MLB power rankings: A's take aim at Astros' AL West lead

The BoSox have made winning a near-daily ritual of late and have not lost a series since June. Sitting 51 games over .500, taking the AL East is merely a formality at this point and history could be beckoning. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez are pulling away for a head-to-head MVP race, while Chris Sale returned with a 12-strikeout performance on Sunday in just five innings. The Red Sox are currently on pace for 114 wins, which would put them in shouting range of single-season wins record.

With Jose Altuve already on the mend, the Astros’ core took a further hit when George Springer and Lance McCullers Jr. both were shelved themselves. The timing couldn’t have been worse either, as a four-game sweep at the hands of the Mariners proved to be a lifeline for a division rival that was previously on the ropes. With a tough upcoming slate against the Rockies, A’s and Mariners (again), even a team as deep as Houston can’t afford to take too many more direct hits before getting its key contributors back.

It’s nice to have a reigning MVP as your fallback option in tough times, no? Following the gut punch that was the four-game sweep at Fenway two weeks ago, the Yankees needed something to get back on track. Giancarlo Stanton stepped up and gave the Yanks the push they needed, homering six times last week while New York won six of seven over the White Sox and Rangers.

With Kris Bryant still sidelined with shoulder issues, the time is now for lesser-known parts of the roster to step up and deliver. So, it was very appropriate that rookie David Bote — who is filling in for Bryant at third base — launched the game-winning grand slam on Sunday night to lock up a series win over the Nationals. Chicago must do whatever it takes to survive in the current grind of the NL Central.

Although the A’s have been hot for nearly two months, going 36-12 over that span, they now have a legitimate opportunity to take over in the AL West. The recent struggles of the Astros have Oakland within a game of the AL West lead and holding a wild-card spot. With opportunity knocking, the A's continued to fortify their ranks by bringing aboard Mike Fiers and Fernando Rodney last week.

With injuries to Edwin Encarnacion and Trevor Bauer, along with recently acquired outfielder Leonys Martin out of action due to a severe bacterial infection, the depth of the Tribe continues to be tested. Once the current soft stretch of scheduling concludes, a four-game visit to Boston could determine how the Indians measure up to the teams that await once the formalities of wrapping up their division are out of the way next month.

In as wide-open of an MVP race as there has been in years, Paul Goldschmidt may get the nod. His turnaround from a horrible start has coincided with the Diamondbacks remaining in the mix for an NL West title. Since June 1, he has hit .342, and the Diamondbacks have moved a game ahead in the NL West.

Edwin Diaz capped each of the Mariners' wins in a four-game sweep of the Astros with a save, giving him 46 on the year. With six weeks remaining in the season and the Mariners’ propensity for playing tight ballgames, Diaz could mount a legitimate run at Francisco Rodriguez’s 10-year-old record of 62 saves in a season.

While the Dodgers' recent accumulation of outside stars has helped their rise atop the NL West, the sudden loss of Kenley Jansen could derail the club’s best-laid plans. The impact of losing their relief ace to the uncertain future of an irregular heartbeat was felt immediately, as the Dodgers have dropped six of their last seven games, five of which came by one run.

After a sizzling end to the first half and some impressive initiative at the trade deadline, the Brewers have made the NL Central interesting again. However, they have played uneven baseball of late, making the upcoming week spent with visits to face the Cardinals and Cubs perhaps their most pivotal stretch of the year.

Ronald Acuna is getting the party started early these days. On Monday, the phenom went deep to start the game not just once, but twice against the Marlins. The second shot gave him six homers in his last seven games, in which the Braves have gone 5-2 and put up at least eight runs five times while climbing back to the top of the NL East. He hit another homer Tuesday, his fifth straight game with a long ball, and the Braves won again.

The Cardinals have come alive under the guidance of interim manager Mike Shildt, winning five consecutive series coming into the week. Matt Carpenter has fueled the turnaround effort, homering in 13 of his last 25 games and reaching base in 32 straight games. It is a breakout that has seen him rise to the top of the NL leaderboard in long balls with 33, while also passing Hall of Famer Lou Brock for most leadoff home runs in Cardinals history with 22.

No team has gone through a gauntlet of the caliber that the Rockies have over the last month. It has been a run that has featured separate sets against the Mariners and Diamondbacks, with the Astros, A’s, Cardinals, Brewers, Dodgers and Pirates mixed in as well. Before this marathon of contenders is up, there is another stint with the Astros and Braves over the next week. Throughout it all, they are still just a game back of the NL West lead.

While runs were difficult to come by at times over the last few weeks, the Philadelphia bullpen has picked up the pace to keep things intact. Pat Neshek, Victor Arano and Luis Garcia have turned the Philly pen into a strength finally when the team has needed it the most. The trio has combined for an ERA well under 1.00 since coming back from the All-Star break.

Since taking home the Home Run Derby championship during All-Star Game festivities, Bryce Harper has produced a .329/.438/.671 split line along with seven home runs. Overall in August, Bryce is hitting .340.

While the early returns from Chris Archer have not yet provided the type of returns the club hoped for (4.82 ERA, 1.93 WHIP over two starts), the Pirates remain in the race for a wild-card slot. Picking up four wins over the Rockies and Giants has kept them in the NL Central picture amid a surge from the Cardinals that has sent the Bucs back in to fourth place.

Consider this: After the Rays sent Chris Archer to the Pirates and Nathan Eovaldi to the Red Sox a few weeks ago and Blake Snell briefly hitting the DL, they had zero starting pitchers on their roster. Knowing Kevin Cash, the most indiscriminate user of arms in the game today, the chance to roll out a roster of 12 relievers probably felt like Christmas had come early.

The Giants provided a highlight for the season, retiring Barry Bonds' No. 25 Sunday. The ceremony was highlighted by Bruce Bochy stating that Bonds would be voted into the Hall of Fame before his time on the ballot is up, and then none other than Willie Mays implored for him to be voted in as well. It certainly kept the kindle burning over the debate on the seven-time MVP’s place in history alive.

Mike Trout has not played in nearly two weeks due to a wrist injury, and there are no signs of when he will return to the lineup. Meanwhile, the A’s and Mariners continue to pull farther and farther away from the Halos, who entered the week a season-worst 14 games out of the AL West race and are now 12.5 back.

The fire sale in the Twin Cities has continued beyond the July 31 trade deadline, with both Fernando Rodney and Lance Lynn departing for pennant races elsewhere over the past two weeks. With another two weeks remaining in the month, the purge of the Twins could continue until the brink of September as there is nothing left to accomplish besides clearing roster space before another rebuild this winter.

Spoiler alert? Although stuck in the NL Central cellar, the Reds could become the sleeper squad to cause trouble for NL postseason hopefuls headed toward September. On the heels of taking two of three from the Diamondbacks over the weekend, five of their next six series are against current division leaders or teams within three games of a playoff spot.

The end may be near for John Gibbons. The Blue Jays manager is again lost at sea with a team that is headed toward a youth rebuild in full and likely will look for a fresh take on getting the franchise back on track. Speaking of that youth movement, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered in four straight Triple-A games last week. Perhaps Gibbons will get to write a few lineup cards with the star of the future's name before the year — and his tenure — is all said and done.

The Rangers’ bats have come alive in August. They have posted double-digit runs in five of their six victories in the month. The turnaround has been fueled by Joey Gallo and Rougned Odor, who have combined for nine home runs, 23 runs scored and a 1.211 OPS on the month through Monday.

Could there be a bigger indictment against the ineptitude of a team ever than if Jacob deGrom was to win the NL Cy Young honors while having a losing record? Despite owning an MLB-best 1.81 ERA, deGrom had not picked up consecutive decisions all year until Monday. Perhaps he can become the greatest "in spite of" Cy Young winner of all time.

Is there a more ho-hum team than the Tigers at this point? Anytime a trade of Mike Fiers is the highlight of the week, it is a bad sign of how things are going. At least taking two of three from the Twins put the foot down on a six-game losing streak that took up much of last week.

The Marlins had done a good job of being a scrappy, slightly better than they were supposed be club for much of the year. However, they have reverted closer to that expected form of late, owning an NL-worst -168 run differential and not winning consecutive games in nearly a month.

Although they have given up on getting much out of 2018, no team has more top prospect talent on the brink of reaching the majors, as Jacob Nix showed last Friday. In his MLB debut, Nix worked six scoreless innings against the Phillies, striking out four in the process.

In Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech, both of whom are currently at Triple-A Charlotte, the White Sox have a pair of baseball’s most powerful prospects with the bat and off the mound, respectively. Allowing fans to get a look at all of their big-ticket young studs together is the least the team could do for making them suffer through a 100-loss summer in the making.

The O’s became the first team to clinch a losing season when they notched their 82^nd L of the year on Saturday. Since August has gotten underway, the Orioles have allowed 11 or more runs in three losses, including 17 against the Rangers on Aug. 2 and 19 against the Red Sox eight days later.

Congratulations to Heath Fillmyer, as the rookie worked seven shutout innings against the Cubs last Wednesday to pick up his first MLB win. It also represented the sole victory for the club over a 10-game stretch that made a well-dug hole even deeper.