There’s something I would never usually consider bringing up on MLB Series Preview, or anywhere else, to be honest, especially in September with all the playoff races going on. It’s something that was on my mind today as I went over the standings. What franchise is going to end up with the worst record in MLB?
We’ll get to the good stuff in a bit with the top five series of the weekend. But indulge me for a moment. There are four likely candidates for the worst record in baseball. Two clubs from each league are within 4 ½ games of each other for that honor.
Standings entering Friday:
27th: Giants (58-83)
28th: A’s (55-86)
29th: Rockies (54-86)
30th: Angels (53-87)
These teams are a combined 13-27 over their last 40 games. Going forward, none of them have it easy, but I think the Giants have the most difficult September schedule of the group. San Fran has six games remaining against the playoff-hopeful Cardinals, six more versus the NL West-leading Dodgers, a series this weekend against the Mets on the road, and two series later this month against the wild-card contending San Diego Padres and Minnesota Twins. The only club they face that isn’t playing for something of relevance is the Mets.
This is a pointless exercise. I apologize. Seriously, who gets interested in the race for the league’s worst record? No one in their right mind. However, since I’ve dragged you along this far, I may as well make a bold prediction and say that the Giants, despite being 4 ½ games clear of MLB’s worst record, will end the campaign in 30th place. Now, as Forrest Gump said, “That’s all I have to say about that.”
Let’s get to the top five series.
No. 1: Atlanta (83-57) at Phillies (79-61)
Series length: Four games (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday)
Finally, they play again. Atlanta and Philadelphia meet for the first time since April. Gosh, I really dislike the four-month gap between intradivision games. These NL East foes played six times from April 17 to April 26, and Atlanta won five of those contests. It’s been exactly 130 days since they last played. That’s way too long for me. Spread these 13 head-to-head division matchups out a bit. Sprinkle them around the calendar so they don’t play teams from their own division six or seven times in a fortnight.
At this point, I believe divisions need to go away completely, or MLB needs to drop the idea that more interleague contests are a good thing. Interleague matchups increased from 20 to 46 games beginning in 2023, while division matches dropped from 76 to 52 that same year. Atlanta and Philly will play seven times in less than two weeks this month, similarly to their April meetings. That could be a positive given that the NL East race is down to these two clubs, which makes the last seven head-to-head matchups over the next nine days especially interesting.
Atlanta has a four-game lead over the Phils entering Friday. How would you like to be in Chris Sale’s cleats? Over his last two outings, he’s had to face two likely top-five NL Cy Young candidates in Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski and, most recently, the Dodgers Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Now, the big lefty takes on the National League’s wins leader, Cristopher Sánchez (28 GS, 16-4, 2.52 ERA) in Friday’s opener. From the fan’s viewpoint, this is great. Are we in for another epic duel like we saw last weekend in Atlanta when Sale struck out 11 during a complete-game shutout versus Los Angeles? I have no idea, but I’m going to watch this game hoping for a similar duel between two of the league’s best arms. Sale’s 2.06 ERA is second in the NL to only Misiorowski’s 1.97 mark. This matchup between the two 6’6” southpaws could very well determine the runner-up for the NL Cy Young. I don’t think anyone will argue that, right now, the award is The Miz’s to lose.
Starting pitching should be the one major advantage that Philadelphia has over Atlanta in this four-game set. Here are the expected matchups following Friday’s Sale vs. Sanchez contest:
Saturday: ATL – Martín Pérez (26 G, 22 GS, 8-8, 3.05 ERA) versus PHI – Zack Wheeler (23 GS, 11-5, 3.31 ERA)
Sunday: ATL – Tyler Mahle (23 GS, 5-10, 4.25 ERA) versus PHI – Aaron Nola (28 GS, 6-10, 4.93 ERA)
Monday: ATL – Bryce Elder (26 GS, 8-8, 4.11 ERA) versus PHI – Jesús Luzardo (28 GS, 13-5, 3.02 ERA)
A massive series on the importance and intrigue scale. The easy No. 1 choice this weekend.
No. 2: Yankees (80-60) at Padres (73-67)
Series length: Three games (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
To the first of two top-five interleague matchups on the list. The American League’s No. 1 wild-card holder takes on a San Diego club that continues to pass around the third NL wild-card spot with Arizona seemingly every other day.
The Padres are a half-game back of the D-backs for the final NL WC, and return home after a road trip that saw them go 1-5 combined at Tampa Bay and Cincinnati. The Friars are 32-39 away from Petco Park, but at home, where they’ll play this series against the Yankees, San Diego is 41-28. I don’t like how this team is playing right now (3-7 record over its last 10 games), but I do like their upcoming schedule. After this series with New York, they have three contests against some of the worst National League squads (3 vs. Washington, 3 at San Francisco, 3 at Colorado). I know San Diego’s road record so far isn’t promising, but if there’s ever an opening to win some games away from their home park, the next week-plus is the time to do so. Also, I like the second-half improvements from Fernando Tatis Jr. The right fielder has 14 homers and 35 RBI along with a .298 batting average in 43 contests since the All-Star break. Those 14 taters are nearly three times as many as the five round-trippers he hit in 95 matches before the All-Star Game, and the 35 ribbies equal his first-half total. That’s quite a turnaround for a player who didn’t hit his first long ball until May.
New York is in the best shape of the six current wild card teams in MLB. They still have a shot at catching Tampa Bay in the AL East at three games back, and their lead over Boston for the No. 4 seed and home-field advantage in the ALWC is at 4 ½ games. Aaron Judge’s return isn’t imminent, but it’s getting close. I don’t know what we should expect from the five-time Silver Slugger when he returns, but there’s no doubt that his presence in that lineup will instantly change how opposing teams navigate the Yankees offense.
Friday’s opener will see New York’s Max Fried (16 GS, 4-4, 2.80 ERA) battle Padres right-hander Walker Buehler (27 GS, 8-6, 4.66 ERA).
No. 3: Diamondbacks (74-67) at Astros (72-69)
Series length: Three games (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
At No. 3 on this weekend’s list, we have another highly relevant interleague series between the club San Diego is trying to overtake in the NL wild card race, and an Astros squad that’s coming off a 3-1 series victory against the AL Central-leading White Sox.
Houston has a two-game lead over Texas in the AL West. That’s the narrowest division lead in MLB. They are also fighting with Chicago for the AL’s No. 2 seed. After their series win over the ChiSox, the ‘Stros enter this weekend 1 ½ games behind for that all-important bye to the ALDS. It could be a tough month ahead for the AL West leaders given that they play four more series against current playoff squads. Following this matchup with Arizona, Houston has a pair of three-game sets at Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, and then returns home for six contests against the Royals and Atlanta. That’s not a schedule I’d choose if I were in their situation.
I’m trying to figure out this Diamondbacks offense. I wasn’t a big believer in Arizona’s bats before all the drama surrounding their second baseman Ketel Marte. Since his return, he’s gone 2-for-6 at the dish over two contests, but my question is: do they have enough firepower in the lineup to be considered a serious threat if they were to make the playoffs? They don’t hit many homers (137 HR ranks 14th in the NL), and their .710 OPS ranks 11th in the league. It’s a mediocre offense at best, and we’ll see if they hold off San Diego and possibly a couple of other clubs within striking distance for the league’s No. 6 seed. Arizona plays three games in San Diego at the end of the regular season (Sept. 25-27).
No. 4: Rays (83-57) at Rangers (70-71)
Series length: Four games (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) *Rangers won Thursday’s opener, 6-0.
It was mildly shocking when I read that the Rangers’ 6-1 victory over Tampa Bay in Thursday’s series opener was the 10th straight win they’ve had against the Rays at Globe Life Field. No disrespect to Texas, but to think that the American League’s top squad hasn’t won a single game at that park in the last few seasons kind of blows my mind. Then again, Texas has been fairly dominant at home since their 2023 World Series run. Since ’23, the Rangers’ worst win-loss record at Globe Life Field was 44-37 in 2024. That year, they went 78-84 overall and missed the postseason.
Fast forward to ’26, and Texas is still very good in their own park, entering Friday with a 39-30 home record. The issue for the Rangers, like nearly every other AL West squad, is their road performance. Texas is 10 games under .500 on the road, and they haven’t won an away series since late July at Seattle. Since that time, they’ve lost six consecutive sets on the road. Fortunately for the Lone Stars, four of their final seven series are at home.
As mentioned earlier, the Yankees trail Tampa Bay by three games in the AL East. Every time we’ve seen New York climb their way back into the division hunt, the Rays seem to increase that lead by a few games. It’s going to be interesting. I would like Tampa Bay’s chances to win the AL East a lot more if they didn’t end the season with seven road contests at Yankee Stadium and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. After this series, they travel to Atlanta to face the National League’s best home team. The Rays are 36-32 away from Tropicana Field.
No. 5: Red Sox (76-65) at Orioles (69-72)
Series length: Four games (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) *Red Sox won Thursday’s opener, 6-5.
Welcome back to Baltimore, Mr. Adley Rutschman. Two solo homers by the Orioles’ former catcher in his first game at Camden Yards to help Boston to an opening-game victory couldn’t have been drawn up much better than that. This series is far more important to Baltimore given where they are in the AL playoff picture. The O’s returned home on Thursday following a horrific rubber-game loss at Colorado on Wednesday that saw the club blow a ninth-inning lead and a two-run advantage in the 11th. Baltimore has lost three straight contests and is 4-6 against Boston after last night’s loss. Fortunately for the Orioles, they are only 1 ½ games back of Cleveland for the third AL wild card.
The Red Sox needed a win on Thursday to gain some momentum back after dropping two straight series to the Yankees and Mariners, respectively. I’ve been hearing a few whispers around the league from some pundits who believe that Boston could fall out of the second AL wild card position, and maybe completely out of the playoff picture by season’s end. I don’t see that at all. Given that the Sox have a six-game advantage over the first two teams currently out of the playoff field (Texas and Toronto) with 21 games remaining, they will not miss out on the postseason. They do still have a three-game series with Cleveland coming at the end of September, which might or might not determine the second wild-card holder (Boston leads the Guardians by 5 ½ games for that position). However, even if Boston snags the last wild-card spot, some might say they have a better opportunity in the lower half of the American League bracket against the AL Central and AL West division winners than against the Yankees in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup.
The bottom line for Boston, and why I wouldn’t bet against them making the playoffs, is that they host the last-place Angels and Royals after this weekend’s series. If they take care of business next week against those clubs, then there’s nothing to be worried about in Beantown.
Missed the Top Five
Brewers (87-54) at Reds (67-73): Three games
Angels (53-87) at Pirates (69-72): Three games
Giants (58-83) at Mets (63-77): Three games
Cubs (79-62) at Marlins (71-70): Three games
Twins (67-73) at White Sox (73-67): Three games
Blue Jays (70-71) at Royals (63-78): Three games
Cardinals (70-71) at Rockies (54-86): Three games
Nationals (67-75) at Dodgers (83-57): Three games
A’s (55-86) at Mariners (66-75): Four games *A’s won Thursday’s opener, 7-4.
Tigers (64-75) at Guardians (70-70): Four games
