Four Teams To Watch In The Second Half
By Matt Fargo
Minnesota Twins
The Twins will enter the break right around .500 and still be in contention in the American League Central. That's the good news.
After the break, 40 of their remaining 73 games are on the road. Minnesota finished the first half with a 17-24 record on the road and it will come out of the gates with 10 straight road games beginning July 17th.
If that wasn’t tough enough, the Twins close the season with a brutal September that features 16 of their 27 games coming away from home.
With both Detroit and Chicago playing the majority of their games at home in the second half, it will be a challenge for the Twins to win their division.
New York Yankees
After a typical slow start, the Yankees are catching fire. New York will have more second half games at home (39) than on the road (35), but the schedule overall looks very tough.
The Yankees have difficult non-division series against Detroit, Chicago (two series), Seattle (two series), Texas and Los Angeles, all clubs still fighting for the postseason as well.
The real issue for New York lies within the division. It has played 32 games in the American League East, going a disappointing 15-17 and it has 40 remaining including 19 on the road. Obviously the Yankees have to improve upon their 0-8 record against Boston.
Philadelphia Phillies
The defending World Series champions have a nice cushion entering the second half of the season.
Philadelphia went 48-33 at home last season but is just 21-23 this year. That should help going forward. The Phillies won't win 48 games on their home field this season but it's a safe bet they'll finish above .500.
Philadelphia has the best divisional record but it has already played 13 against the Washington Nationals. The Phils are fared well outside their division (19-11) and they'll need to continue that success to claim the NL East title once again.
San Francisco Giants
While many have crowned the Dodgers the National League West champions, The Giants are not going away without a fight. They are six games back of in the West own a three-game lead in the Wild Card standings.
San Francisco is 31-14 at home, which is the best home record in all of baseball. It has played the second most home games within the division and the fourth most in the National League, so it will have to pick up its play on the road to remain a playoff contender.
The Giants have seven remaining road series outside of the division that come against teams currently under .500. That will be beneficial knowing that their record on the road is currently 18-24.