Here we are, with just over a month left in the regular season, and the American League playoff race couldn't be more jumbled. Seven teams are in the mix for the second wild card spot. That includes the plucky Twins, one of the surprise teams in the league.
But there might be a team even more surprising than the Twins — the Los Angeles Angels, who seemed left behind when superstar outfielder Mike Trout was injured.
The more you look at it, the more you will find that both teams have taken the same path to get to this point — the Angels entered Saturday 1½ games behind the Twins for the second wild-card spot.
Like the Twins, the Halos didn't make a dominant run until this month. Almost like the Twins, Los Angeles has been crushed despite pitching injuries. While the Twins have used 16 starters, the Angels aren't that far behind with 12 — including former Twins Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer.
Both teams have played most of the season without their projected closers. For Los Angeles, it's Huston Street. For the Twins, it's Glen Perkins.
Los Angeles has used 49 players, the same amount as the Twins. The Twins, however, can't match them for the absence of a superstar.
Trout missed 39 games because of a torn left thumb ligament, during which Los Angeles went 19-20. The Twins visited Anaheim during this time and won three of four games. The one game they lost was when Albert Pujols hit his 600th career home run off Ervin Santana. The Twins clearly looked like the better team.
It wasn't like the Angels had a deep lineup, so it was easy not to take them seriously when Trout when down. But there are few dominant teams in the AL this season — and several flawed ones with records around .500, such as the Twins and Angels. Those teams, despite their warts, never have strayed far from the periphery of the playoff picture.
