It All Comes Down to This...

The 2025 MLB season has been filled with outstanding catches and moments. Now, the following teams are fighting for Wild Card spots and as the regular season winds down, every game matters. For context, I'll be focusing only on the American League in this story. I'll check in the following week to see how the records of the teams I'm about to talk about have changed. Also, next week, I'll be going over the Wild Card hunt in the National League.

Texas Rangers

Let's start off with my beloved team. The Rangers had a rocky first half: a lack of hitting and the lack of scoring with runners in scoring position have been the two main problems they were going through. In May, they had a record of 18-21, which was fourth in the ever competitive AL West, five games behind the Seattle Mariners, whom I'll discuss in a bit. After the firing of offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker, former All-Star second baseman Bret Boone was named as Ecker's replacement. He's the brother of Aaron Boone. Yes, that Aaron Boone. The current manager of the New York Yankees. Fast forward to now, as of the writing of this story, the Rangers are 74-70, which they are a game and a half behind of the Mariners for the final Wild Card spot. Stats wise, this team has improved greatly. In May, they ranked eighth in the league in ERA with a 3.48 average. Now, they're first in the league with a 3.46 ERA. As far as runs, the Rangers ranked 28th in the league with 124 runs in May. Now, they're ranked 20th in the league with 614, which is a huge increase. The aforementioned stats from May are from a story I wrote about the Rangers' struggles, which you can read down below.

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I still maintain that the Rangers need to show some urgency, because now's not the time to let their guards down. There are two other teams, the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Guardians, that are also vying for a postseason berth. I'll discuss both of these teams later on in this story. Back to the Rangers, the rest of their remaining schedule will be a challenge. After winning two out of three from their division rivals, the Houston Astros, the Rangers are in a good position to possibly punch their ticket into the Postseason. The Rangers' remaining schedule are as follows:

• vs Milwaukee (9/8-9/10)
• at New York Mets (9/12-9/14)
• at Houston (9/15-9/17)
• vs Miami (9/19-9/21)
• vs Minnesota (9/23-9/25)
• at Cleveland (9/26/-9/28)

With the acquisitions of more players, such as Rowdy Tellez and Merrill Kelly during the second half of the season, can the Rangers make it back to October for the first time since 2023? To refresh everyone's memory, the Rangers won their first World Series title that year. They have plenty of competition and every series is important in the final three weeks of the regular season.

Seattle Mariners

Cal Raleigh, without a doubt, is having a spectacular season. He's definitely a shoo-in for the AL MVP Award. The Mariners have a record of 75-68, a game and a half ahead of the Rangers for the third and final Wild Card spot. Their remaining opponents, if you're curious, are against St. Louis, LA Angels, Kansas City, Houston, Colorado, and the LA Dodgers to close out the season. Seattle is one of the few teams that haven't won a World Series title. While the offense is red hot, this same sentiment can't be said about their starting rotation. They rank 17th in the league with a 4.01 ERA. Even if they were to make it to the Postseason, my biggest concern is the pitching. Before the season began, I predicted that the Mariners would miss the playoffs and saw them being a year or two away from being in the Postseason. Only time will tell if they overcome their grueling, remaining schedule.

Kansas City Royals

This year is the 10th anniversary of their World Series win, their first since 1985. Fast forward to now, the Royals are currently at 73-70, two games back for the final Wild Card spot. Their remaining opponents are Cleveland, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto, LA Angels, and the Athletics to round out their schedule. They ranked third overall in the league in ERA with a 3.64 average. Just like the Mariners, I see them being a year or two away from making it to the playoffs.

Cleveland Guardians

Last, but not least, is the Cleveland Guardians. Their remaining opponents are against Kansas City, Chicago White Sox, at Detroit, Minnesota, vs Detroit, and Texas to close out their season. They have a record of 72-70, two and a half games back of the Mariners for the last Wild Card spot. Last year, the Guardians made it to the ALCS, and two big names got the attention of the baseball world: David Fry and Jhonkensy Noel, affectionately known as Big Christmas. They would lose to the Yankees, which they would go on to win the AL pennant. There were rumors that manager Stephen Vogt's job might be in jeopardy. Whether or not if he'll return as the Guardians skipper for a third season is unknown, but I'll keep everyone posted.

Which team do you think will grab the final Wild Card spot? Sound off in the comments below. Be sure to generously send me a one-off tip at the end of this story. It'll help creators like me to keep writing stories on Vocal. Finally, please subscribe to my page on here and follow me on social media.