The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim clinched their first AL West title since 2009, thanks in large part to a tremendous comeback by the Texas Rangers in Oakland.
You can’t make this up. After the Rangers collapsed down the stretch in 2012 (and in 2013, to a lesser extent) to hand the division title to the A’s, the A’s fell apart over the last six weeks, and it was the Rangers who dealt the final blow to their hopes at a division crown.
With 95 wins and just ten games remaining, the Angels seem like a solid bet to be the top AL seed in the playoffs. Baltimore has 92 wins though, so nothing is a lock. We do know one thing, however – the Angels have clinched homefield advantage in the AL Division Series, meaning they’ll either be hosting the AL Central or AL Wild Card (or if Baltimore collapses, the Orioles) champion in the first round.
The Angels are the third team to clinch a division title, following the Orioles and Nationals on Tuesday night. Next up? Well, four American League teams are separated by just 2.5 games for three playoff spots, so let’s not think too much about that. In the National League, both the Cardinals and Dodgers have a magic number of nine, though Los Angeles’ playoff magic number is just four.
