwellenbach,
07:06the rookie on the bump for the Braves. A disastrous start to the year has been really good
07:13since June. Luis Severino on the other side for New York. The Braves are a home favorite today
07:19against the Mets. Can they claw their way back, Joe? Can Atlanta make their way to a National
07:25League playoff appearance once again? I just don't think so, Ben. I mean, Schwellenbach, I think,
07:32gives them the best shot because he's been the most reliable and has literally carried this team
07:38for most of this season, quite honestly. Coming in as a rookie, he's been the one guy they've been
07:45able to at least depend upon. But I just don't see the Braves with the hot and cold lineup here.
07:53They've yet to put any sort of streak together, Ben, that would impress me enough to think that
07:58the bats are going to get hot at the right time. I just don't see it happening. To me,
08:02they're going to score another one of these one-two runs and lose, and they're going to
08:05figure out what went wrong. The lineup went wrong this year for Atlanta. It's been so tough, right?
08:11The Braves even having an opportunity is kind of a testament, actually, to what their roster has
08:18been able to do. You look at the starting staff. They lost Spencer Strider before the year really
08:23got underway. They lose the reigning National League MVP, Ronald Acuna Jr. You could have a
08:28long injury list for everything Atlanta has had to deal with to even have an opportunity to be
08:33just a game and a half out starting their final week of this MLB regular season to have the chance
08:39to sniff the postseason. It's minus 146 to the no. That means the Braves are favored to miss
08:46the postseason entering this final week. Arizona is minus 385, the New York Mets minus 560. That's
08:54really it when it comes to consideration in the National League wildcard chase. The Mets don't
09:00need to sweep the Braves. Heck, they don't even really need to win the series. They just need one
09:05win in Atlanta, but if they can take two of three in the ATL, the Mets will be a playoff team.
09:12They end the year against the Brewers, which on paper is a good team, but Milwaukee by that point,
09:19they're not going to catch either the Dodgers or the Phillies for those top two spots in the
09:24opening round by in the National League. They've already claimed the division.
09:29Yeah, and I mean motivation. There really is none for them at that particular point. They're
09:34going to be looking ahead to pitching matchups and lining up their rotation,
09:38and they're not going to have any interest in that series whatsoever.
09:42Yeah, not whatsoever. So now let's talk about the other compelling race. Only a half game
09:48separates the Dodgers and the Phillies for the number one overall seed, home field advantage
09:53throughout the National League postseason. The Dodgers, a hefty favorite at minus 150. The
09:58Phil's celebrating last night. I would not look to Philadelphia to bounce back today and maybe claim
10:04a game, which probably benefits the Dodgers because they're still in a chase here, Joe,
10:09against the San Diego Padres. No division prices out on the fan dual sports book. The Dodgers,
10:15of course, a cushion three games in front of San Diego, but they do face each other in a three
10:21game set. There is a world. The Padres sweep Los Angeles as they've been one of the hottest teams
10:27since the All-Star break, which could make this rather compelling. The odds makers do not expect
10:31that to be the case. L.A. minus 150 to be the number one overall seed in the National League.
10:37The Phil's the second best price at plus 180. Yeah, and I agree with that. I think that the
10:44Dodgers certainly have shown a little something here down the stretch where they still have
10:50another gear. I can't believe it took the Phillies as long as it did, quite honestly, with the first
10:55half they had been to actually get it done and lock in that that top spot there in the National
11:02League spot. Better late than never. But I still think the way the odds are rolling right now,
11:07the Dodgers should be the favorite and the Phillies are a clear second choice.
11:14But will the chalk prevail? And that's the big question. And that has been the question with
11:20the expanded postseason in Major League Baseball. We have seen many wild card teams take advantage
11:26of momentum in October to be there. World Series last year, a matchup between two teams that
11:32finished in wild card spots. In fact, let me just check this here. I'm pretty sure they both occupied
11:38the final spot, the sixth seed in their leagues, to get in to the postseason. If I am not mistaken
11:45and can get a little bit of help here, that would be helpful as well. You know, the Rangers were the
11:52five seed, excuse me, the second of three wild card teams in the American League. The D-backs
11:57were that six seed, but of course, two wild card teams facing off in a World Series. The debates
12:04of rest versus rust and the expanded postseason crowning a legitimate World Series champ,
12:09we will save for that time. The Phillies have at least played in the National League Championship
12:15Series each of the past two years, right? October, a big thing in Philadelphia. I will say this about
12:21the Dodgers. Again, heavily favored. The odds aren't even out there right now to hold on and
12:27win the National League West. The Dodgers are a home favorite slightly today. Landon Knack gets
12:32the start against Michael King for San Diego. If the Dodgers do that, Joe, which we expect
12:38at least through the final two series, LA will win the National League West for the 11th time
12:44in the last 12 seasons. And yet, in the previous 10 playoff appearances, the Dodgers have made the
12:49World Series only three times in their only World Series title that came in the COVID-shortened
12:55sprint that was 2020. It is time for the Dodgers that were expected to be the best team in baseball,
13:02that were expected to be a World Series champ, do exactly that after a historic season from
13:08Shohei Otani. Yeah, and it's so funny, Ben, because here we are, right? They still have a,
13:14still something to be decided here in terms of seeding for them. But the biggest question
13:20mark remains, and this is what, for the second year in a row? Is Jack Flaherty, Yamamoto,
13:26Bueller, and Knack, is that enough in a starting rotation to make you want to back the Dodgers?
13:32And I just don't know that that's the case. It's a great point, Joe. It really is. Because
13:39Tyler Glass now, not expected to be back for Dave Roberts and the Dodgers throughout this
13:43postseason. We know pitching wins, if you were going to compare starting staffs between those
13:48top two teams in the National League, I think Philadelphia would have the edge. And by the way,
13:53if it comes down to it, that the Phils and the Dodgers are tied with the same record at the end
13:58of this season. Philadelphia has the tiebreaker, winning the season series against Los Angeles for
14:03that number one overall seed. Quickly back to the American League. Again, the Yankees, one win away
14:09from claiming the American League E6 games up on Baltimore. They face each other up in the Bronx
14:15to end or to start this final week. The Yankees are a heavy favorite today at minus 162 with
14:22Clark Schmidt on the bump, and they're a hefty favorite at minus 220 to win the series. Those
14:27odds available. The Braves, by the way, pretty heavy favorite over the Mets to win the series.
14:33Be worth a sprinkle on the Amazons, albeit on the road. More on the early line up next.
14:40The last week of the Major League Baseball regular season fully begins on this Tuesday,
14:46a chock full slate to break down for you here. All of the playoff races that you need to know,
14:52whether it's a playoff spot or postseason positioning and those seed lines around both
14:58the AL and the NL. We do that with our MLB insider and the host of Newswire. It is Craig
15:04Mish joining us here on this Tuesday on the early line. Craig, as always, we appreciate the time.
15:11Final week of the regular season in baseball. You know, this is it. We're going to find out
15:15really who gets in and who is out in the end. We've got a couple of races. I know
15:19a lot of celebrations going on this week, too, so we're looking forward to jumping in.
15:23Yes, we certainly will. Craig, for one last time in this regular season, it begins the final week
15:29of the regular season in terms of touching them all. We'll still do it in the playoffs.
15:33It's now time, though, for the daily bases.
15:41All right, Craig Mish, not just the end of a season, but the end of a career for a long time
15:47Colorado Rocky Charlie Blackmon. Spent all 14 years of his Major League Baseball career
15:53up there at Coors Field. Four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, and won the 2017
16:00NL batting title. Maybe a name you don't know as well, but hopefully the long hair,
16:04the lechuga, and the beard that you recognize. You spent nearly a decade and a half in Colorado.
16:11Craig, how will you remember the career of Charlie Blackmon?
16:14Yeah, a great player, playing at altitude for many years. It kind of takes me back to
16:2110, 15 years ago playing fantasy baseball when you always wanted Rockies players,
16:25when the Rockies were... And by the way, they still are very competitive at home. Take a look
16:29at the Rockies' home record this year. It's like they have the worst record in the National League,
16:32not name the Marlins, and yet their home record's always pretty good. Always put on a show for the
16:36home crowd, as you mentioned, won the batting title. Certainly one of those players that will
16:41be on the Hall of Fame ballot, will get some consideration, but naturally I think he does
16:45fall short of that. But I did see him play for many years in person and have nothing for respect
16:51for him. Retires at the age of 38, by the way. Probably had a couple of years left,
16:55not having a bad year either, but just decided that it is time.
17:00And with the same team, so kudos to him too there, man. Start and finish your career with
17:05the same team. The pennant races are getting interesting here, Craig. They wanted, with the
17:11extra playoff spot, they wanted meaningful games in the last week of the regular season. Well,
17:16we got them in the American League because it looks nothing like it did a week ago here. What
17:21is your take on what we've got here so far? It's going to be a fight to the finish. I think
17:27Yankees and Astros battling record-wise. Cleveland's already in, of course. But look,
17:31I think most people realize who's going to be in the postseason with the exception of that final
17:36wild card spot. And let's just call it what it is at this point. The Twins and the Royals have
17:41both fallen apart in September to some degree, and the Tigers have taken the league by storm.
17:46They're calling up Jackson Jobe today. He's their top prospect. He won't be available for the
17:51postseason, but he'll pitch today for the Tigers. They try to push their way in. Hard to doubt the
17:56hot teams, Joe, the last couple of weeks of the Major League Baseball season. So I do think in
18:01the end, Detroit's got a great shot to get in. Kansas City, they had a really good season. I
18:06think they will sneak in. I think the pressure right now is on Minnesota because Minnesota
18:12was in it from start to finish. They got three games coming up here against Miami. I mean,
18:16anything less than two of those three wins, I would say there, there's going to be some
18:19trouble in Minneapolis at the end of the season. 15 games, 72-57, above .500 was Minnesota on
18:27August 25th. Since that point in the last three plus weeks, nine and 18 to now find themselves
18:34on the outside looking in, entering the final week of this MLB regular season. Of course,
18:40the expanded playoffs in Major League Baseball began in full in 2022. And Craig, the two pennant
18:47winners in the National League in the two playoffs we have seen have both been a wild card team,
18:53which makes the pennant odds a little bit interesting to look at. The Dodgers and the
18:57Phillies have been the two best teams in the NL and really MLB all of this year. And they
19:02are still the two favorites to win the National League pennant plus 164 LA. Philly only 40 cents
19:09back. So I ask you the question this way, will the National League pennant winner
19:14come from those two top teams or will it be somebody on the outside once again?
19:19It would be a guess. You know, as you've said, Ben, the last couple of years, it has not gone
19:23the way that the teams that got the by one. If you watch the Philly celebration last night,
19:27after they won, you know, Rob Thompson, the manager said that we want the by we want the time
19:32off. And so show up tomorrow, be ready to win until we get that. So that tells you everything
19:37you need to know. You know, at some point, I think the mold will be broken. It could be
19:41potentially this year. I still do like the Phillies here. And I think the Phillies have a great shot.
19:48I think the American League to me is a little bit more wide open than the National League. I do
19:52think that one of those, let's say first four teams comes out of it. Maybe that's not maybe
19:58that does seem a little bit wild to me. But I do think an upset could be brewing in the AL.
20:02But hard for me to see the Phillies not in the NLCS. At the very least, I think the Philly
20:08Dodgers have fallen over themselves in the postseason. So I can't sit here and predict
20:11that. But the Phillies, I think they'll be there in the end, whether they get all the way. I'm not
20:16clear. One of the hot teams here, the New York Mets down the stretch, big series starting
20:23tonight against the Braves. Schwellenbeck has been a lifesaver for him this year for the Braves
20:30with all those injuries to the starting rotation. He got another one in him here tonight.
20:36I mean, he may, but do the Braves. I mean, their offense is just so hot and cold. I have no idea
20:41which Braves team to expect. I think that's something they're going to have to figure out
20:44in the offseason, how all of these players on the Braves, even with Acuna being out,
20:48some of them have slumped at different times. You know, the one line that I would look at today
20:53that is interesting, because again, tough game to win. It does seem like the Mets offense.
20:58Me, I noticed on FanDuel, that number is three and a half for their total run scored,
21:01a little bit juice. I think it's minus 120 or minus 125. I don't know that the Mets are
21:06necessarily going to win because again, it's the Braves. One game, seven runs, one game,
21:10no runs. So not going to predict the winner, but I could see the Mets scoring four runs today.
21:14Schwellenbach is only going to go five innings, maybe gives up two, three runs. Braves bullpen is
21:18okay. You know, Iglesias has been great. Rest of the Penn can give up some runs. So I'll just play
21:22that today. Mets over three and a half runs. I like that look, Craig Misch. I really do. The
21:28New York Mets, nine games below 500 at the end of May. A proud organization. Grimace came through
21:36and from that point, 63 and 36, they have been one of the best, if not the best team in baseball
21:43in that span. The fact the Braves are even here in the final week is a testament to the resilience.
21:48They've won four of their last five, just might be a little bit too late against the New York
21:54Mets. Craig Misch, we appreciate the time. Thanks for being here. More of the early lines continues
21:59now. The final week of the Major League Baseball season starts in full on this Tuesday. We had four
22:05games on Monday. A ton of the 30 clubs resting up around MLB. So we set the stage for a full
22:13Tuesday slate and everybody starts and will be underway in their second to last series of this
22:19Major League Baseball regular season. It is always crazy to me, Joe, 162 games in a regular season.
22:27And for many teams around the bigs, in terms of postseason positioning or just earning that
22:31playoff berth, it comes down to the final six in this final week. And that is certainly the case
22:38starting today in Atlanta, a game that has been circled, a series that has been circled for quite
22:45some time when the Mets were starting to rally throughout the summer and the Braves were dealing
22:50with their injury concerns and starting to falter. Could this series determine a playoff spot? That
22:57might be the case. In Atlanta, the Braves will host the Mets for a three-game set starting today.
23:03And today in the A, the Braves are a home favorite. Spencer Schwellenbach gets the start.
23:09Atlanta minus 136. Luis Severino on the other side for New York, plus 116. A little bit of
23:15market movement as you see. A total of eight. How does this incredibly crucial series in the ATL
23:22begin today? Yeah, and at plus money, the team that has been the best, I mean, going back to what,
23:30July 1st here, has there been anybody better than the New York Mets? The answer is no. And we talked
23:38to Craig Misch earlier and, you know, he said it perfectly. Can somebody please tell me which
23:43Atlanta Braves team shows up? And the answer is we have no idea. Severino, familiar with
23:52this Atlanta team, has had some success against them so far this year. I think they have split
23:58the season series to this .55. This is going to be a Mets team that has proven to be able to play
24:06really well on the road. I don't see any reason to get in front of them at plus money here. I'll
24:12take what I think is the better team at plus money here, Ben. Yeah, listen, I would agree with you,
24:18Joe. And maybe not in this game, but I do believe the Mets can win. There are two series odds out
24:25for the second to last set that begin today. This one in Atlanta on FanDuel. The Braves a minus 176
24:33favorite to win the set. The Mets are the underdog. And in New York, the Yankees will
24:38host the O's. They're greater than a $2 favorite. We'll get to that game in just a little bit. I
24:44have bet the Mets to win this series at plus 142. Winning this game with Luis Severino against
24:50Spencer Schwellenbach would go a long way. Joe, we have talked about the Braves so injured this
24:56season. They haven't been bad necessarily since the All-Star break. They're 32 and 29 since the
25:03All-Star break in Arlington, above 500. They have won four of their last five. They just haven't
25:10been as red hot as the other teams they look up at in the National League wildcard. The Padres,
25:16these Mets, and of course, the Arizona Diamondbacks who are struggling a little bit
25:20here as of late. But why is New York in this prime position with a two-game advantage over
25:26their divisional mate to earn that playoff spot? They have been lights out really since the end of
25:31May, but especially here continuing that as of late. They have won six of their last seven.
25:38They have won eight of their last 11. Since August 28th, when they were five games above 500,
25:47they have won 18 of their last 23. Have the amazement. They have been the team to back it up.
25:55I think the Mets do that in Atlanta, winning this series and potentially winning the opener
25:59obviously goes a long way to helping with that. The Braves not even just looking up at the Mets,
26:05two-game difference there. They're only a game and a half back now of Arizona. We'll talk about
26:10the D-backs who lost their series opener yesterday to San Francisco. But as we focus on the National
26:17League West, if you look at the FanDuel sports book, you would have already thought the Dodgers
26:21have clinched this division. Not the case. It's the Southern California rivalry at the Ravine
26:27starting tonight. The Dodgers have just a three-game lead in the National League West.
26:32San Diego has won seven of the ten against L.A. so far this year. They have the tiebreaker
26:38advantage regardless of the result of this series. Joe, San Diego, who has dominated L.A. and swept
26:45the most recent two-game set between the two, if they were to sweep this series, we're tied at the
26:51top. If they take two of three, there's a one-game difference or I guess what would be a two-game
26:57difference between these two teams with one series remaining. The Dodgers should win the
27:03National League West for the 11th time in the last 12 years. But I don't think the odds should
27:08be off the board that there's not a realistic possibility the Padres make some hay this week
27:14in Los Angeles. I mean, listen, you're talking about a Padres team that started the season
27:20going 50-50, Ben. Since that time, they are a 40-16. They've won seven of ten against the Dodgers
27:28this year, like you said. You tell me, the eye test here, who's the better team? The better team
27:34is the Padres, and they have imposed their will on the Dodgers. We'll go back to the starting
27:40pitching once again. I still give the edge to the Padres. I give the edge in the bullpen to the
27:47Padres, and the bats to me, I think it's a wash. But there is no doubt who the better team has been
27:54consistently since the middle part of this season, and that has been the Padres. If it ain't broke,
27:59don't fix it, Ben. Give me the Padres once again to make this thing real interesting for the
28:04Dodgers. The underdog tonight is San Diego. Michael King has been great in the second half.
28:10It's another young arm, Landon Knack, who has also been pretty consistently good for LA. But
28:15the Dodgers just a minus 120 home money line favorite tonight. Now we go to Arizona, where
28:22yesterday the Diamondbacks were the slight home favorite against the Giants, and lost the series
28:28opener against San Francisco. So now the D-backs just a game and a half up over Atlanta for what
28:34is the third and final National League wildcard spot. Brandon Fott gets the start today, minus 146
28:41against Logan Webb on the other side. How competitive is this game in downtown Phoenix
28:46tonight? Yeah, it feels like this is going to be very playoff-esque here. Hard to go against Fott
28:54at home. He's been a better pitcher at home than on the road, but I'm going to go even better. I
28:58think it's going to be a playoff game. I'm taking the under eight, Ben, with these two starting
29:02pitchers. I think it's going to be a tough one. Total yesterday was eight, went over San Francisco
29:09163. Matt Chapman was great at the dish for San Francisco. I would agree, Joe. I lean under in a
29:15playoff atmosphere. Arizona's going to be watching the scoreboard in Atlanta. More to come next.
29:21It is time to play some baseball. A couple of divisional crowns on the line tonight in the
29:27American League in some divisional duels. Let's start in the Bronx between the Yankees and the
29:33O's. Joe, at the all-star break, even in the opening half, everybody looked at this series.
29:38Second to last could determine the American League East. It is going to more than likely,
29:42as the Yankees need just one more win to claim the divisional crown, but not in the way we expected.
29:47We thought the winner of this series would win the division. The Yankees now have a six-game lead
29:53over Baltimore. The O's a couple of games below 500. Since that all-star break,
29:57the Yankees have pulled away. Clark Schmick gets the start tonight for the Pinstripes.
30:02They're a minus 162 home money line favorite up in the Bronx. To the Yankees,
30:07Quench, the American League East tonight.
30:11I mean, really, what is Baltimore playing for again? I mean, they're pretty much locked in
30:18to that top wildcard spot right now. They have, Kramer is not a better pitcher than Clark Schmick.
30:25Clark Schmick is now a 1.76 ERA in three starts since he came back from the IL. You've got a lot
30:32of guys on this Yankees lineup here that have really good splits against Kramer.
30:38Yankees want that number one seed. They have said they wanted it, and it's right here for the taking
30:43with one win, and I think they get it rather easily here tonight. I would even lay the run
30:49in a half, Ben. Yeah, I would agree with you, Joe. The Yankees have that two-and-a-half-game
30:55lead over Cleveland for that number one overall spot. The Guardians have seven more games left
31:02in this Major League Baseball season by the way, or excuse me, only five games left. I did my math
31:07incorrectly. Two against Cincinnati starting today, then they have Thursday off. They end
31:12the year against Houston. What exactly is the motivation going to be in that final three-game
31:17set between the Guardians and the Astros, especially if the Yankees do handle the O's
31:22this week? Again, New York a minus-225 favorite to win this series. Speaking of the Astros,
31:29they had a chance last night at home against Seattle with one more win to claim the American
31:36League West. Did not go their way. Bryce Miller was great for the M's. Seattle wins 6-1. So who
31:42do you turn to when you need a title? That's Frambois Valdez. 15 starts, Joe. Since the end of
31:48June for Valdez, the Astros have won 13 of 15, and one of their two losses was Valdez's last start
31:57that he gave up a single-earned run against the red-hot San Diego Padres, who blanked Houston
32:02on the other side. I just bet the minus-134 price on the Astros and Valdez to win this game and
32:08claim the American League West. Am I crazy for doing so, or do you think that happens tonight?
32:15Yeah, no, I don't. I mean, there are some guys that you want to put your money behind, Ben,
32:20in these kinds of spots, and Frambois Valdez absolutely is one of them here. Gilbert's been
32:27great for them, for Seattle, but that is a very big ask, one in which I would not be comfortable.
32:33Five and three, I think, in 11 career starts against the Astros. One and one so far. He
32:40pitched against them twice in May. I don't know. Call me crazy here, but this is exactly the kind
32:46of spot you want Houston to be able to get the job done and advance, and Seattle, sorry. I know
32:54what Seattle team's showing up tonight, Ben. It's not a lot of runs. And listen, the Astros have
33:00that four-game advantage. Seattle kind of out of it from the American League West perspective,
33:04but now only a game and a half out of the American League wildcard chase, so that becomes our focus.
33:09We start with the only day baseball game today. That's in Detroit. The Tigers trying to take care
33:15of business against the Rays. Tarek Skubal gets the start for the Tigers. They are nearly a $2
33:21favorite at home. It's minus 188. Do the Tigers continue their winning ways?
33:27Well, they better, right? What choice do they have? You got the right guy on the mound,
33:31in the right spot here. That's the way to going. I know they called up, what, the kid too,
33:37Jackson Jobe, we heard too. So, I mean, call me crazy. This is a team and a train I don't
33:45want to get in front of, and Tampa can't hit, and they're not going to hit this pitching staff
33:49either. No, do not believe so. Total six and a half. The Tigers have won six of their last seven.
33:57The Royals have dropped seven straight. They're in Washington tonight. The Twins on a mighty slide,
34:03but they host the Marlins. Well, both of these teams booked as a favorite in both spots, Joe,
34:09as we look at Minnesota as well. Get a win on this Tuesday.
34:15Yeah, I think favorites are the way to go here in the opening games of the series here. I'm
34:20going to back the Royals. I'm going to back the Twins to get it done here and breathe a little
34:24sigh of relief. Minus 166 for KC on the road, albeit in the nation's capital. The Twins at home,
34:32minus 245 against the Fish. He's Joe Ranieri. I'm Ben Stevens.
34:38The Early Line returns tomorrow, 8 a.m. Eastern time on SportsCenter.