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2007 AL Pennant Races Heat UpAmerican League Divisional and Wild Card Races Tighten in Late JulyAs July turns to August's Dog Days, more than just the thermometer will be heating up. Let's look at the 2007 MLB divisional races and the Wild Card card fight in the AL.
Yankees Chip Away at Red Sox Lead in AL EastA week before the All Star game, the New York Yankees trailed the Boston Red Sox by 14 games in the American League East Division. As of July 23, the Bronx Bombers have cut that lead to seven and a half games. They did it largely on the strength of improved team health, steadier pitching and much better hitting from Bobby Abreu, Robinson Cano and especially Hideki Matsui. This weekend, the Yankees slaughtered the Tampa Devil Rays, scoring 45 runs in three games on Saturday and Sunday. However, the BoSox swept the ChiSox in a 3-game series and maintained their lead over New York. With the Yankees facing an easier schedule over the next two weeks (KC, BAL, CWS, KC) compared to the Sox (CLE, TB, BAL, CIN), they will need to pick up at least 2 or 3 games or they won't have a shot at winning the division. Tigers and Indians Continue to Flip-Flop in AL CentralThe Tigers held on to the slimmest of leads last weekend despite losing two of three games to the Royals this weekend while the second-place Cleveland Indians took three out of four from the Texas Rangers. Unlike the East Division, which could be over by September 1st unless the Yankees stay very hot, this race is going to come down to the wire. The teams play each other eight more times in August (14-15 & 21-23) and September (17-19), and those games will obviously be the highlight of the year for the Division. Incidentally, Cleveland has taken six of the first ten matchups between the teams. Finally, don't count out the Twins. They seem to make a huge run every year at the end of the season, usually on the back of Johan Sanatana, who is a remarkable 42-5 after the All-Star break since 2003. With ten games left against Cleveland and six against the Tigers, Minnesota will have plenty of chances to chip away at their eight-game deficit. Mariners Continue to Surprise in the WestIn April and May, it seemed that the AL West was going to be a blowout. For two months, it looked like it would be the Angels, and then everyone else. But as the season wore on, the Seattle Mariners chipped away slowly at their lead, and as of July 23, L.A. leads the M's by just two games. Looking forward, the teams have very similar schedules, so this race will most likely come down to the 10 head-to head matchups between the teams over the final two months. The American League Wild Card Race Could Get WildAgain, depending upon New York's performances over the next two weeks, this could be either a two or a three team race. Cleveland leads the Mariners by 2 1/2 games and have a six-and-a-half game lead over the Yankees. The teams do not play each other much down the stretch (NY-SEA play 3 Games; NY-CLE play 3 Games; SEA-CLE play 4 Games), so there could be a lot of scoreboard watching in these cities come September.
The copyright of the article 2007 AL Pennant Races Heat Up in Baseball is owned by James Lincoln Ray. Permission to republish 2007 AL Pennant Races Heat Up in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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