This Week in MLB

With just six more weeks of the regular season ahead, and most teams this week concentrating on getting their draft picks signed, there was still plenty of baseball played, even if the week was a little short on major news. And admittedly, this Brit was probably listening to the Ashes a little more this weekend than watching baseball, but with good reason!

In the AL East, the New York Yankees are still 6.5 games up over the Boston Red Sox as the two teams meet again this weekend for three games with a rubber match today after the Yankees won 20-11 on Friday, but lost on Saturday 1-14. The previous weekend, the Yankees took three games out of four at Seattle, before moving onto Oakland and taking two out of three there. The Red Sox meanwhile, lost their series to Texas last weekend, but bounced back by sweeping Toronto midweek. Boston also released aging pitcher John Smoltz, but boosted their ranks by claiming Billy Wagner off waivers from the Mets. The Tampa Bay Rays are still just a couple of games behind the Red Sox, coming off successful series victories over both Toronto and Baltimore this week, both of whom now find themselves 20 and 27 games out of first place respectively.

Philadelphia are still 6.5 games up over Florida and Atlanta in the NL East, and Ryan Howard is on the cusp of recording four consecutive 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons. The Phillies won their series over the Braves last weekend and went on to sweep the Diamondbacks midweek in convincing fashion, outscoring Arizona 25 to 5. The Marlins still remain in touch though, and went an incredible 15-straight games where they recorded 10 or more hits per game before that streak ended on Thursday evening. The Atlanta Braves are also well in contention, as the two teams battle this weekend for that crucial place in the NL wild card standings. The Mets have now drifted to 14.5 games out of first place, and there’s been much discussion about Gary Sheffield’s place in the team. While the Washington Nationals still continue to under-perform on the field, they did at least sign No. 1 draft pick Steven Strasburg off it, as well as install Mike Rizzo as their new general manager.

Turning to the AL Central, it’s still Detroit out front, 2.5 games up on the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers, who boosted their roster with Aubrey Huff, won consecutive series over the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners, and are currently having a closely fought series with the Athletics in Oakland this weekend. The White Sox remain three games over the .500 mark, completing a series victory over the Athletics last weekend and taking two of three over the Royals midweek. The Twins are without slugger Justin Morneau for a few games due to injury, and lost ground on the leaders some more this week after losing two of three to the Indians last weekend before splitting a four-game series with the Rangers midweek. Catcher Joe Mauer still leads the AL batting championship with a .378 average, and there’s been much discussion as to whether he can make it to the magical .400 mark, a tough task, but certainly not impossible by any means, and enough, perhaps, to keep Minnesota fans interested in what has been a rather disappointing season.

In the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals have continued to extend their lead somewhat, now eight games up over the Chicago Cubs. The Cards swept San Diego last weekend, then managed to take two out of three over the Dodgers in Los Angeles midweek. The Cubs didn’t have one of their better weeks, losing two out of three to the Padres before succumbing to the aforementioned Dodgers on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Houston are now nine games back, despite winning their last four straight, and Milwaukee are 9.5 games off the pace. The Brewers were swept by the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates during the week, which has brought up many questions about their starting pitching rotation and their current difficulties, and the Cincinnati Reds have had a fairly miserable August so far, only recording one series victory. The Reds are now 18 games out of first place and at the bottom of the division, having been overtaken by the Pirates who have put together a very respectable five-game winning streak.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are still sitting pretty atop the AL West, and are almost at full strength with both Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter getting regular playing time these days. The Angels are now 6.5 games in front of the Rangers, having completed series victories over Baltimore and Cleveland this week. The Texas Rangers have lost some ground in their wild card hunt to the Boston Red Sox due to their struggles over the Twins midweek in which they gave up two games despite being ahead early, and losing a series to the Rays this weekend. The Seattle Mariners are now 12 games out of first place, despite their positive record, while the Oakland A’s haven’t had one of their better home stands this week with series losses to both the Yankees and White Sox.

In the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers still maintain their lead at the top of the division by five games, while Colorado and San Francisco battle it out for a wild card spot beneath them. The Dodgers have won three straight over the Cubs despite losing consecutive series to the Diamondbacks and the Cardinals. The Rockies swept the Nationals midweek, and their series is tied up at one apiece against the Giants, with two more to play. On Wednesday, the Giants pitched their league-best 16th shutout this season. Earlier in the week, they tied a four-game series with the Mets, but managed two out of three over the Reds a few days later. The Diamondbacks have lost seven straight games, especially disappointing after their series win in LA last weekend, while the San Diego Padres remain 22.5 games out of first place, mainly suffering at the hands of the surging St. Louis Cardinals both this weekend and last.

Well, that wraps up another eventful week in the MLB. Back next week with more news from the Majors.