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The MLB playoffs officially begin in less than two months from now. Some teams have already mailed it in for the season and some teams are in the middle of pennant races. Who are the top 10 MLB teams entering week 20?
10. Cleveland Indians: The Indians are playing better baseball as of late and they are 12 games over .500. They are 62-50 and Cleveland leads the AL Central by nine games over the Minnesota Twins. Trevor Bauer struck out 11 batters in six innings in Monday Night's 11-0 home win against the Minnesota Twins. Shane Beiber continues to impress in his rookie season with the Indians. He pitched 5.2 innings and struck out seven, in Cleveland's 4-3 win on Sunday at home against the Los Angeles Angels. Bauer's record is 11-6 with a 2.25 ERA. In 159.2 innings pitched, he has given up 123 hits and 48 runs. Bauer has walked 56 batters and has struck out 206. Beiber's record is 6-2 with a 4.58 ERA. In 57 innings pitched, he has given up 70 hits and 31 runs. Beiber has walked 11 batters and has struck out 58. Jose Ramirez has a knack for hitting home runs early in ball games. He has a total of 33 home runs so far in 2018. His batting average is .297 and Ramirez also has 83 RBI's, along with 26 stolen bases. His on-base percentage is .407. After a four-game home set against the Los Angeles Angels, the Cleveland Indians will play six road games and three of them will be against the Chicago White Sox and three of them will be against the Cincinnati Reds. Last week's ranking: not ranked.
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9. Arizona Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks currently lead the second wild card spot in the National League with a 63-52 record. They are just 0.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West. Arizona has split the series so far with Philadelphia and they key rubber match game is taking place this afternoon at Chase Field. After this series, the Arizona Diamondbacks will start a nine-game road trip and teams that will not make it to the playoffs. This is a golden opportunity for them to pad some wins in the win column. Last week's ranking: 5.
8. Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers have been an up and down team recently. They split a series with the Milwaukee Brewers, including scoring 21 runs in one game. Los Angeles lost two-of-three to the Houston Astros at home, including a 14-0 loss at home on Saturday Night. The Dodgers won a big game on the road on Tuesday Night against the Oakland Athletics 4-2. Los Angeles has a big four-game road series this weekend against the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers have a 63-51 record so far in 2018 and they are only up 0.5 games on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Los Angeles is only up two games on Colorado. Last week's ranking: not ranked.
7. Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies continue to follow a simple formula to win games, but it keeps working for them. They pitch well, play good defense, and get timely hits. It isn't the most fashionable way to win baseball games but if that's what it takes to get to the postseason, so be it. Philadelphia's record is 64-49 so far this season and they are up 1.5 games on the Atlanta Braves and six games on the Washington Nationals. The Phillies will start a 10-game homestand after they play the Arizona Diamondbacks on the road on Wednesday Afternoon. Last week's ranking: 9.
6. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers continue to win a couple of games here and there. All they care about is not falling out of the playoff race and making it to the postseason. Milwaukee is 2.5 games back of the Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central with a 65-51 record. The Brewers currently hold the first wild card spot in the National League. After Milwaukee's four-game series at home against the San Diego Padres, the Milwaukee Brewers will have five big games coming up on the road against the Atlanta Braves (3) and the Chicago Cubs (2). Last week's ranking: 4.
5. New York Yankees: The Yankees were swept away in a weekend series against the Red Sox, The chances of them winning the AL East now is slim. New York is nine games back of Boston and they should worry about getting home field advantage for the AL Wild Card Game come October. New York's record is 70-42. Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez are currently sidelined with injuries. It will be different when they come back, but will it even be enough come playoff time? After the Yankees road series against the Chicago White Sox, they will begin an 11-game home stand, including a make up game on Monday, August 13 against the New York Mets. Lance Lynn struck out nine batters in 7.1 innings in his Yankees debut in a 7-0 win on Monday Night on the road against the Chicago White Sox. Last week's ranking: 3.
4. Chicago Cubs: The Cubs have the best record in the National League at 66-47. They are 2.5 games up on the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central Standings. Chicago has a big five-game homestand coming up. They will play three games against the Washington Nationals and two games against the Milwaukee Brewers. Javier Baez continues to rake for the Chicago Cubs and he might win the NL MVP Award. His batting average is .300 with 25 home runs and 88 RBI's, along with 19 stolen bases. Baez's on-base percentage is .333. Last week's ranking: 8.
3. Oakland Athletics: The Athletics continue to climb the standings. Their record is 67-47 and they have the second wild card spot in the American League at the moment. Oakland is 5.5 games back of the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. The A's are up two games on the Seattle Mariners for the second wild card spot. After Oakland's series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, they will play four consecutive series against division opponents. Mike Fiers was acquired in a trade from the Detroit Tigers recently. He will make his A's debut against the Dodgers on Wednesday Night at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fiers's record with Detroit was 7-6 with a 3.48 ERA. In 119 innings pitched, he gave up 121 hits and 49 runs. Fiers walked 26 batters and struck out 87. Oakland's six-game winning streak was snapped by Los Angeles at home in a 4-2 defeat on Tuesday Night. Khris Davis has been the Athletics best player so far in 2018. His batting average is .256 with 32 home runs and 88 RBI's. Davis's on-base percentage is .330. Blake Treinen has been a force in Oakland's bullpen. His record is 5-2 with a 0.95 ERA. In 57 innings pitched, he has given up 37 hits and 10 runs. Treinen has walked 18 batters and has struck out 75. Jeurys Familia's record with the A's since being traded from the New York Mets is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. In nine innings pitched, he has given up four hits and one run. Familia has walked two batters and has struck out 10. Last week's ranking: 7.
2. Houston Astros: The Astros injury list is starting to mount up. Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve are currently sidelined with injuries of their own, but George Springer will now be out a couple of weeks with a thumb injury and they also lost pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. to an injury. Correa is expected to be back for this weekend's four-game set at home against the Seattle Mariners. With having Correa, Altuve, and Springer all out of the lineup, Houston won both games against the San Francisco Giants on the road because of the starting pitching. Charlie Morton pitched seven strong innings and struck out eight in Houston's 3-1 Monday Night win. Dallas Keuchel pitched six innings and struck out five in The Astros 2-1 win on Tuesday Night. The Houston Astros continue to beat clubs in so many different ways. Manager A.J. Hinch is one of the best in the business. The Astros record is 73-42 so far this season and they lead the Oakland Athletics by 5.5 games and the Seattle Mariners by 7.5 games. Last week's ranking: 2.
1.Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox deserve to be the top ranked team in this week's rankings. They swept the New York Yankees over the weekend and Boston continues to defeat whoever is in their path. The Boston Red Sox's record is 80-34 and they lead the New York Yankees by nine games in the American League East Standings. Manager Alex Cora continues to roll the dice as a manager and it is paying off. He learned that a lot from A.J. Hinch in Houston. They are the best team in baseball and this might be their best team ever. Nathan Eovaldi had a strong outing in Saturday Afternoon's 4-1 win. He pitched eight innings and struck out four. Eovaldi only gave up three hits. Andrew Benintendi had the game-winning hit for Boston in the 10th inning in a 5-4 win for Boston. His batting average so far this season is .302 with 14 home runs and 66 RBI's, along with 20 stolen bases. Benintendi's on-base percentage is .384. Last week's ranking: 1.
