AL West Week 7: Athletics Lead, Rangers Stumble in Detroit, Mariners Swept | The Division Line

The AL West doesn’t have a frontrunner. It has a survivor. And right now, that survivor is the Athletics.Sacramento sits alone in first place at 18-16 while the Rangers stumble to 16-18 after getting outscored 13-2 in two losses in Detroit. Jack Leiter gave up eleven hits. Kumar Rocker lasted two innings. Nathan Eovaldi threw seven shutout innings against the Yankees and reminded everyone what this rotation could be — but one ace doesn’t win a division.The Mariners got swept at home by Kansas City. The Astros are 14-21 and hosting the Dodgers this week. The Angels are 13-22 and running out of road.This week on The Division Line, Pete Dwyer breaks down the series that mattered, the numbers that don’t lie, and what a division race looks like when nobody wants to take control of it.Subscribe to The Baseball Nerd for stories that explore the numbers, narratives, and history that make baseball the greatest game in the world. Get full access to The Baseball Nerd at thebaseballnerd.substack.com/subscribe