As the final quarter of the 2023 Major League Baseball season gets underway, four of the league’s six divisions – including all three in the American League – have a genuine race within five games entering Monday.
The AL West is the closest division in baseball with the defending World Series champion Houston Astros trailing the Texas Rangers by 2 ½ games. In the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles have a three-game advantage over the second-place Rays and the Cleveland Guardians lead the Minnesota Twins by 4½ in the Central.
The NL Central has three teams in the hunt as the Milwaukee Brewers hold a 3½-game cushion over the Chicago Cubs and (fading) Cincinnati Reds. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have run away with the NL West and the East-leading Braves continue to march on with the best record in baseball.
The top three in this week’s USA TODAY Sports MLB power rankings stayed the same, but the red-hot Dodgers jumped the Rays at No. 4:
1. Atlanta Braves (–)
- With 225 home runs through 116 games, this Atlanta team is chasing the 2019 Twins’ all-time record of 307.
2. Baltimore Orioles (–)
- Jack Flaherty racked up 16 strikeouts in his first two starts for Baltimore.
3. Texas Rangers (–)
- First-place Rangers off to a 10-2 start in August.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (+1)
- Amed Rosario had an .860 OPS and 11 RBI in his first 14 games with Los Angeles.
5. Tampa Bay Rays (-1)
- Shane McClanahan’s season is officially over with move to 60-day injured list.
6. Houston Astros (–)
- Astros enter Monday trailing the Rangers by 2 ½ games and don’t get a crack at them head-to-head until Sept. 4.
7. Toronto Blue Jays (–)
- Toronto’s 3.24 team ERA in the second half is baseball’s best.
8. Philadelphia Phillies (–)
9. Milwaukee Brewers (+1)
- Sweep of White Sox gives Brewers momentum heading into brutal week facing Dodgers and Rangers away from home.
10. Seattle Mariners (+1)
- Chasing a wild-card spot, Seattle has a favorable schedule for the rest of August – aside from this weekend’s trip to Houston.
11. San Francisco Giants (-2)
- Giants have MLB’s worst average (.206) and OPS (.620) since the All-Star break.
12. Chicago Cubs (+2)
- Cody Bellinger (.328 average) is playing his way towards a nine-figure deal.
13. Boston Red Sox (+2)
- Returning from injury, Trevor Story went 7-for-19 with three steals in his first five games of the season.
14. Miami Marlins (+2)
15. Cincinnati Reds (-3)
- Losing 9 of 12 to start August was not great for Cincinnati’s playoff hopes.
16. Minnesota Twins (+3)
- Royce Lewis nearing return from oblique injury
17. New York Yankees (-4)
- Nestor Cortes probably done for the season with rotator cuff strain.
18. Arizona Diamondbacks (-1)
- The Diamondbacks are 26-40 against teams with a winning record.
19. San Diego Padres (-1)
- Ha-seong Kim in the second half: .358 average, 1.007 OPS and 11 steals in 28 games.
20. Los Angeles Angels (–)
- Shohei Ohtani, who has 41 home runs, will skip his next start due to arm fatigue.
21. Cleveland Guardians (+1)
- Andres Gimenez hit .357 in his first 12 games of August.
22. Detroit Tigers (+1)
- Outfielder Kerry Carpenter (.855 OPS, 15 HR) is looking like the real deal.
23. Pittsburgh Pirates (+1)
24. Washington Nationals (+1)
- These Nats may actually finish ahead of the Mets in the NL East.
25. New York Mets (-3)
- Pete Alonso becomes fourth player in history with at least 35 HR in four of his first five career seasons.
26. St. Louis Cardinals (–)
- Willson Contreras hit .344 with a .995 OPS in his first 20 games of the second half.
27. Chicago White Sox (–)
- Overall bad vibes on the South Side are overshadowing Luis Robert truly coming into his own.
28. Colorado Rockies (–)
- The Rockies’ .576 OPS in August is the worst mark in baseball.
29. Kansas City Royals (–)
- Bobby Witt Jr. is the first player in history to record 20 homers and 30 steals in his first two seasons.
30. Oakland Athletics (–)
- At 33-85 with 44 games left, this Oakland team in danger of breaking the franchise record 117 losses – held by the lowly 1916 Philadelphia Athletics.