Major League Baseball - Week In Review

The New York Yankees have become Major League Baseball's hottest team as they ran their winning streak to seven games with a 4-1 home game decision against the slumping Houston Astros on Friday night. The Bronx Bombers finally have their main lineup intact as outfielders Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks are back along with OF/DH Giancarlo Stanton following long stints on the injury list.
The Yanks enjoy a 4 1/2 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East division, thanks to a three-game sweep of the Rays earlier this week in New York. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox are sneaking back into contention as they have won eight of their last ten games and are only 2 1/2 games behind the Rays for second place.
The Minnesota Twins suffered two losses at home (three-game series) to the Red Sox this past week but still hold a commanding nine game lead over the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central race. The Tribe has been hot lately, winning seven of ten games and are getting some of their starting pitching back into the fold following some injuries.
In the AL West, the Houston Astros have lost six consecutive games (two game series setback against Cincinnati and dropping first two games of four game set at the Yankees this weekend) and have seen their lead over the Texas Rangers drop to 7 1/2 games. The Oakland A's and Los Angeles Angels are in hot pursuit of the Rangers for second place in the division. Speaking of the A's, they lost starting pitcher Frankie Montas (9-2), who this week has been suspended 80 games for a PED violation.
Over in the National League, the Atlanta Braves have opened up a 4 1/2 game lead on second place Philadelphia in the East division. The Washington Nationals have put together a five-game winning streak and are finally on the brink of the .500 level, trailing the Phillies (five straight losses) by only two games in the race.
The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to 50 wins as they have won four in a row and have a comfortable ten game lead over the Colorado Rockies, who are fresh off a road sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this week.
The Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox split two games at Wrigley Field this past week and the Cubbies have a 1 1/2 game lead in the NL Central race over the Milwaukee Brewers, who have dropped five games in a row. The St. Louis Cardinals are only two game back in the Central battle while the surging Cincinnati Reds (six consecutive wins) are back in the fold, just 4 1/2 games out of first place as they took two from Houston and have won the first two games of a four-game weekend set in Milwaukee.
The All Star Game voting ended its first ever "primary vote" by the fans this week and the finalists for the eight position playing spots will be voted on this coming week for the game being played on July 9 in Cleveland.




AL STANDINGS (through June 21)                                   NL STANDINGS (through June 21)
East                                                                                      East
New York 48-27                                                                 Atlanta 44-32            
Tampa Bay 44-32                                                               Philadelphia 39-36
Boston 42-35                                                                      Washington 37-38
Toronto 27-49                                                                     New York 36-40
Baltimore 21-55                                                                  Miami 28-46


Central                                                                                Central
Minnesota 49-26                                                                  Chicago 41-34
Cleveland 40-35                                                                   Milwaukee 40-36
Chicago 36-37                                                                      St. Louis 39-36
Detroit 26-45                                                                        Cincinnati 36-38
Kansas City 26-50                                                                Pittsburgh 34-40
                                                                                                                                 

West                                                                                     West
Houston 48-29                                                                      LA Dodgers 52-25
Texas 40-36                                                                          Colorado 40-35
Oakland 40-37                                                                      San Diego 38-38
LA Angels 38-39                                                                  Arizona 38-39
Seattle 34-46                                                                         San Francisco 32-42