The 100-win pace club is dwindling. The Astros are now on pace for just 97 wins, knocking them out of the club. That would still be tied for third most in a season in franchise history but would still leave them short of joining the club.
Maybe 100 wins aren't all they're cracked up to be, anyway. There have been 97 100-win teams in the World Series era (since 1903), excluding 1904 when there was no World Series. Just 36 of those teams (37 percent) have gone on to win the World Series.
The Orioles, Royals and White Sox are all still on pace for 100+ losses. It would be just the second time that there have been three 100-loss teams in the same league. It happened in 2002, with the Devil Rays, Royals and Tigers.
THE 100-WIN-PACE CLUB
Boston Red Sox (88-37)
On pace for 114 wins
The Red Sox have remained around the 114-win pace mark for a while now, so they appear unlikely to challenge for the most wins in a single season unless they pick up the pace even more. But that record may not be too desirable anyway, considering that neither of the two teams with the highest win totals in MLB history -- the 2001 Mariners and 1906 Cubs -- won the World Series.
-- Red Sox's 100-win seasons: 3 (1946, 1915, 1912)
New York Yankees (78-46)
On pace for 101 wins
The Yankees have first-year manager Aaron Boone at the helm this season and are on pace for 101 wins. But that wouldn't be the most for the Yankees under a first-year manager. That distinction belongs to Ralph Houk in 1961, who guided the Yankees to a 109-win season.
- Yankees' 100-win seasons: 19 (most recent: 2009)
What it means:
-- The Red Sox and Yankees are both currently on pace to win more than 100 games. This would be just the fourth time in the divisional era that a pair of 100-win teams came out of one division.
THE 100-LOSS-PACE CLUB
Baltimore Orioles (37-87)
On pace for 113 losses
The Orioles are 50½ games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. When they fell 50 games behind through their 122nd game of the year on Friday, it became the fewest games played to reach 50 or more games out in the divisional era (since 1969).
-- Orioles' 100-loss seasons: 11 (most recent: 1988)
Kansas City Royals (38-86)
On pace for 112 losses
The Royals are on pace for the fifth 100-loss season in franchise history. Each of the four previous 100-loss seasons has come since 2002. Their four 100-loss seasons are already the most of any team since 2002, and if they added a fifth, they'd have two more such seasons than any other team.
-- Royals' 100-loss seasons: 4 (2006, 2005, 2004, 2002)
Chicago White Sox (46-76)
On pace for 101 losses
You don't have to go back too far to find the last time there were two 100-loss teams in the same division, and it involved a Chicago team as well. In 2012, the Astros lost 107 games as a member of the NL Central and the Cubs lost 101 games. Good news for the White Sox is that those are the last two World Series champions, so both figured it out in a matter of years.
-- White Sox's 100-loss seasons: 3 (1970, 1948, 1932)
What it means:
-- Having three teams reach 100 losses would put 2018 tied for second-most 100-loss teams in a season. Three teams reached 100 losses in 1985, 1965, 1964, 1962, 1961, 1954, 1912 and 1908. The most was four 100-loss teams in 2002.
-- Only once have there been three 100-loss teams in the same league. That was in 2002, with the Devil Rays, Royals and Tigers.
-- The Royals and Orioles are both on pace for 110+ losses. The only time there has been two teams with 110 losses in a season was 1969, when the Padres and Expos each lost 110 games.