Week 21 is over and the playoffs are just around the corner. Atlanta was able to stay ahead of Washington while New York and Philadelphia attempt to catch the Chicago Cubs for the second wildcard. Miami
Power Rankings
1) Atlanta Braves (84-54) (5-1 in the past week) (Last week ranked 1)
Atlanta had a busy week as they lost the one game series to the Colorado Rockies, split with the Toronto Blue Jays, and then swept the Chicago White Sox.
Atlanta was unable to build onto their lead over the Nat’s. The two are set to face off for a pivital four game series in Atlanta starting Thursday. Baseball fans are going to be in for a treat as their will be some great pitching matchups. Thursdays game will see Max Fried vs Stephen Strasburg. Friday will be Dallas Keuchel vs. Patrick Corbin. Saturday will have Julio Teheran and Joe Ross on the mound while Sunday will be the battle of the aces. Mike Soroka vs Max Scherzer. This series should set the NL East winner.
2) Washington Nationals (77-58) (4-1 in the past week) (Last week ranked 2)
Washington took advantage of an easy week as they split a two game series with the Baltimore Orioles before sweeping the Miami Marlins.
Washington’s pitching staff set a record on Sunday after Patrick Corbin recorded his 200th strikeout of the season. He joined Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer to mark the second time ever, an NL team had three pitchers throw 200 strikeouts. The only other time this feat was accomplished was in 1969 by the Houston Astros.
MLB Stats tweeted out to congratulate the Nat’s on their milestone.
The @Nationals are the 2nd NL team ever to have 3 pitchers with 200+ Ks (Scherzer/Strasburg/Corbin).
The only other NL team to do so was the 1969 @Astros (Dierker, Griffin, Wilson). pic.twitter.com/EghV3aPTgl
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) September 1, 2019
3) Philadelphia Phillies (69-65) ( 2-3 in the past week) (Last week ranked 3) Sundays match ended late
The Phillies took two of three from the Pittsburgh Pirates before losing two straight to the rival Mets. The series finale ended late.
Philly is only three games back of the Cubs for the second wild card but their remaining schedule is against them. They have series against the Braves, Mets, Nationals and Indians all coming up. They also have to play the Reds and Marlins which could help them gain some ground. But This last stretch will show just how real the Phillies offense is.
4) New York Mets (69-66) (2-3 in the past week) (Last week ranked 4) Sundays match ended late
The Mets had a mixed week as they were swept by the Atlanta Braves before taking two straight from the Phillies. The final game of the series ended late.
Pete Alonso hit his 43rd home run to break the Mets all time home run record. He has just under a month left to try and break Aaron Judge’s all time rookie home run record of 52.
New York is only three and half games out of the second wild card, but they are running out of time. They will need the offense to find a constant rhythm if them want to gain ground on Chicago. New York is in a great position for a one card wild card thanks to Jacob deGrom, but the team needs to rise to the occasion.
5) Miami Marlins (48-88) (1-6 in the past week) (Last week ranked 5)
Miami barley avoided a win-less week as they lost three of four to the Cincinnati Reds before being swept by the Nat’s.
Miami is on track to lose over 100 games after losing 98 games last year. While the losing will be uncommon to owner Derek Jeter, the Marlins are rebuilding their farm system the hard way. With a month left in the season and rosters expanded to 40 on Sunday, look for the Marlins to call up some of their prospects. This will allow the team to gauge the current rebuild, while allowing some of their top prospects to get their feet wet at the MLB level.
NL East Player of the week
Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals- Rendon had himself a week as he hit .617 with four home runs, and nine RBI’s. Rendon has set career highs for home runs (32), average (.337), OBS (.414), slugging percentage (.632), and OPS (1.046). Rendon’s monster season has helped turned the Nats around and has them on the verge of another playoff appearance. Rendon also has set himself up for a monster payday.
Honorable mention- Pete Alonso
Injuries
Atlanta Braves- Austin Riley was sent on a Triple A rehab assignment Monday. He has been out with a partial LCL tear in his right knee.
Miami Marlins- Jordan Yamomoto was placed on the 10 day IL Wednesday with a right forearm strain.
New York Mets- Tomas Nido was placed on the 7 day IL August 24 with a concussion.
Philadelphia Phillies- Jake Arrieta underwent season ending surgery on Sunday to remove bone spurs from his right elbow.
Washington Nationals- Sean Doolittle and Ryan Zimmerman were both activated from the IL Sunday.
Feature Image From Bleacher Report
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