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Getaway Day: The playing field is leveling off as the wild-card chase takes shape
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Ariel Miranda throws a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. on Aug. 19, 2017. The Mariners start the week just a game and a half back from a wild-card slot.  Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Getaway Day: The playing field is leveling off as the wild-card chase takes shape

In a week that may be best remembered for Giancarlo Stanton's one-man war on the seats over outfield walls of Marlins Park or Aaron Judge's monogamous relationship with striking out, there was a much more important story line that developed around Major League Baseball – parity is spreading.

With the Diamondbacks stumbling, the Twins surging forward and the Brewers getting back into the swing of things, the middle of August breathed life into what is shaping up to be a very competitive September. But before we move on to the final act of the regular MLB season, there are dog days of August to battle through. The American League wild-card scene is starting to take shape, while invites to the National League Wild Card Game could be soliciting more takers than previously thought as the NL Central comes down to a three-team fight to the finish.

All of that and more in this week's Getaway Day. 

American League

Baltimore Orioles: The performance of the week easily goes to Manny Machado, who led a one-man comeback onslaught of the Angels over the weekend. Machado turned in a three-home run masterpiece on the night, and capped it by hitting a walk-off grand slam, his third over the last 13 games. It is safe to say that any ideas of him having an off-year should be getting ready to go to bed.


Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on Aug. 19, 2017. Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Red Sox: Rafael Devers has wasted little time in making his mark in his young MLB career, and has done it in a fashion that is endearing him to the Boston faithful in as thorough of a way as possible – taking the fight to the Yankees. The rookie third baseman became the first Red Sox to hit three home runs against the Yankees at 20 years of age or younger since none other than Babe Ruth in 1915.

Chicago White Sox: More of the same on the South Side this week, highlighted by a five-game losing skid which featured a 17-7 debacle on Saturday at the hands of the Rangers. Once again, Chicagoans, keep faith. The year will be up soon enough.

Cleveland Indians: In a week that featured a set of pairings against their main competition in the standings, the Indians rode high. The Tribe continued its winning ways over the Twins on the year and won a weekend series over the Royals as well. Cleveland has now been in first place in the AL Central for just over two months consecutively, and starts the new week a season-high five games ahead.

Detroit Tigers: After avoiding a promising no-hit bid by Kenta Maeda, the Tigers were able to salvage one win on the week as it came to close, pulling off a victory over the Dodgers and pausing a six-game losing streak that had begun the previous week.


Houston Astros catcher Juan Centeno steals home on a pass ball while Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher David Hernandez makes the tag in the eighth inning at Minute Maid Park on Aug. 16, 2017. Centeno was safe on the play. Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Houston Astros: After getting back towards their usual form last week, including taking home an impressive series win over the Diamondbacks, the Astros kick the new week off with another formidable interleague opponent in the Nationals. And although the pairing will pit a pair of each league’s top performers on the year against each other, it will miss the chance to pit two of the game’s top young stars, Bryce Harper and Carlos Correa, against each other as they both still sit on the disabled list. 

Kansas City Royals: Opportunity knocked for KC over the weekend, but they missed a prime chance to climb ahead in the AL Central race in a heads-up pairing with the Indians. After being outclassed over the first two games of the series by a total of 20-1 run differential, the Royals find themselves on the outskirts of both the divisional and wild-card races. 

Los Angeles Angels: Winners of nine of their last 11, the Angels are steadily showing that they may be here to stay in the AL wild-card picture. It took an epic outbreak from Manny Machado to curb them in one of those losses, as the Halos have only come out on the wrong side of a total of six runs difference between wins and losses over the last three weeks.


Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton celebrates after scoring on an inside-the-park home run in the fourth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Target Field on Aug. 18, 2017. Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota Twins: Speed kills, and Byron Buxton is becoming a serial killer. An at-bat after posting a standup triple against the Diamondbacks, he turned it into overdrive as he sprinted to the fastest-recorded inside the park home run of all-time, which clocked in at 13.8 seconds. It was a highlight moment in a week that has seen the Twins firmly reintroduce themselves to the AL postseason picture, as they carry a five-game win streak into the new week after taking the brooms out against one of the National League’s best in the Diamondbacks over the weekend. 

New York Yankees: Aaron Judge’s historic sprint through the summer has hit some considerable highs, as well as lows of late. And last week he set a bit of dubious history, as he set a new record for consecutive games with a strikeout – which is still alive at 37 as the new week begins. Regardless, the Yankees continued on at the head of the crowded wild card race in AL, with a 2.5 game lead from the rest of the pack. 

Oakland Athletics: It is the part of the year where targets land not only on the chests of the leaders in the standings, but also those furthest from the sun as well. They're viewed as the easy, ‘must have’ wins, and the A’s have become the best of the worst in that role, and thus have tremendous potential as spoilers. After a week of failing to produce against the Astros and Royals, they get another chance to embrace the spoiler position head on, as the A’s are set to take on two postseason hopefuls barely hanging on for life in the Orioles and Rangers in this week.


Nelson Cruz of the Seattle Mariners celebrates with teammate Kyle Seager after hitting a home run off of pitcher Brad Boxberger of the Tampa Bay Rays during the ninth inning of a game on Aug. 18, 2017 at Tropicana Field.  Brian Blanco/Getty Images

Seattle Mariners: In a race that is as tight as the AL wild-card picture, every night is important because you are virtually assured to face a team with similar aspirations as yours more nights than others. And that is exactly where the Mariners found themselves over the last week, as they faced off with the Orioles and Rays. Powered ahead by the continued surge from Nelson Cruz, who launched a massive 482-homer well off into the left field stands in Tampa on Friday to help the Mariners maintain a place at the table in the battle for the Wild Card.

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays' recent free fall has been something to behold. Sunday’s shutout victory over the Mariners marked the end of a four-game losing streak, their second in as many weeks. Their recent slide has also helped to clear out of the clutter in the AL wild-card picture as well, as Tampa will open the new week back four games in the Wild Card standings with a tough nine-game road trip starting on Friday against St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago. 

Texas Rangers: Texas is doing just enough to keep it interesting of late, winning five of their last seven games and now single-handedly representing the middle class of the AL wild-card scene on their own. With their next four series being within the AL West  – including two stands against the Angels – the Rangers have a chance to define their season against their most familiar foes. 

Toronto Blue Jays: Welcome back, Josh Donaldson. Although the Blue Jays season is a lost cause, at least the former AL MVP is at least still getting his hacks in.

National League


Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Ketel Marte reacts after striking out with men in scoring position against the Houston Astros in the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park on Aug. 16, 2017. Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Diamondbacks: Getaway day could not come fast enough for the D-backs, who got punched in the mouth over the past week. They head into the new week in desperate need of making up the ground they lost to both the Astros and the Twins, of whom they managed just a single win against over the last week. Arizona now has seen their formerly commanding wild-card lead fall 1.5 games behind the Rockies and hold only a three-game cushion from the rest of the National League pack. However, a week spent among the Mets and Giants could prove to be just the booster shot they need. 

Atlanta Braves: The wake-up call for Dansby Swanson apparently hit home, because since his brief demotion earlier in the month, he has been on an absolute tear. The promising young shortstop hit .379 with a pair of triples, three doubles and a 1.106 OPS over the last week, during an up-and-down stretch for Atlanta against the Reds and Rockies. 

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs are in the midst of a two-week run of exclusively taking on last place teams, a peach of a position to be in for a team in such a tight race for a division title, as well as being down an ace with Jon Lester currently on the DL. They made easy work of the Blue Jays and Reds over the last week, and will now move ahead to a week with a return engagement against the Reds, before moving on to face the Phillies. Good times could be ahead for the North Siders, if they take advantage of what is ahead.


Cincinnati Reds left fielder Adam Duvall reacts with first baseman Joey Votto  after hitting a two run home run against the Atlanta Braves during the sixth inning at SunTrust Park on Aug. 18, 2017. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Cincinnati Reds: As a hitter, at any point you find yourself mentioned with Ted Williams, it is fair to say that you’ve hit elite levels. And that is exactly where Joey Votto found himself, as he stood eye-to-eye with the Splendid Splinter’s all-time record for consecutive games reaching base multiple times, at 20 straight. Although Votto came up one game short of setting the new record, it is yet another impressive mark for an underrated career that is trending towards Cooperstown consideration. 

Colorado Rockies: The hands-down story of the week revolves not around the Rockies’ continued run within the NL wild-card race, but rather it was a much bigger plane, as Chad Bettis made his return to the mound from cancer on Monday. And he did so in style, throwing seven scoreless innings against the Braves. Two days later, the outcome between the two was much different, as the they put down those same Braves 17-2. 

Los Angeles Dodgers: While Cody Bellinger spent the end of the week out of action battling an ankle injury that will follow him into the new week, the rest of the Dodgers' pitching staff picked up the pace. Kenta Maeda carried a perfect game into the sixth inning on Sunday, while Hyun-jin Ryu, Yu Darvish and company led LA on another healthy winning streak. With Darvish out the next week with a stint on the disabled list, the eyes of the organization will turn back to Clayton Kershaw, who will pitch a three-inning rehab outing on Monday. If all goes well, the Dodgers could be back at full strength by the start of next week, which is a scary thought.


Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton hits a home run against the New York Mets in the seventh inning at Citi Field on Aug. 20, 2017. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Miami Marlins: Giancarlo Stanton’s tour de force carried into its second week, as he worked up a six-game home run streak and crushed his MLB-best 45th long ball on Sunday afternoon. It's been a spree that has prompted the slugger to face questions if pulling up to the former single-season home run record of Roger Maris’ 61 could be possible, which Stanton answered by saying he considers Maris' mark to still be the true record, adding some intrigue to the very realistic pursuit of the record. 

Milwaukee Brewers:The resilient Brewers continue to mount their comeback effort after losing grip on the NL Central last month. After dropping only a single game over the last week, they are now back ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central standings and hot on the heels of the Cubs. The next week will be crucial for the Crew, as they will head west for six games – including a weekend series with the Dodgers – before coming home to face the Cardinals a week from today in what will be pivotal series for both clubs as September looms ahead. 

New York Mets: It was a rough week in Flushing, as the battle for New York leaned decisively away from the Mets. The Subway Series doled out equal doses of disappointment for the Mets both at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, as their same-city foes from the Bronx claimed a four-game sweep. Just the latest disappointment in a season that has been full of them for the Mets. 

Philadelphia Phillies: Again, it is almost over. I promise. Hey, at least Odubel Herrera got back in the lineup this week, and he’s a lot of fun. So there’s that.


Randal Grichuk of the St. Louis Cardinals scores past Elias Diaz of the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning at PNC Park on Aug. 18, 2017. Joe Sargent/Getty Images

Pittsburgh Pirates: When the dust from the summer settles, the week that was will likely stand to show where it all slipped away for the Bucs. Stretching back to last weekend, the Pirates dropped six straight to the Blue Jays, Brewers and Cardinals, falling well behind even in the generous nature of the NL Central standings. With a four-game stint with the Dodgers looming ahead, the opportunity to make up ground looks to be more of a chance to have more dirt heaved on their graves than anything else. Perhaps the novelty of playing in Sunday night’s Little League Classic will provide a bit of a silver lining to the end of this dreadful week. 

San Diego Padres: Amid a week spent between the semi-impressive (a three-game sweep of the Phillies) and the unfortunate (dropping three of four to the Nationals and demoting promising rookie Hunter Renfroe), the Padres managed to host a bit of the unlikely as well. First baseman Wil Myers, far from known for possessing blazing speed, became the first player to steal three bases in an inning since Dee Gordon in 2011 on Wednesday. And hey, why not? It’s fearless experimentation time on the calendar for the cast-off Padres.  

San Francisco Giants: At least the Giants get to lay claim to being the team that brought a reprieve from Giancarlo Stanton's reign of terror, ending his recent home run spree at six games last Wednesday. Now granted, they still lost the game 8-1 and had allowed him to rip off a pair of epic blasts on Monday and Tuesday, but they got it done eventually, and moral victories are really the only kind left of any value in the Bay this season.


St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny is ejected from the game as they take on the Boston Red Sox in the ninth inning at Fenway Park on Aug. 16, 2017. David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis Cardinals: Fenway simply isn’t a welcoming place for the Cardinals, who returned for the first time since their 2013 World Series loss to the Red Sox. Their visit last week continued their frustrations, as they dropped a controversial second game in the series after one of the foremost ‘ump shows’ in recent memory saw Mike Matheny sent to the showers early. However, the weekend ended in better shape, as they rallied to split a series with a Pirates team which had been breathing down their neck until recently.

Washington Nationals: It was a roller coaster of stretch for Max Scherzer, who opened the week by joining the ranks of Nolan Ryan, Pedro Martinez, Tom Seaver and Curt Schilling in being the only pitchers to run up 1500 strikeouts in a six-year span. However, the week took a turn as it went along, and Scherzer ended the week on the disabled list with a neck inflammation. He became the second high-profile National to land on the DL in the last week alongside Bryce Harper, but the return of Stephen Strasburg from the DL on Saturday helped cushion the blow.

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