[ad_1]
Two-team races have emerged in both leagues as we enter Week 18 of the MLB season.
A month ago, it seemed like no American League team would be able to catch up to the Yankees. But New York has seen its lead in the AL dissipate after going just 13-20 since July 3 and is now tied with Houston
Meanwhile, in the National League, the Dodgers have kept rolling — with only five losses since the beginning of July — while the Mets proved that they’re the real deal by taking four of five games against the division-rival Braves this past weekend.
Which teams will prevail?
Our expert panel has combined to rank every team in baseball based on a combination of what we’ve seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers, Joon Lee and Alden Gonzalez to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.
Week 17 | Second-half preview | Preseason rankings
Record: 77-33
Previous ranking: 1
It’s hard to even fathom, but L.A. has found another gear. Its riding a 10-game winning streak that included a three-game sweep of a Padres team that had just traded for Juan Soto, Josh Hader and others. The Dodgers have won 30 of 35 games since the start of July, and their pitching has continued to dominate despite the absence of two of their best starters (Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler) and two of their best relievers (Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol). Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman continue to set the tone at the top of the lineup, but most encouraging of all is that Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger have been scorching hot this month. — Alden Gonzalez
Record: 73-39
Previous ranking: 4
The Mets took four of five against the Braves over the weekend, including a doubleheader sweep on Saturday. They entered the series up 3.5 games on Atlanta and left up 6.5, increasing their odds of winning the division from 73.6% to 91.9% (according to FanGraphs). Jacob…
[ad_2]
Source : espn
