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MLB Wild Card Standings: Cubs, Cardinals still alive after first half

By Nicholas Ian Allen

CHICAGO, IL - JULY 08: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field on July 8, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JULY 08: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field on July 8, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 09: Justin Turner #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits his second home run of the game, a two run shot scoring Logan Forsythe #11, in the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Dodger Stadium on July 9, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 09: Justin Turner #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits his second home run of the game, a two run shot scoring Logan Forsythe #11, in the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Dodger Stadium on July 9, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

National League Division Leaders

NL East

Washington Nationals (52-36, .591)

Washington took advantage of a weak division early on and built a huge lead thanks to a potent offense. The Nationals led the National League and ranked second in the majors in OPS (.812) thanks to four hitters posting better than .960 in the category. Bryce Haper (1.021), Ryan Zimmerman (.969), Daniel Murphy (.966) and Anthony Rendon (.960) all sit among the top 15 in the majors.

Also, the Nationals feature one of the best starting rotations in baseball, headlined by NL Cy Young favorite Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg. The bullpen has been a major issue, and has played a role in Washington’s sub-.500 record over the past 30 days (14-15 since June 9), but with the trade deadline looming there’s still time to fix it.

NL Central

Milwaukee Brewers (50-41, .549)

Few expected the Brewers to come close to a .500 record in 2017. Yet heading into the All-Star break with 10 wins over their last 12 games including six out of their final seven, Milwaukee is sitting pretty with a 5.5-game lead in the AL Central despite playing in a division with the defending World Series champs.

Offseason acquisition Eric Thames captured the majority of the attention early in the season after leading the major leagues in home runs in April, but Thames is just one of several surprising Brewers thus far. Travis Shaw led the club with 65 RBI in the first half and hit 19 homers, second only to Thames (23). Eric Sogard hit .331/.438/.485, Domingo Santana hit 15 bombs and Steven Vogt has been a solid midseason pickup, hitting four homers in his first nine games with the team.

Jimmy Nelson and Chase Anderson have carried the pitching staff, while Corey Knebel quickly took hold of the closer role and emerged as an All-Star.

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers (61-29, .678)

Simply put, no team was better before the All-Star break. The Dodgers started slow and dug an early hole in the NL West, but have been nearly unbeatable over the last two months. Since June 7, Los Angeles is 25-4 overall, a stretch that featured a 10-game winning streak and two six-game winning streaks, including a 6-0 run to end the first half.

The Dodgers have the best pitching staff in baseball, and lead the majors in ERA (3.15), batting average allowed (.223) and WHIP (1.12) thanks to Cy Young candidates Clayton Kershaw, Kenely Jansen and Alex Wood, among others. It’s no wonder the club was able to sweep back-to-back series against the Diamondbacks and Royals without scoring more than five runs in any game.

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