David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior Writer 10y

One week left: 10 games to watch

Some races were cleared up over the weekend, but the AL wild-card standings remain a three-for-two proposition, the Pirates and Giants are battling for home-field advantage in the NL wild card, and the AL Central, NL Central and NL West haven't quite been locked up yet. Not many contenders are playing each other this week, but here are 10 important games to keep an eye on.

1. Monday: Kansas City Royals (Danny Duffy) at Cleveland Indians (Carlos Carrasco)

Actually, this kind of counts as two games, as the teams will play the bottom of the 10th from the suspended game of Aug. 31. After tonight, we can thankfully stop mentioning the Royals have a suspended game to complete. (Dear Baseball Gods: No rain in Cleveland tonight, please.) The Royals will bat with the Indians up 4-2. Due up for the Royals: Mike Moustakas, Erik Kratz and Alcides Escobar. Salvador Perez was the designated hitter in the game, so he's not eligible to hit for Kratz.

The regular game presents a tough matchup for the Royals, as Carrasco is coming off a two-hit, 12-strikeout game and has a 1.17 ERA since joining the rotation in August. Look for Ned Yost to employ many one-run strategies. If the Royals lose both games Monday and the Mariners win, they'll be tied for the second wild-card spot.

2. Monday: Los Angeles Angels (C.J. Wilson) at Oakland Athletics (Jeff Samardzija)

Despite their struggles, the A's are still in the wild-card driver's seat after taking two of three from the Phillies over the weekend while the Royals and Mariners both dropped two of three. In this three-game series against the Angels they'll start Samardzija, Sonny Gray and Jon Lester, so they have their best starters lined up. Samardzija would love a little run support.

3. Tuesday: Chicago White Sox (Scott Carroll) at Detroit Tigers (David Price)
The Tigers finish with a seven-game homestand against the White Sox and Twins, so it would take a big collapse for them to lose out on the division title at this point. But they would love to see a strong outing from Price, who has a 5.81 ERA over his past five starts with 45 hits in 31 innings. Price would go again on Sunday if needed, but Brad Ausmus would love if he doesn't have to use him and presumably lines him behind Max Scherzer in the Division Series.

4. Wednesday: San Francisco Giants (Tim Hudson) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw)

If the Giants have any chance of winning the NL West, they're going to have to sweep the Dodgers. That would include beating Kershaw on Wednesday. Good luck. He's 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA against the Giants in three starts this season and 13-5 with a 1.44 ERA in his career.

5. Thursday: Oakland Athletics (Jason Hammel) at Texas Rangers (Colby Lewis)

Yes, the A's were swept last week at home by the Rangers, but you have to like their playoff chances since they finish with four games against the Rangers, even if they are on the road. Hammel struggled after first coming over to the A's but has been very good over his past five appearances, with a 2.18 ERA. If he gets the A's off to a good start, look for them to run over the Rangers and host the wild-card game on Tuesday.

6. Friday: St. Louis Cardinals (Michael Wacha) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Trevor Cahill)

This will be Wacha's last chance to impress Mike Matheny enough to earn a spot in the postseason rotation. In three starts since returning from the DL, he's pitched 11.2 innings and allowed nine runs with seven strikeouts. The fastball velocity has been the same, and he was up to 78 pitches in his last outing, but he hasn't displayed the swing-and-miss stuff of earlier in the season or last October. Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller seem like the favorites to start the first three games, so it's Wacha or John Lackey for Game 4 (assuming the Cardinals hold on and win the division).

7. Friday: Los Angeles Angels (Jered Weaver) at Seattle Mariners (Hisashi Iwakuma)

Weaver makes his final tune-up start before the playoffs and with Matt Shoemaker still an uncertainty -- the Angels are hoping he can start one of the season's final two games -- and Hector Santiago struggling his past two starts (17 baserunners and 10 runs in three innings), the Angels have considered going to a three-man rotation for the first round. This game may not mean much more for the Angels than trying to secure home-field advantage for the ALCS if they get there, but it could mean everything for Seattle. Iwakuma is scheduled to start, but he looks like he's hit the wall, with a 9.18 ERA over his past six starts.

8. Saturday: Pittsburgh Pirates (Francisco Liriano) at Cincinnati Reds (Alfredo Simon)

With a wild card all but locked up, the Pirates have two things to play for this week: Home-field advantage over the Giants for the wild-card game (they're tied entering the week, with the Pirates holding the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series) and the slim chance of catching the Cardinals for the NL Central (down 2.5 games). The Pirates are also a team without an obvious No. 1 starter. Liriano has allowed just three runs over his past five starts so he may be the guy you want in the wild-card game, except you may not want a lefty facing a Giants lineup that includes Buster Posey, Hunter Pence and Mike Morse from the right side. If Liriano starts on Saturday, he's unlikely to go in next Wednesday's wild-card game on three days' rest. It could instead go to Gerrit Cole, currently scheduled to start the regular-season finale.

9. Sunday: Kansas City Royals (Yordano Ventura) at Chicago White Sox (Chris Bassitt)

The rookie right-hander may be starting with a chance to give the Royals their first playoff trip since 1985. He's gone at least six innings in 10 consecutive starts and doesn't appear to be tiring even though he's pitched 23 more innings than he did last year between the minors and majors. In his start, his fastball averaged 98 mph and touched 100.

10. Sunday: Los Angeles Angels (C.J. Wilson) at Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez)

King Felix is lined up to make two starts this week, and it's likely the Mariners will need him on Sunday considering they begin the week 1.5 games behind the Royals and two behind the A's. Wilson just blanked the Mariners on one hit over seven innings, although the good news for Seattle is Wilson would probably be on a short leash, as he's the likely Game 2 starter in the Division Series if Shoemaker can't go.

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