The Atlanta Braves didn't set the world on fire with their 14-11 record in June. But the youthful team led by Ozzie Albies played well enough to come out three games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies and five games ahead of the Washington Nationals in the NL East, both of whom played sub.500 ball last month with the Nats losing 7 of their last 10 games. Can the Baby Braves pull away or will the Phillies & Nats rebound?
The other notable item in the division is the continuing fall of the New York Mets. After going 17-9 in April, they have gone 15-39 since posting a 5-21 record in June. There is talk of the Mets dealing staff aces Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. To give you an idea of how bad things are for the Mets they are even percentage points behind the Miami Marlins for the worst record in the NL. Even the Marlins managed to post a .500 record in June.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have had a topsy turvy season. After going 20-8 in April, they fell to 8-19 in May and out of first place in the NL West. But a 19-9 June has put them back in the top spot with a 3.5 game lead over both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants who also played their best baseball of the year in June going 17-9 and 18-10 respectively with the Giants winning 8 of their last 10 games. The Colorado Rockies, who led the division, at the beginning of the month have now fallen under .500 with an 11-16 effort this month. Oddly, the Rockies are 15-22 at Coors Field while 26-20 on the road. With more home games remaining things don't look good for the team that won a NL Wild Card berth last year. As for the San Diego Padres, they were actually only 4.5 games out of first on June 6th. But they have gone 8-13 since and are now 11 games back of the D'Backs.
Despite a 12-13 June, the Milwaukee Brewers still have a 1.5 game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. At this time a month ago, the lead was four games. The Cubs went 16-12 in June and are knocking on the Brewers' door. The St. Louis Cardinals were a disappointing 12-15 in June and are now 5.5 games back of the Brewers. But the Redbirds are very much in the NL Wild Card hunt only two games off the pace. The Pittsburgh Pirates finished June losing 7 of their last 10 games and are now a sub.500 team. One wonders if this is Clint Hurdle's last season in the Bucs dugout. Hopefully this won't be Jim Riggleman's last season in Cincinnati. Although the Reds remain in the cellar they were 15-11 in June with wins in 7 of their last 10 games. The Reds are nearly at a .500 record since Riggelman took over from Bryan Price on April 20th. Did Matt Harvey in his wildest dreams think the Reds would have a better record than the Mets at the end of June?
In the AL East, there is the Red Sox and Yankees and everybody else. The Bosox lead the Bronx Bombers by one game. The Sox have won two out of every three games this season with a 56-28 record. As good as the Sox were in June at 17-10, the Yankees were slightly better at 18-10. Both teams are well on pace to win over 100 games. The same can't be said of the Tampa Bay Rays, but they did win 8 of their last 10 to reach a .500 record for the season. The Rays, however, are a very streaky team and it would not surprise me if they struggle in the two weeks leading to the All-Star Break. The Toronto Blue Jays were a decent 14-11 in June after a terrible 13-16 May. But the Jays have already sent Steve Pearce to the Red Sox. How long will it be before they deal former AL MVP Josh Donaldson? Baltimore Orioles' fans are asking the same question where it concerns Manny Machado. The O's get worse with each passing month. After going 8-20 and 9-19 in April and May, they went 6-20 in June having lost seven in a row. They are 32 games back of the Red Sox.
Although the Kansas City Royals are only 19.5 games back of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central, the Royals actually played worse than the O's in June going 5-21. They are well on pace to lose 100 games as are the Chicago White Sox who had their best month of the season going 12-17. On June 17th, the Detroit Tigers were actually 2.5 games back of the Tribe. But an 11 game losing streak has put them 9.5 back and nearing Chisox/Royals territory. The Indians lead the Minnesota Twins by 8 games despite a 14-12 mark in June.
To put this into perspective, the Indians would be in fourth place in the AL West. They would be 1.5 games behind the Oakland A's who finished June with six straight wins. To give you an idea of how good the AL West is, the A's are 8.5 games back of he Houston Astros who lead the Seattle Mariners by 1.5 games. This is a Mariners club that finished the month with six straight wins and also look good for 100 plus wins. The Los Angeles Angels, despite Mike Trout and Albert Pujols' star power, fell behind the A's in the division with a 13-14 record this month. One wonders if Mike Scioscia will return to the dugout in 2019. Perhaps a change is in order after 19 seasons. The Texas Rangers actually had a good month in June going 14-11 with win in 8 of their last 10 games. But chances are the Rangers will soon be selling off players beginning with Cole Hamels who might very well end up back in a Philly uniform.
I'll check back with an update at the All-Star Break.
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