MLB Power Rankings: Wild Card races tightening
By Sean Sears
10. St. Louis Cardinals, 85-67, 1st in the NL Central (ranked 9th last week)
The Cardinals are the NL Central division leaders at the moment, but it almost feels like they’ve been put there by default with how neither the Cubs or Brewers have been able to distance themselves from each other. But with a 5-5 record over their last 10 games and facing the Nationals in a key series, the Cardinals have allowed the Cubs and Brewers to get back into striking distance of the division.
On top of that, St. Louis is riding their pitching heavily right now, with a 3.48 ERA over the last week, and they’ve had to because their offense is non-existent at the moment. Batting .214 over the last week, the Cardinals are relying on the home run ball to score runs. And with two big series against the Cubs left, the Cardinals will have to hope either the bats wake up quick or the pitching can do enough to silence the Cubs.
9. Washington Nationals, 83-68, 2nd in the NL East (ranked 10th last week)
Washington is a good place right now, leading the NL Wild Card by 1.5 games, a small chance at the NL East crown, and could potentially decide who wins the NL Central and who they face in the Wild Card play-in game with their series with St. Louis.
However, the offense has been somewhat flat over the last week with Anthony Rendon cooling off a bit, but the starting pitching alone is enough to scare teams in a one- or three-game series. Posting a 2.43 ERA this past week, the Nats starters are what’s pushing this team at the moment, but the bullpen remains a massive liability each game with a 6.75 ERA over the last week of game.