Looking at each division and Wild Card match, it appears that three have yet to be decided: The NL West Division and the Wild Cards of both leagues. In the Old Circuit, the club that doesn’t win the West between the Giants and Dodgers will take the first Wild Card, but the second is far from clear, with the Reds, Padres, Cardinals, Phillies and possibly the Mets still with the last spot to play. the view.
In the American League, Wild Cards are a mess. The Blue Jays have swept through the month of September, a promotion that definitely has them now as favorites to host the game of life and death. The Toronto squad rubs shoulders with the Red Sox for the first Wild Card and they have dropped the Yankees to third place. The A’s and Mariners are still in contention, running 3.0 games away.
We can add the East of the Nacional as another battle that could take interesting turns as the home stretch approaches. The Braves are at the top with a 4.5 game lead over the Phillies and 5.5 over the Mets. In most cases, that could be enough to secure the divisional title. (Plus, the Braves are the only ones in the NL East with a positive +100 run differential) But because it took so long for a team to take first place and stay there, we should possibly wait to crown. to Atlanta.
The biggest jump: The Blue Jays and Athletics climbed three spots, from 10 to 7 and 14 to 11, respectively. Toronto has moved up six spots in the past two weeks, which should come as a surprise to few. They took full advantage of their weekend in Baltimore, scoring 44 runs in their three wins over the Orioles.
The biggest drop: The Yankees and Braves fell two places each. New York slipped from 7 to 9, and Atlanta from 8 to 10. The Bombers beat the Mets on Saturday to snap a seven-game losing streak, batting .176 with runners in scoring position.
1. Giants (1 last week)
San Francisco continues to have a good time and the club could officially qualify for the playoffs in the next few days. He hit his best streak of the year with seven straight wins by beating the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday. The Giants have hit .335 (from 254-85) with 62 runs scored during that run.
2. Dodgers (2)
The champs have the second-best record in the majors at 91-53, but that still has them as the host of the Wild Card Game, trailing the Giants by 2.2 games. The only one who cannot be blamed is Max Scherzer, who has been 6-0 with a 0.88 ERA – as they read – since joining the Los Angeles club, which is 8-0 in the league. ace openings. The new member of the 3,000 strikeout club is looking like another clear favorite for the National League Cy Young Award.
3. Rays (3)
Tampa Bay fell short of 90 wins following its extra-inning loss to the Tigers on Sunday, but it is still eight wins away from equaling the franchise record of 97, which it set in 2008. Arguably, there is little chance of a win. They let their big advantage slip away in the AL East, as none of the other teams in the division took advantage of the Rays’ mediocre moments. For example, the Tampa Bay squad is 5-6 in their last 11 games, but they haven’t lost any ground.
4. Brewers (5)
What was already a special season was capped off Saturday when Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader combined to throw a no-hitter against the Indians, which also moved Milwaukee closer to the division title. After that meeting, the Brewers were projected to achieve 100 victories for the first time in franchise history. The current record is 96, shared between the 2011 and 2018 editions. After sweeping Cleveland, Milwaukee’s magic number is six.
5. Astros (4)
Houston is just 19-19 since July 31, but that hasn’t been an obstacle in an AL West, where Oakland and Seattle haven’t been a threat. The Astros’ schedule also looks like an advantage. Including Sunday’s engagement against the Angels, their opponents between now and the end of the season have a .479 win-loss percentage, which is third-easiest among Young Circuit contenders, behind those of the Red Sox. (.446) and the White Sox (.474).
6. White Sox (6 last week)
7. Tiles (10)
8. Red Sox (9)
9. Yankees (7)
10. Braves (8)
11. Athletics (14)
12. Parents (12)
13. Reds (11)
14. Sailors (13)
15. Cardinals (17)
16. Phillies (15)
17. Mets (16)
18. Angels (20)
19. Indians (18)
20. Tigers (19)
21. Rockies (21)
22. Marlins (22)
23. Cubs (25)
24. Twins (23)
25. Royals (24)
26. Nationals (26)
27. Rangers (27)
28. Pirates (28)
29. D-backs (29)
30. Orioles (30)
Voters: Alyson Footer, Anthony Castrovince, Jesse Sánchez, Mark Feinsand, Nathalie Alonso, Mike Petriello, Sarah Langs, Andrew Simon, David Venn.
.