The American League Saga continues this week as we try to put our finger on our weekly winners and loser’s list. This week the list gets started for the good and bad with the American League East. One of the American League winners is the Toronto Blue Jays while one of the weekly losers is the Baltimore Orioles.
Just a week after the falling behind the New York Yankees into second place in the American League, the Blue Jays got hot once again. That stretch included winning seven of there past ten games while the Yankees have managed to win just five of there past ten games. This stretch moved the Blue Jays to 1.5 games up on the Yankees heading into Thursday.
The winning started last week as they split a two game series with the Philadelphia Phillies to start a eight game road trip. The winning continued over the weekend as they managed to outscore the Los Angeles Angels 36-10 in the teams three game sweep. The winning continued this week as they managed to take two of three against a red hot Texas Rangers team.
While the Blue Jays headline the top American League winners the Baltimore Orioles might be one of the most disappointing teams now landing on our losers list. After a hot stretch that saw the team move into the second wild card spot in the American League, the team can’t seem to find a way to win.
This includes losing seven of there past eight games after a stretch that saw the team win five of six. The losing started last Thursday as Minnesota Twins blew them out 15-2 in game one of a four game series. That loss set the tone as the team would go on to lose all four to the Twins before losing the first two against the Kansas City Royals. The Orioles did manage to take game three before losing the fourth game of the series.
This stretch has moved the Orioles to a game under the five hundred mark while falling eight games behind the Blue Jays for first place in the American League East. Here is the rest of the American League winners and losers for the last week of the 2015 MLB season.
American League Winners:
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers: The Tigers first baseman has been red hot since coming off the disabled list. That includes picking up at least two hits in seven of his last ten games. Despite failing to pick up a hit in the final game of the teams three game series against the Los Angeles Angels, Cabrera is still hitting .367 for the season. Over his last seven games, Cabrera is hitting .556 with one home run and seven runs driven in.
Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays: Typically when a team gets hot at least one if not more players are hot as well. That has been the case in Toronto as the team’s infielder Encarnacion has been red hot of late. This includes hitting home runs in three of his last four games as well as five of his last ten games. Over the last six games, Encarnacion has three home runs with 13 runs batted in. The Blue Jays power hitter is on the verge of posting another 30 home run season needing just four over the next few weeks.
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers: After a rough stretch after returning from the disabled list the former Cy Young Award winner is returning to his old form. That includes allowing just one earned run over his last four outings over a stretch of 29 innings. The best start of that stretch came in his last outing against the Los Angeles Angels as Verlander threw eight no hit innings before allowing a hit in the ninth inning. Verlander finished the game with just that blemish finishing off the shut out with nine strikeouts.
American League Losers:
Jed Lowrie, Houston Astros: The Astros infielder has had a difficult season in 2015 after spending time on the disabled list. Since returning, Lowrie has struggled this including going hitless over the last six games and 18 at bats. Over his last ten games, Lowrie has just our hits while striking out seven times as his batting average dropped to .231 on the season.
Ervin Santana, Minnesota Twins: The Twins starter is coming off his tenth start of the season just a few days ago against the Tampa Bay Rays. While the Twins have seen some success this season the team could really use a dominating Santana down the stretch if they would like a chance to make it to the post season. That hasn’t been the case as he has failed to allow less than four runs over his last four outings. Santana’s latest outing lasted just 2.2 innings against the Rays allowing eight hits and five earned runs. Santana is 2-4 on the season with a 6.05 earned run average in those ten starts.
Detroit Tigers: The Tigers continue to struggle this season and there latest stretch has dropped them to fourth place in the American League Central. The teams latest rough patch started on Friday August 21st in game two of a four game series with the Rangers after picking up the game one win. The Tigers would lose three straight to the Rangers scoring just five runs in the three losses. Following the series loss to the Rangers, the Tigers would drop a one game makeup against the Cincinnati Reds before losing two of three against the Angels.
Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles: Wieters is just one part of a struggling Orioles team that has struggled to play consistent ball all season. His latest struggles have come over the past eight games including just picking up just four hits over his last 26 at bats.