The Boston Red Sox end the month of June atop the AL East. But living in Boston you would never know it. If you check out Twitter, Red Sox Nation want John Farrell fired for everything under the sun, want to drive Pablo Sandoval, Rick Porcello and David Price out of town and think Hanley Ramirez should be benched.
Yes, it's true that a number of Red Sox players are having subpar seasons, but this hasn't prevented them from winning. They've gone 16-12 in back to back months and have a one game lead over the New York Yankees who were 13-15 in June including a seven game losing streak. The Tampa Bay Rays played .500 ball in June, but are only four games back and only a percentage point back of the Minnesota Twins for the second AL Wild Card spot. Both the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays took a step backwards in June going 12-17 and 11-15, respectively, with the Jays losing 7 of their final 10 games of the month.
The Cleveland Indians supplanted the Minnesota Twins for the lead in the AL Central following a four game sweep on Father's Day Weekend and have been in the top spot since (save for a single day) and currently hold a two game lead. But the team to look out for in the AL Central is the Kansas City Royals. After a horrible April, the Royals played above .500 ball in May and then went 17-9 in June to reach the .500 mark. Now a .500 team might not be impressive on paper, but the in the AL Central it puts you three games back. Both the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox struggled in June going 10-15 and 11-16, respectively. At one point, the Tigers went on an 8-game losing streak. One wonders if Brad Ausmus will be the first managerial casualty of the 2017 season.
After going 22-7 in May, the Houston Astros came down to earth a bit. But a 16-11 mark still gives them a 13.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Astros still own MLB's best record at 54-27 winning two out of every three games they play. Meanwhile, the Angels remain a .500 club. Being a .500 club in the AL West still gives you a shot at the AL Wild Card. The Angels, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers all have a legitimate claim to the second AL Wild Card spot. Meanwhile, the Oakland A's wish they were in the AL Central. Their 35-45 record puts them 18.5 games back of the Astros. Contrast that with the Chicago White Sox's 35-44 which puts them 7.5 games back of the Tribe.
The Washington Nationals played .500 ball in June, but maintain a 8.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves who went 16-12 in June. But the Braves wish they were in the NL Central. Their 38-41 record is identical to that of the St. Louis Cardinals, but they are only 3.5 games back of the Brewers (more on them shortly). The New York Mets also played .500 ball and the Miami Marlins played slightly above .500, but remain 9.5 and 11 games back respectively and have no real shot at the NL Wild Card. It could be worse. The Philadelphia Phillies 9-18 record in June puts them 20 games back of the Nationals. Their 26-52 record is the worst in MLB. In contrast to the Astros, the Phillies have lost two out of every three games they've played this season.
The Milwaukee Brewers enjoy a two game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. The defending World Series champions are now a .500 club. One wonders if the Cubs would have been so eager to release catcher Miguel Montero for chiding the Cubs pitching staff for their slow delivery if they were on pace to win 100 plus games again this season. But the Cubs nor anyone else is completely out of it in the NL Central. Despite going 13-16 in June, the St. Louis Cardinals are only 3.5 games back of the Brew Crew. The Pittsburgh Pirates are five off the pace and the Cincinnati Reds are 7.5 games back despite a 10-17 record in June. The Cardinals, Pirates and Reds are grateful not to be playing in the NL West.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had the best record in MLB during the month of June going 22-7 which included a 10-game winning streak. Their 54-28 record only puts them half a game back of the Astros for the best overall record in MLB. The Dodgers' performance has overshadowed that of the Arizona Diamondbacks who went 17-9 in June. Despite having 50 wins, the D'Backs are 3.5 games back of the Dodgers. But the D'Backs could very well have a lock on one of the NL Wild Card spots. The same could be said for the Colorado Rockies even though they just snapped an 8 game losing streak this evening. The Rockies have a seven game lead over the Cubs for the second NL Wild Card spot which softens the blow of falling 5.5 games back of the Dodgers. Unfortunately, the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants are 20 and 23 games back of the Dodgers, respectively. The best they can do is play spoiler the rest of the way.
I'll be back for an All-Star Break edition in a couple of weeks.
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