And then there were … three?
Looking at each race in the division plus the Wild Card chase, it looks like there are still three that are ready: the NL West and the two Wild Cards. In the National League, the club that doesn’t win the West between the Giants and the Dodgers will get that first Wild Card spot, but the second is far from decided, with the Reds, Padres, Cardinals, Phillies and may be the Mets still sniffed around.
In AL, the Wild Card is pure chaos. The Blue Jays have been released until September, a wave so definitive that they are now the clear favorites to host the playoffs of a game. The Jays are neck and neck with the Red Sox for first place, with the Yankees right on their heels. The A and the Mariners are still hanging, with three games behind.
We can add the NL East as one more race that can make weird turns and move forward as we head to the finish line. The Braves have 4 1/2 games ahead of the Phillies and 5 1/2 ahead of the Mets, an advantage that in most cases would seem to be enough to open a division title. (Also, the Braves are the only NL East team with a positive career differential, at +100.) But since it took a long time for a team to take first place and then stay there, maybe we shouldn’t have delivered the title to Atlanta yet.
Biggest jump: The Blue Jays and As jumped three points, 10-10 and 14-11, respectively. The Blue Jays have jumped six places in the last two weeks, which should come as no surprise. They made the most of their weekend in Baltimore, scoring 44 runs in their three wins there.
Largest download: The Yankees and the brave fell two places each. The Yankees went from 7 to 9 and the Braves from 8 to 10. The Yankees beat the Mets on Saturday to get a seven-game streak of seven games, during which they reached .176 with runners in scoring position.
1) Giants (1 last week)
Good times continue to roll for the Giants, who will be able to get a playoff spot in the next two days. They went on to win seven straight wins of the season when they beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday. They beat .335 (85 for 254) with 62 runs scored during the winning streak.
2) Dodgers (2)
The Dodgers have the second-best baseball record in 91-53, but they may still be hosting the Wild Card Game as they follow San Francisco for 2 1/2 games. The only person we can’t blame is Max Scherzer, who has a 6-0 lead with an ERA of 0.88 (that’s not a mistake) since he joined the Dodgers. The Dodgers are 8-0 when it starts. The newest member of the club with 3,000 attacks is starting to look like the favorite to win the NL Cy Young award.
3) Rays (3)
The Rays didn’t hit the 90-win mark with an extra loss for the Tigers on Sunday, but they are still eight wins away from tying their 97-game franchise record, set in 2008. They also have virtually no chance of winning their considerable advantage in the AL East division, as none of the other teams took advantage of any of the rare mediocre stretches of the Rays. Tampa Bay is 5-6 over its last 11, for example, but it didn’t lose ground.
4) Brewers (5)
An already special season was scored on Saturday when Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader combined to not reach the Indians, bringing the Brewers closer to the division title. After that match, the Brewers got the pace to win 100 wins for the first time in franchise history. The current record is 96 wins, shared by the 2011 and 18 teams. After sweeping the Indians, the magic number of brewers is five.
5) Astros (4)
The Astros have only been between 19 and 19 since July 31, but that’s hardly a problem in an AL West division, where the A’s and sailors have done little to threaten to take the lead. The Astros ’remaining schedule remains an advantage. Including Sunday’s game with the Angels, the remaining winning percentage of .479 opponents is the third easiest among AL playoff contenders, behind the Red Sox (.446) and White Sox (.474) .
The rest of the field of 30
Electors: Alyson Footer, Anthony Castrovince, Jesse Sanchez, Mark Feinsand, Nathalie Alonso, Mike Petriello, Sarah Langs, Andrew Simon, David Venn.