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MLB Wild Card standings: Cubs tighten gap with sweep

By Nicholas Ian Allen

BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 16: Starting pitcher Jose Quintana/Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 16: Starting pitcher Jose Quintana/Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images /
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BOSTON, MA – JULY 16: Clint Frazier/Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
BOSTON, MA – JULY 16: Clint Frazier/Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images /

AL Wild Card Standings

Tampa Bay Rays (49-44, .527, +0.5)

The Rays have flown largely under the radar in the NL East this season, but after taking two games out of three in Anaheim over the weekend, Tampa Bay is now just three games back in the division, and has a half-game edge over the Yankees in the Wild Card standings.

Alex Cobb, Jacob Faria and Chris Archer combined for three quality starts in the weekend series win over the Angels, Logan Morrison hit two more home runs and Evan Longoria led the club with six hits in three games, including a homer.

New York Yankees (47-43, .522, – GB)

The Yankees lost ground in the Wild Card race over the weekend, but there are far worse ways to open the second half than a series split in Boston. New York got strong starts from Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and C.C. Sabathia in the series. Chase Headley picked up six hits in four games, and Gary Sanchez led the club with four RBI.

Minnesota Twins (46-45, .505, 1.5 GB)

Kansas City Royals (45-45, .500, 2 GB)

Seattle Mariners (46-47, .495, 2.5 GB)

Texas Rangers (45-46, .495, 2.5 GB)

Los Angeles Angels (46-49, .484, 3.5 GB)

Baltimore Orioles (42-49, .462, 5.5 GB)

Toronto Blue Jays (42-49, .462, 5.5 GB)

Oakland Athletics (42-50, .457, 6 GB)

Detroit Tigers (41-49, .456, 6 GB)

Chicago White Sox (38-52, .422, 9 GB)

It could have been much worse for the Twins, who opened the second half by losing two out of three games in Houston. However, thanks to Oakland’s three-game sweep over the Indians, Minnesota actually gained ground in the division.

The Mariners jumped into second place in the AL West after sweeping the White Sox, but because the Astros jumped out to the largest division lead in baseball earlier in the year, the Wild Card appears to be the only shot for Seattle to make the postseason.

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