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MLB Power Rankings: Cardinals and Angels climbing

By Joshua Sadlock

BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 19: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim celebrates with third base coach Ron Roenicke #10 as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles during a game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 19, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 19: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim celebrates with third base coach Ron Roenicke #10 as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles during a game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 19, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 21: Travis Shaw #21 of the Milwaukee Brewers catches a ball hit by Nick Hundley #5 of the San Francisco Giants in the fifth inning at AT&T Park on August 21, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 21: Travis Shaw #21 of the Milwaukee Brewers catches a ball hit by Nick Hundley #5 of the San Francisco Giants in the fifth inning at AT&T Park on August 21, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
14

Seattle Mariners 64-62

Last week: 5-5
Last rank: 13

The Mariners continue to make their push for a playoff spot, but are fighting an extremely uphill battle to get there. With three of their best starting pitchers — James Paxton, Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma — expected to be out until the middle of September, sustaining momentum down the stretch will be difficult.

Ariel Miranda is the most dependable starter in the Seattle rotation at the moment, and his ERA has ballooned up to 4.78 as he takes his lumps in the second half. Behind Miranda, the Mariners are rolling out Yovani Gallardo, Marco Gonzales, Erasmo Ramirez and Andrew Albers. Good luck with that.

If Seattle can get through an East Coast trip with games against the Braves, Orioles and Yankees without letting their record slip below .500, their playoff hopes will still be alive heading into September. From there, the Mariners will get to control their own destiny with plenty of games against Texas and Los Angeles.

13

Milwaukee Brewers 65-61

Last week: 6-4
Last rank: 11

With 36 games left in the regular season, the Brewers have a very good chance to set the all-time MLB record for strikeouts by a team in a single season. The 2013 Houston Astros hold the current record with 1,525 whiffs. The 2017 Brewers are way ahead of that pace, striking out over 9.8 times per game. They will need to average just over eight per game to break the dubious record.

Even with all of the strikeouts, the Brewers are still pushing the Chicago Cubs to the finish line in the NL Central. They have hit for enough power to stay in the race, but will likely come up short when it’s all said and done.

This is still a growing year for the Brewers, even if they are way ahead of schedule. Their young players like Orlando Arcia, Keon Broxton, Domingo Santana and Jonathan Villar have taken their lumps at times, but are getting very valuable experience that will pay off even more next year.

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