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This Week in MLB

by Marty Gabel

ThisWeekMLBIt’s hard to believe we’re almost in September already, and the regular season only has about five more weeks until we know who’ll be partaking in October baseball. As many of you know, September is the month when the regular MLB roster switches from 25 to 40. For those teams not in contention, this gives them the opportunity to showcase some new talent, while for those still embroiled in a pennant race, the extended squad numbers ensure a little more security and could help relieve some tiring or injured players.

In the AL East, the New York Yankees are still six games up over the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees completed their series victory over the Sox on Sunday but lost two out of three to the Rangers during the week. This weekend, they have bounced back by taking the first two games in a three-game series over the White Sox. The Boston Red Sox honored the passing of Senator Kennedy at Fenway Park and also ended the tenure of pitcher Brad Penny. The Red Sox took three games out of four against the White Sox and are currently getting the best of the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend. The Tampa Bay Rays remain 10.5 games out of first place and 4.5 games out from the wild card spot. They traded away pitcher Scott Kazmir to the Angels and had winning series over Texas and Toronto.

Philadelphia are still fully in charge of the NL East, seven games up over Atlanta and eight games up over Florida. Though Cliff Lee suffered his first loss in a Phillies uniform on Saturday evening, the team split a series with the Mets after losing the first two, but could only manage one win out of three over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Atlanta Braves didn’t have a particularly successful week, losing two of three to the Marlins last weekend before suffering at the hands of the San Diego Padres. The Florida Marlins helped pitcher Josh Johnson win his 13th victory of the year on Wednesday night, but have since lost three straight. The New York Mets, now 17.5 games out of first place, got more bad news when they learned that ace pitcher Johan Santana has bone chips in his elbow and will miss the rest of the season, as will southpaw Oliver Perez. Whether you’re a Mets fan or not, it’s unlikely there’s ever been a team hit so hard with injuries to star players in a single season.

Detroit are still in charge of the AL Central. Though they lost a three-game series to Oakland last weekend, they managed to take two out of three from the Angels midweek. Behind them though, things have changed a little. The Chicago White Sox have had a terrible run, only winning one game out of their last seven, but their opposition has been tough, having to face both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Minnesota has taken advantage somewhat, putting together a rare winning streak. A sweep of the Kansas City Royals last weekend included Michael Cuddyer hitting two home runs in a single inning on Sunday, and was followed by the team taking two out of three from the visiting Baltimore Orioles. The Twins also boosted their pitching roster, claiming Jon Rauch and Ron Mahay off waivers. Minnesota is now 4.5 games out of first place while the White Sox remain five games back. The Kansas City Royal may be well out of the race, but pitcher Zach Greinke is still going strong, fanning a franchise-record 15 batters on Tuesday evening against the Indians.

St. Louis continue to gain ground on their rivals in the NL Central. They’re now nine games up over the Cubs, and still going strong. John Smoltz struck-out nine in his Cards debut, and Albert Pujols secured his fifth-straight 40-or-more home run season. If that wasn’t enough, pitcher Adam Wainwright secured his 15th win of the year, and will go for number 16 today against the Nationals. The Chicago Cubs learned that two of their pitchers, Rich Harden and Aaron Heilman, have both been claimed off waivers. They won their final game over the Dodgers after losing three straight last weekend, but didn’t have much joy over Washington, losing two out of three. The Cubs have rebounded this weekend, already having secured a series victory over the Mets. Milwaukee and Houston now sit 12 and 13 games back respectively, while the Cincinnati Reds saw their five-game winning streak end Saturday afternoon against LA.

In the AL West, the Angels are still out in front with a four-game lead over the Texas Rangers. The Halos certainly haven’t had one of their more memorable weeks, but they’ve done enough to still keep their noses in front, despite losing consecutive series to Toronto and Detroit, and already having split a four-game series with the Athletics, even though one of those games was a make-up game from very early in the season. The Texas Rangers remain 2.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card race. The Rangers may have lost two out of three to Tampa Bay last weekend, but performed well enough to win a series over the Yankees midweek. They’re currently battling Minnesota at the Metrodome, hoping to make up vital places in the wild-card race. Seattle are still 9.5 games out of first place. They lost their series to Cleveland last weekend, but then proceeded to sweep Oakland in three and have already won two in a four-game series over the Kansas City Royals.

Finally,  in the NL West, though the Los Angeles Dodgers are now five games up over the Colorado Rockies with the San Francisco Giants just one behind them, it wasn’t always so big a gap until the last few days. On Tuesday night, when the Dodgers lost their first game in a three-game series to the Rockies, that gap was down to just two games, but Los Angeles rebounded quickly and opened up their lead again. The Rockies were certainly pushing hard last weekend, with an important series win over the Giants, but the tables have been turned somewhat this weekend. The Rockies have lost four straight, but more significantly they hold just a single game advantage over San Francisco in the wild-card race. Today’s game at AT&T park could be hugely significant for the Giants, but their tough upcoming road trip this week in which they’ll face both the Phillies and the Brewers, could truly make or break their playoff hopes, and San Francisco will be hopeful that Freddy Sanchez can return from the DL to aid their chase as soon as possible.

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

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