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5 teams prepared to play spoiler down MLB's home stretch

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With just over two weeks left in the Major League Baseball season, we have a vague idea of what the playoff picture will look like. However, plenty remains up in the air, and contending teams can't sleep on weaker opponents.

While the New York Yankees and Houston Astros have mostly locked up their respective divisions, home-field advantage remains in play. The final stretch will also decide the fates of bubble teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies.

Here are the five best candidates to play spoiler as the season reaches its conclusion.

Kansas City Royals

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Date Home Away Head to Head
Sept. 13-15 HOU KC 1-2
Sept.16-18 KC OAK 1-3
Sept. 19-22 KC MIN 3-9
Sept. 24-25 ATL KC 2-0
Sept. 27-29 MIN KC 3-9

Kansas City finishes its season with five consecutive series against playoff contenders with seven games against the division-rival Minnesota Twins. The Royals haven't fared well against the AL Central leaders, but a solid showing in the final seven contests could open the door for the Cleveland Indians to steal the division crown.

Even if they can't find an answer for the Twins, the Royals could become a pesky thorn in the side of an Astros squad vying for home field.

Meanwhile, with the Oakland A's sandwiched between the Tampa Bay Rays and Indians in the wild-card race, laying an egg against an inferior team like Kansas City would be a crushing blow.

Jorge Soler is on a warpath having already set the Royals' single-season record in home runs (44 and counting) and he's got an outside shot at 50. With Soler, an unheralded Hunter Dozier continuing to bloom, and a presumably healthy Adalberto Mondesi, the Royals are looking like a more competitive team.

Los Angeles Angels

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Date Home Away Head to Head
Sept. 13-15 TB LAA 2-2
Sept. 17-19 LAA NYY 1-3
Sept. 20-22 LAA HOU 3-9
Sept. 24-25 OAK LAA 5-12
Sept.26-29 HOU LAA 3-9

Assuming Mike Trout overcomes his foot issue, the Angels are in a fun position to pester a significant amount of postseason hopefuls. With seven games against the Astros, Trout and Co. could seriously hamper Houston's hopes at finishing with baseball's best record. No team has struck out more opponents than the Astros, but the Angels have been the second-most difficult team to punch out this season (other than the Astros, oddly enough).

The Angels can also drop a stink bomb in the wild-card race against both the Rays and A's. The Indians will definitely be cheering on the Halos as they look to keep their options open in case they fail in their pursuit of the Twins in the Central.

The main roadblock is how little a fight the Angels have put up against their division rivals. If that trend continues, their potential as spoilers will prove fruitless.

Miami Marlins

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Date Home Away Head to Head
Sept. 13-15 MIA SF 2-1
Sept. 16-18 MIA ARZ 3-1
Sept. 20-22 WSH MIA 3-13
Sept. 23-26 MIA NYM 4-11
Sept. 27-29 MIA PHI 9-7

If the Phillies surge and are in a place to clinch a postseason berth in the season's final weekend, look out. As bad as the Marlins have been this year, they own a somehow favorable head-to-head record against Philadelphia.

Miami hasn't seen the same amount of success against other divisional opponents, but are in a position to damage the postseason hopes of three rivals as well as the Diamondbacks who continually refuse to go away.

Because the Marlins have been pathetic opponents for the entire season - and have only won five series since the beginning of July - having playoff hopes dashed at their hands would be extra embarrassing.

San Diego Padres

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Date Home Away Head to Head
Sept. 13-15 SD COL 8-8
Sept. 16-19 SD MIL 3-0
Sept. 20-22 ARZ SD 7-6
Sept. 24-26 LAD SD 6-10
Sept. 27-29 SD ARZ 7-6

Speaking of the Diamondbacks, the Padres are in the best position to snuff out their postseason aspirations.

A horrendous July (8-16) and the loss of Fernando Tatis Jr. has derailed an otherwise encouraging season for the Friars. Meanwhile, their division rivals in the desert have been the surprise story of the year, but have fallen on hard times of late after losing four straight to kick off the week. Arizona can't afford an extended losing streak, and the Padres hold a slight edge in the season series.

A three-game set against the Christian Yelich-less Brewers will also be important. The Brewers fell in three straight against the Padres the last time the two teams met. A successful September from Manny Machado would also help rinse the stink off his disappointing second half. Since the beginning of August, Machado is batting .206/.287/.319 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 38 games.

Also of note: the Padres may start rehabbing starter Garrett Richards in the series. The right-hander's been working his way back from Tommy John.

Cincinnati Reds

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Date Home Away Head to Head
Sept. 13-15 ARZ CIN 1-2
Sept. 16-18 CHC CIN 9-7
Sept. 20-22 CIN NYM 2-2
Sept. 24-26 CIN MIL 8-8
Sept. 27-29 PIT CIN 5-11

The Reds will pose a major threat to a handful of fringe playoff contenders in the next few weeks but will be particularly dangerous against the visiting Mets and Brewers. The Reds are 40-35 at Great American Ballpark compared to 28-44 on the road.

Curiously, the Reds have also fared relatively well against both the Brewers and Cubs while struggling against the bottom-feeding Pirates.

Third baseman Eugenio Suarez looks to continue his monstrous second half. He's blasted 25 home runs in 56 games and has an outside shot at 50 on the season. If he's hot, he could reach that plateau while crushing the dreams of a couple opponents at the same time.

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