SB Nation Reacts: Drama abounds in push for the postseason

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Each week, we send 30 polls to plugged-in fans from each team. Astros fans, sign up HERE to join Reacts.

The hunt for the postseason is shaping up to be a dramatic affair this weekend. For example, the Yankees, following their loss to the Rays on Saturday, now require that both the Blue Jays and Mariners lose to clinch a wild card berth today. That scenario probably won’t happen as I check the score for the Baltimore-Toronto game...um, yeah, the Yankees are not clinching a playoff berth by this evening. And don’t forget about the Red Sox, who are still on the hunt for a postseason berth. Most fans believe that New York and Boston will take both Wild Card berths. We will see.

Over on the West Coast, the surprising Giants are holding off the ever-talented Dodgers in the tight NL West race with the second-place club destined for a Wild Card game. Yes, a team with more than 100 wins playing in a one-game playoff where a loss sends them home early. Plus, the opponent in the Wild Card game is none other than the red-hot Cardinals. While ending a season on a hot streak doesn’t guarantee postseason success, it does create some moderate discomfort for the club that draws them in a series, no matter if it is only one game or seven. The fans are still leaning towards the Giants taking the NL West title, which appears quite possible with FanGraphs giving the team a 95.6 percent with only two games remaining.

Postseason baseball, to be honest, is all a crapshoot. It does help to have an incredible roster filled with high-performing players, but anything can happen in a small sample. After all, the Astros lost four games AT HOME in the 2019 World Series. In each of those games, the starting pitchers were Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander (x2), and Zack Greinke. So, yes, anything can happen. I can at least appreciate the drama this weekend without having to deal with the fallout for a change. But that all changes this week as the Astros prepare for the ALDS, which will assuredly bring the stress right back for me.

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