1. Texas Rangers: When Yu Darvish got injured in spring training, it seemed unlikely the Rangers could overcome the loss of their ace. After a 7-15 start to the season, the Rangers looked more like contenders for the league's worst record than contenders for the World Series. Their season started to turn around with a 7-2 road trip to Boston, New York and Cleveland in late May, including a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees when the Rangers scored 30 runs. Still, the Rangers were five games under .500 on July 28, following a humiliating 21-5 loss to the Yankees at home. But Colby Lewis won the next night, then Josh Hamilton hit a walk-off single off Andrew Miller the night after that and the next day Jon Daniels traded for Cole Hamels.
The Rangers, who clinched a playoff berth Thursday, are now a win (or Houston Astros loss) away from being AL West champs after beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 behind a four-run fifth inning. Delino DeShields Jr. doubled in two runs and Adrian Beltre doubled in two more. The Rangers went 18-10 in August and they're 19-10 in September/October. While they haven't been a great team all season, they're a pretty good right now and they may be a stronger pick to come out of the American League than most will give them credit for. Here are a few reasons why:
The offense is a solid fourth in the AL in runs per game but since Aug. 1 they're averaging 4.96 compared to 4.39 through July. It's a balanced attack with Shin-Soo Choo and Prince Fielder the strong on-base guys, Adrian Beltre bouncing back from a slow first half to hit like Adrian Beltre, speed at the top of the lineup in DeShields and power lower in the order in Mitch Moreland and unsung hero Rougned Odor. But one reason I like this lineup is all the left-handed bats like Choo, Fielder, Odor and Moreland and the relative lack of left-handed starters they could face in the postseason. The Rangers will face the Kansas City Royals or Toronto Blue Jays in the Division Series; the Royals will run out a playoff rotation of four right-handed starters while the Jays will likely use David Price followed by three right-handers.
Hamels and Derek Holland. First, neither was in the rotation until August. Second, both have had big performances before in the postseason. I'm not a big believer in that being all that meaningful, but I guess I'd rather have a guy who has done it before in the postseason than a guy who has failed. Of course, the Blue Jays, with all their right-handed power bats, would present a formidable obstacle for the two southpaws.
The bullpen. This has become the team's secret weapon. We know managers are relying more and more on their bullpens in the postseason. Besides Hamels, Daniels also fortified the bullpen with more depth at the deadline in acquiring Sam Dyson and Jake Diekman, who have been superb. Closer Shawn Tolleson isn't a big name but has done the job all season long. Since Aug. 1, the Rangers have the second-best bullpen ERA in the majors behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, ranking first in lowest batting average allowed and eighth in strikeout rate.
The Blue Jays will be the clear AL favorite, but the Rangers are a playoff sleeper.
2. New York Yankees: They're in! All things considered, the Yankees have to be pleased to be returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Carlos Beltran, Greg Bird and Rob Refsnyder homered in the 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox to clinch a wild-card spot and earn the franchise's 10,000th all-time victory. I wrote before the season that the Yankees were perhaps the most volatile team in the majors (OK, maybe it was the Washington Nationals as things turned out), ultimately predicting them to finish a few games over .500. With their 87th win, they'll hit the high range of that 70- to 90-win window.
3. Tim Hudson, San Francisco Giants: Hudson pitched the final game of his superb career, exiting to a standing ovation in San Francisco. He's a borderline Hall of Famer with 222 career wins, a 3.49 ERA and a .627 career winning percentage. He has more wins than Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz or Don Drysdale and a higher WAR than Whitey Ford, Early Wynn or Sandy Koufax. Maybe he's a little short of Hall of Fame status, but he's been a great pitcher, a class act and of the most enjoyable pitchers to watch the past 15 years.
4. Minnesota Twins: They keeping finding a way to win, scoring two unearned runs in the ninth to beat the Cleveland Indians 4-2, their eighth win in 11 games. We head into the final three games with the Astros one game up on the Twins and Angels for the second wild card. Can you say three-way tie?
5. Individual stats races: Hey, these are still fun to watch. The most intriguing ones the final weekend: Chris Davis leads Nelson Cruz by one home run for the AL crown (45 to 44); Bryce Harper and Nolan Arenado are tied at 41 in the NL; Harper's lead over Dee Gordon in the NL batting races is just two points, .331 to .329.