NL Central boasts tightest division race

With the All-Star break behind us, the MLB has switched gears for the second half of the season. While every game played between now and October will add up just the same as they did in April and May, the intensity will no doubt ramp up as division races and wild card races heat up.

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For those waiting for such games, look no further than the NL Central to find the tightest race in baseball, one that likely won’t resolve itself until the final pitch of the regular season has been thrown.

One look at the standings should tell you everything you need to know about the NL Central. There are four legitimate playoff contenders and, of course, the Chicago Cubs. But someone has to scrub the basement, right?

Four teams stand within three games of the division title. Two — the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers — would make the MLB playoffs today if they started, while two more — the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds — stand three or fewer games out of the fracas with more than two full months of baseball ahead.

Compare that to the next-tightest division — the only other division that hasn’t thinned to a two-horse race — the AL East. Even there, you have a New York Yankees team that’s been outscored by nearly 30 runs to this point in the season and a Toronto Blue Jays team that has skidded hard since sitting at the top of the division for much of the season.

Those two and the Baltimore Orioles could duke it out to the end, but it’s more likely that at least one team fades due to bad luck or injury.

Only the NL Central boasts four teams that should still have the playoffs in mind. The Milwaukee Brewers had a stranglehold on the division, but they’ve let that slip since going 3-13 in their last 16 games, and now the division crown is up for grabs. It appears we could once more see as many as three teams from this division make the playoffs.

There are a lot of pitches to be thrown before that happens, but don’t be surprised if two teams in the middle of this mess play a one-game playoff for the right to play a division winner.