AL Standings, run differential, playoff race

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The Twins hit a new high water mark for 2024 with a big home stand coming up. They currently have the fourth best record in the American League and would get the second wild card, which would mean a first round matchup with either Baltimore or New York (currently tied for the AL East lead). In looking at the standings today, what is interesting is that the Twins are only three  behind Cleveland and two behind both Baltimore and New York in the loss column, hardly an insurmountable deficit. 

Looking from the perspective of who might catch them, Kansas City trails by only a game and a half and is in the third wild card position, while Boston would be the first team out. The Red Sox currently trail the Twins by three games and the Twins have the tiebreaker with them. It appears Seattle and Houston will slug it out for the AL West crown, but the loser of that race would probably not make it as a wild card. 

Run differential is also an interesting story. The Twins are fifth in that stat, trailing the three teams with better records and the Royals. Of the eight teams currently in contention for post season, run differential seems to fit pretty closely with win-loss records. The Twins are among the top run scorers, but they've allowed the most runs per game of the contenders.