Observing each divisional struggle and for the Wildcats, it seems that three are still to be decided: The Western Division of the National League and the Wildcards of both leagues. At the Old Circuit, the club that doesn’t win the West between the Giants and Dodgers will take the first Wildcard, but the second is far from clear-, with the Reds, Fathers, Cardinals, Filis and possibly the Mets still with the last contingent in sight.
In the American League, the Wildcards are a mess. The Tiles have swept through the month of September, a rise that definitely has them now as favorites to be the hosts for the game of life or death. The Toronto squad takes the Red Sox for the first Wildcard and has lowered the Yankees to third place. The Athletics and Mariners are still in contention, being at 3.0 games.
We can add the East of the National as another battle that could give interesting twists as the final straight 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, this might be enough to secure the divisional title. (Also, the Braves are the only ones in the East of the National with a positive race differential with +100) But since it took so long for a team to take first place and stay here, we possibly should to Wait to Crown Atlanta |
The biggest jump: The Tiles and Athletics climbed three places, from 10th to 7th and 14th to 11th, respectively. Toronto has risen six places in the past two weeks, which should come as no surprise to a few. They took full advantage of their weekend in Baltimore, scoring 44 runs in their three wins over the Orioles.
The descent more: The Yankees and Braves fell two places each. New York went down from 7 to 9, and Atlanta from 8 to 10. The Bombs beat the Mets on Saturday to break a streak of seven straight losses, in which they batted 176 with runners in scoring position.
1. Giants (1 last week)
San Francisco is still having a good time and the club could officially qualify for the playoffs in the coming days. He got his best streak of the year with seven straight wins by doubling the Puppies at Wrigley Field on Sunday. The Giants beat .335 (254-85) with 62 recorded during this run.
2. Dodgers (2)
The champions have the second-best jackpot in Major Leagues with 91-53, but that still holds them back as the host of the Wildcard Game, as they are below the Giants by a difference of 2.2 games. The only one who can not be blamed is Max Scherzer, who has a 6-0 record with an effectiveness of 0.88 – as they read – since joining the Los Angeles club, which has an 8-0 record in the openings of the ace. The new 3,000-pound club member is sporting another clear favorite for the National League Cy Young Award.
3. Rays (3)
Tampa Bay fell short of 90 wins after its extrainnings defeat to the Tigers on Sunday, but is still eight wins away from equaling the 97 franchise record it set in 2008. It can also be said that there are little chance of them missing their big advantage in the Eastern American League, because none of the other teams in the division took advantage of the Rays’ mediocre moments. For example, the Tampa Bay squad has led 5-6 in its last 11 games, but has not lost any ground.
4. Brewers (5)
What was already a special season was crowned Saturday when Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader teamed up to pitch a non-hitter against the Indians, which also brought Milwaukee closer to the division title. After this meeting, the Brewers were projected to achieve 100 victories for the first time in the history of the franchise. 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 has had a 19-19 mark since July 31, but that hasn’t been an obstacle in an American League West Division, where Oakland and Seattle have not been a threat. The Calendar of the Stars also shines as an advantage. Including Sunday’s engagement against the Angelinos, their opponents by the end of the season have a cattle and lost percentage of 479, which is the third easiest among the Young Circuit contenders, below those of the Red Socks (446) and White Socks (474).
6. White Socks (6 last week)
7. Tiles (10)
8. Red Socks (9)
9. Yankees (7)
10. Braus (8)
11. Athletic (14)
12. Pares (12)
13. Reds (11)
14. Mariners (13)
15. Cardinals (17)
16. Filis (15)
17. Mets (16)
18. Angelino (20)
19. Indis (18)
20. Tigers (19)
21. Rockies (21)
22. Marlins (22)
23. Puppies (25)
24. Twins (23)
25. Reals (24)
26. Nationals (26)
27. Rangers (27)
28. Pirates (28)
29. Dorsals (29)
30. Oriols (30)
Speakers: Alyson Footer, Anthony Castrovince, Jesse Sánchez, Mark Feinsand, Nathalie Alonso, Mike Petriello, Sarah Langs, Andrew Simon, David Venn.