MLB Playoff Push: How schedules look for AL wild-card hopefuls in stretch run

With the race for the final wild-card spot in the American League as crowded as it has been in recent memory, every game and series will carry extra weight as October baseball looms.

While the Tampa Bay Rays , New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have largely separated themselves from the pack, there is still a potpourri of nine other clubs battling for two division titles and one wild-card spot.

Right in the middle of it all are the Toronto Blue Jays , who have used a 13-9 August to get back into the mix. Despite a series loss over the weekend in the Bronx, the Blue Jays are now set to take on one of the softest portions of their schedule when they open a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Rogers Centre on Tuesday.

Toronto will enter the week 1.5 games behind the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Guardians in the race for the third wild-card spot while sitting ahead of four other teams looking for a late-season surge.

Although the calendar has yet to even reach September, the push for the post-season has begun. And with the stretch run comes plenty of scoreboard watching and standings checks. So, acknowledging that anything can happen on the field, let's take our first look at the AL playoff picture and how the schedules stack up.

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No. 1 and AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays (77-53): Bye No. 2 and AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox (68-62): Bye No. 3 and AL West-leading Houston Astros (65-66)* vs. No. 6 Texas Rangers (65-66)** No. 4 New York Yankees (74-56) vs. No. 5 Boston Red Sox (71-59) *Astros and Rangers are tied at 65-66, but Houston holds the tiebreaker. **Rangers and Guardians are tied at 65-66, but Texas holds the tiebreaker.

With all three of the Astros, Rangers and Guardians sporting a 65-66 record, the standings will surely continue to shift in the week ahead. Cleveland, in particular, could make its move before September arrives. Currently riding a four-game win streak, the Guardians are set for series with the 52-79 Angels and 58-74 Royals over the next week.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, will hope a series against those very Royals — who have won eight straight of their own entering the week — will help them move past their series loss to the Yankees before welcoming the Mariners over the weekend.

Beyond Toronto, one team to keep an eye on this week will be the Tigers. Detroit has lost five straight games and eight of its last nine, and is set for its toughest test of the month with consecutive series against Tampa Bay and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Despite their August slip, the Tigers are still just 3.5 games back of the third wild-card spot and boast the third-highest run differential in the American League. But as the team with the most ground to make up, Detroit can't afford another stumble while facing two of baseball's best squads.

Houston Astros: There's a chance that Houston looks back at last week's series losses to the Angels and Athletics as a missed opportunity.