The first full weekend of September is now underway. Here are four series noteworthy and worth watching.
New York Yankees @ Chicago Cubs
The Yankees are in second place in the American League East at 80 wins and 60 losses. They are half a game back of the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the American League East. The Cubs are at 72 wins and 68 losses and are four games back of the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves for a wildcard spot in the National League.
The best hitter in this series is Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge of Linden, California. Judge leads the Major Leagues with 51 home runs, and 124 runs batted in, and is third in the American League with a .323 batting average.
Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals
The Twins are in second place in the American League Central with a record of 76 wins and 64 losses. The Royals are in third place in the American League Central with a record of 76 wins and 65 losses. Both the Twins and Royals trail the first place Cleveland Guardians by four and four and a half games respectively. Minnesota and Kansas City are also comfortably in a wildcard spot. Royals shortstop Bobby Witt of Colleyville, Texas leads the American League with a .339 batting average and 190 hits.
Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans of Crawfordville, Florida is second in the American League with 197 strikeouts. He gets the start on Friday.
Arizona Diamondbacks @ Houston Astros
The Diamondbacks are third in the National League West at 79 wins and 62 losses, and hold down the second wildcard spot in the National League. The Astros are at 75 wins and 65 losses, and lead the Seattle Mariners by four and a half games in the American League West.
Offensively, the Astros are led by second baseman Jose Altuve of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez of Las Tunas, Cuba. Altuve is fourth in the American League with 163 hits, and Alvarez is fourth in the American League with a .309 batting average.
Cleveland Guardians @ Los Angeles Dodgers
The Guardians lead the American League Central with a record of 80 wins and 60 losses. The Dodgers lead the National League West with a record of 84 wins and 56 losses. Los Angeles’s lead is five games over the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers’ offensive star is designated hitter Shohei Ohtani of Oshu, Japan, who leads the National League with 44 home runs, and is second in stolen bases with 46. The Guardians are led by first baseman Josh Naylor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and third baseman Jose Ramirez of Bani, Dominican Republic. Ramirez is second in the Major Leagues with 106 runs batted in and second in the American League with 34 stolen bases. Naylor is third in the Major Leagues with 100 runs batted in. Finally from a pitching perspective, Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase of Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic leads the American League with 41 saves.
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