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MLB Wild Card Standings: Angels gain ground without Mike Trout

By Nicholas Ian Allen

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JULY 01: Ricky Nolasco #47 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim throws a pitch in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 1, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JULY 01: Ricky Nolasco #47 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim throws a pitch in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 1, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /
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PHOENIX, AZ – JULY 02: Ketel Marte #4 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates after hitting the game winning RBI single against the Colorado Rockies during the ninth inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on July 2, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 4-3. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ – JULY 02: Ketel Marte #4 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates after hitting the game winning RBI single against the Colorado Rockies during the ninth inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on July 2, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 4-3. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

NL Wild Card Standings

Arizona Diamondbacks (52-31, .627, +4.5)

Arizona dropped two of three games against the Cardinals during the week, which ended a streak of eight straight series victories, but the Diamondbacks responded by taking two out of three against the division rival Rockies. The weekend series win increased Arizona’s lead for the top Wild Card spot to 4.5 games, giving the club a 10.5-game cushion over the Cubs a little more than half way through the season.

Chris Owings was the offensive star of the week for the D-Backs. Owings hit .391/.440/1.000 with three home runs, five doubles, and six RBI in seven games. in seven games. All-Star Jake Lamb tied Owings for the team lead with six runs scored and also homered.

Colorado Rockies (48-36, .571)

The Rockies still have a comfortable six-game lead over Chicago for the final NL Wild Card spot, but Colorado has 10 losses in its last 11 games including a 1-8 road trip through three NL West cities. Two of those losses were walk offs, including Sunday’s 4-3 loss to Arizona, but the rest weren’t particularly close. Opponents have outscored Colorado by 45 runs over the past 11 games. After leading the division June 20, the Rockies are now seven games back.

Chicago Cubs (41-41, .500, 6 GB)

Atlanta Braves (40-41, .494, 6.5 GB)

St. Louis Cardinals (39-42, .481, 7.5 GB)

New York Mets (38-43, .469, 8.5 GB)

Pittsburgh Pirates (37-45, .451, 10 GB)

Miami Marlins (36-44, .450, 10 GB)

Cincinnati Reds (35-46, .432, 11.5 GB)

San Diego Padres (34-48, .415, 13 GB)

San Francisco Giants (33-51, .393, 15 GB)

Philadelphia Phillies (27-53, .338, 19 GB)

The Cubs are once again on the outside looking in in the NL Wild Card race, though the deficit is down to a manageable six games thanks to Colorado’s recent struggles. And, Chicago still sits just two games back in the NL Central, so there are two paths to defending the club’s 2016 World Series title.

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Don’t look now, but the Atlanta Braves are one game short of .500, just 6.5 games out in the Wild Card hunt and 7.5 games back of the Nationals in the NL East. Like the Angels and Mike Trout, Atlanta has played far better than expected without injured Freddie Freeman, who began a rehab assignment last week at his new position, third base.

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