The Major League Baseball postseason begins in less than two months, and the race for the playoffs is slowly heating up.
The red-hot San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks have locked up the top two spots in the National League wild card race, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a tough time in the NL West. The Atlanta Braves’ struggles have made it difficult for them to clinch a postseason berth.
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In the American League, the Kansas City Royals just managed to secure the last wild card spot, closely followed by the Seattle Mariners and the Boston Red Sox.
As far as divisions go, only the NL East and NL Central have first-place teams with a lead of four or more games.
The postseason push promises to be epic, but for now, here’s another edition of Newsweek Sports’ MLB rankings.
1. New York Yankees (70-49)
2. Baltimore Orioles (70-49)
3. Philadelphia Phillies (69-49)
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (69-49)
5. Cleveland Guardians (69-49)
6. Milwaukee Brewers (67-50)
7. Kansas City Royals (65-53)
8. Arizona Diamondbacks (66-53)
9. San Diego Padres (66-53)
10. Minnesota Twins (65-52)
11. Houston Astros (62-55)
12. Seattle Mariners (63-56)
13. Atlanta Braves (61-56)
14. Boston Red Sox (61-55)
15. New York Mets (61-57)
16. San Francisco Giants (61-59)
17. St. Louis Cardinals (60-58)
18. Tampa Bay Rays (59-58)
19. Chicago Cubs (59-60)
20. Cincinnati Reds (57-61)
21. Pittsburgh Pirates (56-61)
22. Texas Rangers (55-63)
23. Detroit Tigers (56-63)
24. Washington Nationals (54-65)
25. Toronto Blue Jays (54-64)
26. Los Angeles Angels (52-66)
27. Oakland Athletics (50-69)
28. Miami Marlins (44-75)
29. Colorado Rockies (44-75)
30. Chicago White Sox (28-91)
Biggest climbers
Arizona Diamondbacks (+3)
The Diamondbacks are 15-3 in their last 18 games and are the best team in MLB other than the Padres. After defeating the Guardians and winning three of four games against the Phillies, the Diamondbacks have established themselves as a serious threat for another World Series appearance.
San Francisco Giants (+3)
The NL West is shaping up to be the powerhouse everyone expected, and the Giants are looking to make a late push up the standings. The Giants have won 12 of their last 16 games and are just 1.5 games out of the third and final wild card spot in the NL.
Chicago Cubs (+3)
Trying to salvage a seemingly lost season, the Cubs suddenly find themselves just three games out of the third and final NL wild-card spot after going 8-2 in their last ten games.
Biggest losers
Atlanta Braves (-5)
Once the class of the NL, the Braves suddenly look like a team that could miss the postseason entirely. The Braves have lost seven of their last eight games, including Sunday’s game against the underachieving Rockies, where they blew a six-run lead in the eighth inning.
Pittsburgh Pirates (-5)
The Pirates started August 55-53 and were firmly in the running for the NL Wild Card. Then they had to face the NL West. The Pirates lost two of three games to the Diamondbacks before being swept in back-to-back series against the Padres and Dodgers. Now they have to play three games against the Padres again, this time in San Diego.
