The Astros did salvage the series finale on Sunday, but the biggest story in baseball from this past weekend was easily the Oakland Athletics running them down and tying for first in the division after Saturday night's victory over the defending champs.
What a wild ride. The A's were two games under .500 and 11 1/2 games out on June 15. To even be one game back right now is amazing. In just a bit over two months, the A's cut the deficit to one by going 40-14 since June 15. That's an absurd run. The past month, the A's took three of four in Houston and this time around they won two of three from the Astros.
It's difficult make up a 10-plus game deficit on a good team over the course of four months, let alone just over two. It's really one of the more amazing comebacks we've seen in such a short time.
With all that in mind, it makes sense that the A's would be the hot topic of conversation in the baseball world. They should be. Over on the NL side, though, let's not forget about those Rockies.
Back on June 24, the Rockies lost to the lowly Marlins. I bring up that date because that's the last time the Rockies played a team with a losing record. That's right, since that Sunday, the Rockies have played 46 games and every single one of them came against a team over .500 at the time they faced off. That's brutal.
All they've done in that stretch is go 30-16, which is the best record in the NL during that time. Judging the entire league against the Rockies in this span is cherry-picking an arbitrary endpoint, but the point is the Rockies have been playing better than anyone and they've been doing it against tough competition. That's a strong ballclub.
What if those two teams faced off in the Fall Classic? That would be pretty damn cool. The Rockies have never won a game in the World Series (they were swept in their only trip). The A's haven't been there since 1990, famously seeing a few 100-win "Moneyball" teams fail to get out of the first round of the playoffs.
It would be the type of nondescript matchup that would get all those NFL honks to pound their chest about "ratings!" and that's always good for a laugh.
It would be a fresh matchup, as it's never happened before, obviously. Neither of the teams has made a deep playoff run in a while, so the crowd that gets tired of "the same teams every year" would be pleased, at least in theory.
Selfishly, yeah, I like going places I've never been before and I haven't been to either Oakland Coliseum or Coors Field.
But seriously, it would be so much fun! Casual fans could get acquainted with the likes of Matt Chapman, Nolan Arenado, Khris Davis, Trevor Story and the monster that Blake Treinen has become.
As things stand, these are two of the best teams in baseball.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | I am at least mildly concerned with Chris Sale needing a second DL stint, even if he says it's basically precautionary. | -- | 28-27 |
| 2 |  | Can you believe this, Monty? Haha! | 2 | 12-46 |
| 3 |  | Little blip in losing three of four to start the week, but the Yankees rebounded with a sweep of the Blue Jays. Of concern is how much longer Aaron Judge is out. | 1 | 34-23 |
| 4 |  | I still think they're going to win the AL West. It just looks like they are going to have to work a lot harder than we previously thought. | 1 | 32-23 |
| 5 |  | Just lying in the weeds in the AL, trying into get noticed by anyone ... | 1 | 25-30 |
| 6 |  | The offense is terrible right now. The Cubs just finished a four-game series where they scored four runs and they were all solo homers. That's not going to cut it. | 1 | 24-31 |
| 7 |  | There have been lots of dramatic, come-from-behind wins, but let's not lose focus that it's the underrated rotation and also the bullpen keeping them in those games. | 6 | 24-32 |
| 8 |  | At 14-4, the Cardinals have been the best team in the NL in August by a pretty decent margin. | 4 | 25-32 |
| 9 |  | The D-Backs are going to earn a playoff spot if they get there. The remaining schedule is pretty tough, with an awful lot of Dodgers, Rockies, Braves, Cubs and Astros. | 2 | 32-23 |
| 10 |  | Man, that's a rough series to swallow against the Rockies, but these Braves have responded to adversity all year. | 2 | 33-23 |
| 11 |  | They really had a nice chance to make a move in the East with the Braves being swept in four games and only took two of five from the Mets. Dropped ball there, Phils. | 2 | 25-30 |
| 12 |  | Two straight vintage Clayton Kershaw outings and he's sitting there quietly posting a 2.40 ERA. | 2 | 34-23 |
| 13 |  | Getting desperate in the rotation. | 6 | 28-27 |
| 14 |  | In a bit of a funk now, huh? Maybe the homestand against the Reds and Pirates can get them back on track. | 4 | 29-26 |
| 15 |  | Blake Snell is moving toward an ERA under 2.00 while pitching in the AL East. That would be quite the breakout season, no? | 2 | 40-18 |
| 16 |  | What an ugly start to the Pirates career of Chris Archer. | 1 | 28-27 |
| 17 |  | LOL | 1 | 24-32 |
| 18 |  | I predict Shohei Ohtani is a stud when he returns to the mound and then wins AL Rookie of the Year. | -- | 30-27 |
| 19 |  | We're approaching the final month of Joe Mauer's eight-year contract. Try to imagine him in a different uniform. Weird, right? | 1 | 29-27 |
| 20 |  | The week started with two dramatic wins over the Dodgers. It ended with two walk-off losses and two blowout losses to the Reds. | 1 | 28-28 |
| 21 |  | I've been rough on Rougned Odor in the past, so in the interest of fairness, he's completely reworked himself at the plate and is looking like a well-rounded hitter. He's slashing .279/.355/.483 this season. Kudos to him. | 1 | 35-20 |
| 22 |  | Jacob deGrom has a winning record now. He apparently just learned how to win, or something. | 1 | 29-27 |
| 23 |  | The Reds are a big deal in the NL Central right now. Why? Their next 13 games come against the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals. | 1 | 26-29 |
| 24 |  | It wasn't too long ago that the Jays had the most powerful and exciting lineup in baseball. Now? Yuck. | 3 | 29-27 |
| 25 |  | On June 17, the Tigers got within one game of .500 at 36-37. Since then, they've gone 15-37, good for the worst mark in the AL in that time. Yes, they've been worse than the Royals and Orioles since then. | 1 | 26-28 |
| 26 |  | Starlin Castro is 28 years old and has 1,419 career hits. Through Pete Rose's age-28 season, he had 1,327 hits. No, I'm not compared them, Rose Cult members. I'm just saying it's interesting. | 1 | 29-27 |
| 27 |  | Michael Kopech! Yay! (Is it too much to ask to get Eloy Jimenez, too?) | 1 | 23-35 |
| 28 |  | Wil Myers at third base, huh? Interesting. | 3 | 25-30 |
| 29 |  | Update: The Royals are on pace to lose 112 games. The franchise record is 106. | 1 | 17-39 |
| 30 |  | Update: The Orioles are on pace to lose 114 games. The franchise record is 111. That was the St. Louis Browns, though. The most losses the Orioles have ever had in a season is 107. | 1 | 35-21 |
