A couple of postseason races have been determined, however there’s nonetheless a lot to concentrate to as baseball’s schedule enters its ultimate month.
Of all of the still-undetermined positioning, the NL Wild Card race is arguably essentially the most compelling. The Phillies have a 3 1/2-game cushion within the high spot, however 5 groups — the Cubs (second spot), D-backs (third), Reds, Giants and Marlins — are all bunched up, with Miami the furthest away from the third spot at simply three video games again.
As far as division races go, the AL West has turn into a little bit of a jumble on the high, with the surging Mariners knocking the Rangers out of first place for the primary time since April 8, and the Astros not far behind. Check out the Mariners’ schedule the ultimate 10 days of the season — three at Texas, three in opposition to the Astros at dwelling and 4 in opposition to the Rangers, additionally at dwelling.
Biggest leap: The Brewers (No. 10 to No. 6) and D-backs (No. 17 to No. 13) every jumped 4 spots. The NL Central-leading Brewers gained their eighth in a row after topping the Padres on Sunday, 10-6, to keep up a four-game lead within the NL Central.
Biggest drop: The Giants dropped 4 spots, from No. 12 to No. 16. Even with their victory over the Braves on Sunday, they’re 6-14 since Aug. 5.
1. Braves, 84-45 (1 final week)
The Braves entered their finale with the Giants on Sunday on fairly a roll — one they’ve been using for fairly a while, profitable 12 of 15 to achieve a season-high 40 video games over .500. They averaged 6.5 runs per recreation throughout that stretch, and the pitching employees, which had some points for a few month previous to this block of time, posted a 2.49 ERA over these current 15 video games. The NL East race is lengthy over; now it’s only a matter of whether or not the Braves can surpass their franchise report of 106 wins, which they set in 1998.
Mookie Betts’ homecoming journey to Boston grabbed headlines even earlier than the sequence began; by the point it ended, it’s truthful to say even his most adoring Beantown followers weren’t unhappy to see him go. Betts batted .467 (7-for-15) over the three-game set at Fenway, and he’s using a 15-game hitting streak, the longest lively streak in baseball. The Dodgers took two of three in Boston, enhancing to 21-4 in August. Like the Braves, the Dodgers needn’t trouble with scoreboard-watching for the remaining month of the season. In a 12 months that was speculated to showcase a minimum of two different golf equipment difficult for the NL West title, Los Angeles is pacing for an additional double-digit lead en route to a different division win.
Baltimore dropped the sequence finale at dwelling in opposition to the Rockies on Sunday, 4-3, which narrowed their lead within the AL East division to two video games over the Rays. They’re just one victory away from clinching a profitable season, they usually’re two wins away from matching their season win whole from 2022 (83). Even with the loss Sunday, the O’s have gained seven of 9 video games and scored 56 runs throughout that stretch — 6.2 runs per recreation.
Late-season surges are nothing new for the M’s, who swept the Royals on Sunday to take sole possession of first place within the AL West. They are a season-high 18 video games over .500 and have gained 19 of 24 video games in August. Two issues have erupted just lately — the attendance at T-Mobile Park and Julio Rodríguez’s manufacturing. More than 125,000 followers packed the ballpark for the weekend sequence with the Royals, and J-Rod is batting an AL-best .406 with an MLB-best 25 RBIs over 21 video games in August.
The Rays have gained 11 of their previous 15 video games, together with two of three in opposition to the Yankees at dwelling over the weekend. They gained a recreation on the division-leading O’s, however they’ve a difficult schedule forward of them. Twenty-four of their ultimate 30 video games will probably be in opposition to groups presently .500 or higher. Mark your calendars: The Rays will play the Orioles in Baltimore Sept. 14-17. Tampa Bay is 3-6 vs. Baltimore this season.
The remainder of the sphere of 30:
6. Brewers (10)
7. Rangers (5)
8. Astros (7)
9. Phillies (9)
10. Blue Jays (8)
11. Cubs (11)
12. Red Sox (14)
13. D-backs (17)
14. Twins (13)
15. Reds (15)
16. Giants (12)
17. Marlins (16)
18. Yankees (20)
19.Angels (19)
20. Guardians (22)
21. Padres (18)
22. Nationals (24)
23. Tigers (23)
24. Mets (21)
25. Pirates (25)
26. Cardinals (26)
27. White Sox (27)
28. Rockies (28)
29. Royals (29)
30. A’s (30)
Voters: Will Leitch, Alyson Footer, Anthony Castrovince, Paul Casella, Mark Feinsand, Nathalie Alonso, Mike Petriello, Sarah Langs, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Sweeny Murti, Doug Gausepohl, Travis Miller
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