The NL playoff race is one with championship pedigree all over. The teams are so strong in the NL that the two past pennant winners are fighting for spots in the Wild Card game.
The AL may house the league’s three-best records, but the NL is not having a down year. With the Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers leading the way and six other teams in the race, the postseason spots won’t be decided until the last few days of the regular season.
Let’s see where each race stands.
NL West
The NL West was supposed to be a one-team race, with the Dodgers and Yasiel Puig labeled the class of the entire league. However, the San Francisco Giants and their never-ending arsenal of strong pitching are hanging tight, trailing the Dodgers by just 2.5 games.
Tim Hudson is having one of the best season in his career at 39 years old and Madison Bumgarner is stepping up to provide No. 2 starter numbers (3.21 ERA and 1.18 WHIP). A core of Hunter Pence, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse have boosted the offense, but it still ranks 19th in the league.
The Giants need more quality starts from Tim Lincecum to compete with the Dodgers rotation that includes the best pitcher in baseball, Clayton Kershaw, as well as Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu. With a 12-ranked offense led by Puig, the Dodgers will be tough to beat down the stretch.
NL Central
When the Brewers jumped out to a 20-9 start and led the division by over five games in May, it was tough not to pick them to hold on. However, a stagnant summer has allowed to surging St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates to get back in the race. Both stand within 2.5 games of the Brewers for first place in the division.
The Brewers looked to improve at the deadline and picked up Gerardo Parra to provide depth. However, the Cardinals went out and got Justin Masterson and John Lackey to sure up their rotation for the playoff race.
However, the Brewers offense ranks eighth in the league and the Cardinals’ sits 29th overall. The Cardinals will need Yadier Molina to come back from his injury fast in order to keep up with a strong Brewers offense.
NL East
The Nationals have taken hold of the division by simply winning four out of their last 10 games. It’s not hard to take a three-game lead when the Atlanta Braves have lost seven consecutive games.
Atlanta can’t seem to find any consistent offense from Justin Upton or Freddie Freeman, thus scoring four or fewer runs each game of this losing streak. The National, though, rank just 19th in batting average, causing them to struggle to pull away from the reeling Braves.
The pitching for both teams is phenomenal, so what this division could come down to is which offense sparks first. The Nationals rank 14th in runs score, while the Braves sit in 28th.
Wild Card
This wild card race features six teams with 5.5 games of each other, including the Giants, Cardinals, Pirates and Braves. These teams still have a shot at a division crown, so each will be fighting until the last game of the season.
If the Giants can continue their strong pitching and get any offensive production, they could easily win home field advantage in the Wild Card game. However, the Cardinals have the potential to go on a hot streak if Molina and Michael Wacha come back strong.
The Pirates will have a tough road ahead of them if Andrew McCutchen’s fractured rib becomes a lingering problem. The Braves aren’t trending upward, either, will their current losing streak.