NL Wild Card Standings
Arizona Diamondbacks (53-39, .576, +1)
The Diamondbacks lost five of their final six games before the All-Star break, and were swept in a three-game series in Atlanta over the weekend, pushing the club’s current losing streak to five – the longest active losing streak in the majors. Arizona still holds a strong 6.5-game lead over the Cubs in the Wild Card standings, but the gap is tightening quickly.
Colorado Rockies (53-41, .564)
The Rockies have been in a similar situation to their division rivals. After spending most of the first half in first place in the division, Colorado is now 11.5 games back in the West and lost two games in the Wild Card standings after dropping two of three games against the Mets over the weekend.
Chicago Cubs (46-45, .505, 5.5 GB)
Atlanta Braves (45-45, .500, 6 GB)
St. Louis Cardinals (44-47, .484, 7.5 GB)
Pittsburgh Pirates (44-48, .478, 8 GB)
New York Mets (41-48, .461, 9.5 GB)
Miami Marlins (41-49, .456, 10 GB)
San Diego Padres (40-51, .440, 11.5 GB)
Cincinnati Reds (39-52, .429, 12.5 GB)
San Francisco Giants (35-58, .376, 17.5 GB)
Philadelphia Phillies (30-60, .333, 21 GB)
The All-Star break came at the right time for the Cubs, who emerged with a new top-of-the-rotation starter and a three-game sweep over the Orioles in Baltimore. Jose Quintana was outstanding in his first start with his new club, and helped the Cubs pick up their first road sweep of the season. Sunday’s win also pushed Chicago back above .500 and helped tighten the gap in the NL Wild Card standings to a manageable 5.5 games.
Next: MLB Trade Deadline: 30 players most likely to move
Did we count the Braves out too early? Atlanta began a rebuilding period after the 2014 season and posted 90-plus losses in each of the last two seasons. However, with a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks over the weekend, Atlanta has clawed its way to .500 after a slow start. Six games is a large margin to cover in the second half of the season, but it’s not insurmountable.