Since going on their franchise-best 14-game winning streak, the Brewers have lost six of their last nine games and are now just five games up on the Cubs. That’s the same advantage the Blue Jays have over the Red Sox in the AL East. Meanwhile, the Tigers are heating back up as they continue to stretch their lead in the uninspiring AL Central.
But the real fun is on the West Coast.
While the Astros cling to a two-game lead in the AL West, the Dodgers and Padres are all tied up atop the NL West following their final regular-season clash of the year this weekend in San Diego.
So, where does that leave everyone? Our latest contender rankings, along with one player to keep an eye on down the stretch from each of those teams.
(Note: Contender rankings only include teams within five games of a playoff spot as of Monday, Aug 25.)
The Brewers lost a five-game series to the rival Cubs, then the bullpen imploded late over the weekend to drop a second straight series, this time against a Giants team that entered MIlwaukee having lost 10 of its last 12 games. But it’s going to take a lot more than one bad week to knock the Brewers out of the top spot here. It’ll be interesting to see which version of Andrew Vaughn they get down the stretch. He had an astounding 1.157 OPS for them in July. This month, it’s at .774 — still productive but perhaps a more realistic expectation of what to expect moving forward from the former first-rounder.
After a pedestrian month of July, the Tigers are reminding everyone why they have the most wins in the American League. They’ve won 11 of their last 14 games, including a 5-1 homestand last week against the Astros and Royals, while deadline addition Kyle Finnegan has helped solve their late-inning conundrum. He hasn’t allowed a run in 10.2 innings since joining the Tigers, and he’s 4-for-4 in save opportunities with a 0.38 WHIP.
Kyle Finnegan’s arrival to the Tigers bullpen has been the team rolling. (Photo by Matt Krohn/Getty Images)
The Phillies have won six of their last seven games but also absorbed the wretched news that they’ll be without Zack Wheeler for the rest of the year. Now, the play of Jesús Luzardo becomes all the more important. In a volatile season, he has made 10 starts of at least six innings with one or no runs allowed; he has also made six starts of five or fewer innings with four or more runs allowed. The result is a 4.10 ERA, but he has been trending up. Luzardo has a 2.32 ERA in his last five starts, and his ability to miss bats — he’s tied for eighth in MLB in strikeouts this year — will be intriguing come October.
A 3-3 road trip to Pittsburgh and Miami was not exactly inspiring. Shane Bieber’s performance on Friday was, though. In his first big-league start since undergoing Tommy John surgery last April, Bieber struck out nine and allowed just one run in six innings. If this is the type of impact to expect going forward, he will be one of the most consequential additions of the deadline.
Will this be the turning point for Kyle Tucker? From July 1 to Aug. 21, he hit one home run. This weekend in Anaheim, he hit three. The Cubs took three of five games from the Brewers before sweeping the Angels, as the offense finally kicked back into gear. Suddenly, they’re only five games back of the Brewers.
Kyle Tucker is bounced back in a big way and the Cubs are suddenly back on track. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Well, that was not a good week. Coming off the euphoria of sweeping the Padres at home, the Dodgers split in Colorado and dropped the rematch in San Diego. The offense kicked into gear Sunday, but it’s been far too inconsistent of late (and, really, all year). The play of Mookie Betts down the stretch will be crucial. He has a .286 batting average in August — his best mark of any month this season — but also has just four extra-base hits this month and is still hitting below league average on the year.
The Padres nearly returned the favor after getting swept in Los Angeles, but the Dodgers salvaged the series on Sunday in the last regular season matchup of the year between the clubs, who are tied atop the NL West again. The Padres have made their second-half run despite getting just one home run since the break from Fernando Tatis Jr. They might need more from him at the plate down the stretch if they want to secure their first division title since 2006.
A trip to the Bronx was the perfect remedy to get the Red Sox back on track after losing three straight games entering the series against the Yankees. Their play this year against New York (8-2) has them in position for the top wild-card spot, and rookie Roman Anthony has looked ready for the bright lights. He broke open the series opener on Friday with a ninth-inning homer and has multiple hits in five of his last eight games. The Red Sox signed him long term believing he could develop into a superstar, but that might already be happening.
Despite the staggering amount of injuries they’ve dealt with all year — and their middling play since the start of July (22-25) — the Astros remain atop the AL West. Yordan Alvarez is due back this week, a vital development for a Houston offense that ranks in the bottom 10 in OPS. He hasn’t played since May 2.
The Mariners have dropped eight of their last 11 games, though the week ended on a high note with a series win against the A’s which included MVP contender Cal Raleigh setting the single-season home run record for a catcher. The lineup is rebuilt, but the starting rotation has yet to perform to its potential. Can the return of Bryce Miller help change that? The 27-year-old hasn’t been able to build on last year’s breakout yet, but the Mariners’ rotation is whole again, and there’s still time for him to finish his season on a high note after dealing with a recurring elbow issue for much of the year.
The Yankees, after winning five straight against St. Louis and Tampa Bay, finally seemed to be turning a corner until the Red Sox came to town. They salvaged the four-game series with a win Sunday, but they had lost eight straight games against Boston until then. As they try to hold onto a wild-card spot, all eyes obviously remain glued on Aaron Judge and his elbow recovery. He has started throwing to bases again, which is an important step for a Yankees roster that could use him in the outfield as soon as possible. Giancarlo Stanton has eight homers and a 1.392 OPS in August, but every day he spends in right field is playing with fire.
The Yankees had a forgettable series against the Red Sox over the weekend. (Photo by Vincent Carchietta/Getty Images)
The offense kicked into gear in a weekend series win in Atlanta, but that came after a lost series in Washington. The Mets have won just six of their last 19 games, but two of those victories came courtesy of rookie starter Nolan McLean, who has a 1.46 ERA through his first two career starts. It’s a boost the Mets rotation needs; no other Mets starter has an ERA under 4.50 in August.
A win Sunday salvaged the weekend series in Arizona, but this week was a missed opportunity for the Reds to hop the middling Mets in the wild-card race. Now, the schedule ahead is much more daunting. One positive? The highest OPS among players who moved at the deadline belongs to Miguel Andujar (1.047). That production has been vital for a Reds offense that needs all the help it can get.
Vinnie Pasquantino is tied for the MLB lead for homers in August (10) and has knocked in more than twice as many runs this month (27) as any other Royals player. The Royals rank in the top five in OPS this month and are 20-14 since the break.
Every time you’re waiting for the Rangers to make a run, their offense falters. Every time you’re ready to bury them, their pitching staff puts them back in the hunt. After sweeping the Guardians (and allowing three runs all series), they’re back to .500 and back on our list, now 4.5 games out of a wild-card spot. Unfortunately, they likely lost Marcus Semien for the remainder of the regular season. They could use another offensive standout, and we might be seeing it now from Wyatt Langford, who’s hitting .393 with six extra-base hits in his last eight games.
If the Rangers are going to make a late push for the postseason, they’ll have to do it without the injured Marcus Siemen. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
The Guardians are playing themselves out of the playoff picture. In a winnable stretch against the Braves, Diamondbacks and Rangers, they went 1-8 to fall five games back of a wild-card spot. Steven Kwan is hitting .213 with three extra-base hits in August, and this isn’t an offense that can afford for that to happen. The Guardians rank last in every slash line category this month.
Current World Series winner odds (provided by FOX Sports Research)
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.
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