National League playoff race gets insane
With eight teams separated by just five games heading into Monday, the fight for National League postseason spots is only heating up as summer winds down.
The Cubs lead the Central, but we’ve seen things change quickly in that division. The Cardinals (1.5 games back) and Brewers (4 GB) have each been in first place at one point this season.
It’s the wild-card race that’s going to get even more hectic. Seven teams are within 3.5 games, including the red-hot Mets, who have won nine of 10 and find themselves believing again.
With teams playing their division rivals so much down the stretch, there’s going to be plenty of movement for the wild-card spots. Those games against fellow contenders will ultimately decide which clubs will finish first and second.
How USA TODAY Sports’ panel voted this week:
1. Astros (movement from last week, -1) Aaron Sanchez had lost his last 13 decisions ... then he joined the Astros.
2. Dodgers (+1) Dustin May (aka “Gingergaard”) could be a bullpen weapon in October.
3. Yankees (–) Edwin Encarnacion, Aaron Hicks head to the injured list.
4. Twins (–) With 217 homers in 111 games, the team could break the record (267) by September.
5. Indians (+1) A huge opportunity
with a four-game set in Minnesota this weekend.
6. Braves (-1) Shane Greene, Mark Melancon and Chris Martin join the shaky bullpen.
7. Rays (+2) Made the wise deadline move to buy low on Jesus Aguilar.
8. Cubs (+2) Overshadowed by the Nick Castellanos trade, but Tony Kemp was a big addition.
9. Athletics (+2) Tanner Roark picks up a win in his first Oakland start.
10. Nationals (-2) Stephen Strasburg’s 7-game winning streak comes to an end.
11. Red Sox (-4) An eight-game losing streak probably put the American League East Division title out of reach for good.
12. Cardinals (–) The offense gets a boost with Marcell Ozuna’s return after a month on the shelf.
13. Phillies (+1) Didn’t make a sexy move, but Jason Vargas will help stabilize the rotation.
14. Brewers (-1) Probably should have done more at the deadline, but hey, they have Christian Yelich.
15. Giants (–) Losing three of four after the deadline was not ideal.
16. Mets (+3) Might be time for Seth Lugo to take the ninth inning from Edwin Diaz.
17. Rangers (+1) With a bargain salary for 2020, it was worth holding on to Mike Minor.
18. Diamondbacks (-1) Got quite a haul from Houston for Zack Greinke.
19. Angels (-3) Top prospect Jo Adell promoted to Class AAA and will make case for a roster spot in the spring.
20. Reds (+1) Trevor Bauer gives them a formidable rotation with Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray.
21. Padres (-1) Fernando Tatis Jr. has a .434 batting average on balls in play.
22. Rockies (–) July is the only month that Nolan Arenado has a sub.800 career OPS.
23. Pirates (–) Lost 17 of 21 coming out of the All-Star break.
24. White Sox (–) Outfield prospect Luis Robert is hitting .352 through 21 games in Class AAA.
25. Blue Jays (+1) Bo Bichette hit .406 with two home runs in his first seven games.
26. Mariners (-1) Got no-hit twice in a month. Is that bad?
27. Marlins (+1) All-Star Sandy Alcantara has a 7.29 ERA across his last six starts.
28. Royals (-1) Jorge Soler is on pace to top 40 home runs.
29. Orioles (–) Well on their way to breaking the single-season record for homers given up.
30. Tigers (–) Traded Castellanos and Greene but opted to hold on to lefty Matthew Boyd.