The Cleveland Indians are in prime position to make the postseason for the first time since 2007. With just 19 games left in the regular season, the Tribe find themselves 1.5 games back of the fifth and final playoff spot.
In addition to that final playoff spot being within reach, the Indians have an outside chance at grabbing the top wild-card spot if they can make up the five-game difference separating them and the Texas Rangers. The AL playoff picture is a crowded one, featuring nine teams within four games of some sort of playoff spot.
For the Indians, the most likely scenario involves them snagging one of the wild-card spots, pitting them in a one-game playoff with one of six teams—the Red Sox and Tigers will likely win their respective divisions.
In this article I’ll break down the matchups between the Indians and each of their eight possible playoff opponents. For the Wild Card Rounds, we’ll look at how the teams compare in a one-game, winner-take all scenario, while in the division and championship round matchups, we’ll look at how they’ll hold up over a five-game series.
We’ll begin with the division leaders and an analysis of how the teams compare, followed by the Wild Card Round analysis.
Up first are the AL West-leading Oakland A’s.
All stats come courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and are current through play on Sept. 9, 2013.
For this article, we’ll use Justin Masterson as the proposed Game 1 starter in all postseason matchups. His recent oblique injury has given way to some doubt as to whether or not he will be available in October. However, as it stands, he’s expected back in time (per Cleveland.com).