Big Bear Nolan's Blog

As the Major League Baseball season is about to reach the All-Star break. There is still plenty of baseball left. However, some big series took place over the past week. These series can potentially shake up the Postseason picture. Here are the biggest winners and losers over the week of July 7-10 in MLB.

Biggest winners

• Milwaukee Brewers
  • A relatively young team that is already gaining back some experienced veterans and more young talent on both sides. The Brewers faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three game series over the week. Milwaukee swept the Dodgers for the first time ever in the history of American Family Field. They outscored the Dodgers 15-4 in the three games. The Brewers also had help from the neighbors to the west. The Minnesota Twins took two out of three against the NL central leading Chicago Cubs. Which means the Brewers are now only 2 back. Milwaukee has the chance to completely erase that gap. They host the Washington Nationals this weekend. Meanwhile, the Cubs go to Yankee Stadium.
• Minnesota Twins
  • For a team that desperately needs wins, not only did the Twins get them. They also have done it by beating some really good teams. The Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend. They are also coming off of a big series win over the first place Cubs. Now only 3.5 games behind the last available Wild Card spot and only 3 below .500. The Twins get a series against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. Things could possibly be looking up again in Twins Territory.
• Boston Red Sox
  • A few weeks ago, it seemed the Red Sox were doomed. This was after the news that Rafael Devers was traded away. Now, after the Sox took advantage of the historically bad Colorado Rockies, they are on a six game winning streak. Boston is currently tied with Seattle for the last spot in the Wild Card. Boston will face their division rival Tampa Bay Rays for four games at home this weekend. It is important to note that the Rays are only 1.5 game ahead in the Wild Card standings of the Red Sox.
• Philadelphia Phillies
  • Despite losing twice at San Francisco. The NL East leading Phillies sit only 1.5 games behind the Dodgers for the top seed in the National League. Philadelphia has a tough stretch ahead from now through the start of the second half. Good news is it won’t get any less easier for the teams they are fighting with either.
• San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres
  • While both are fighting each other for the final NL Wild Card spot. The Giants and Padres have begun to close in the gap to the slumping Dodgers. This week, the gap can close even more for at least the Giants. They host the Dodgers at Oracle Park this weekend.

Biggest Losers

• Los Angeles Dodgers
  • Every team goes through slumps but something looks and feels wrong with the Dodgers. The team has been riddled with injuries this year especially to its starting rotation. But the Dodgers have been swept at home to Houston over the weekend and got swept at Milwaukee this week. Now only 6 games ahead in their division. The struggling Dodgers get to travel to San Francisco this weekend. LA needs a turnaround fast or else it could get very ugly soon.
• Chicago Cubs
  • In the beginning of the season, it looked like the Cubs were easily the best team in the NL Central. Now that the Brewers have expediently picked up the pace recently. The Cubs are starting to feel the pressure. The Brewers made history with their first-ever sweep against LA at home. While the Cubs lost 2 of 3 games at Minnesota. They are now heading into the last series of the first half. The Cubs travel to New York City to play against the Yankees. Meanwhile, the Brewers are at home hosting the Nationals. Cubs need a series win at New York. Alternatively, they need the Nationals to upset the Brewers. This will help them keep the division lead heading into the All-Star break.
• Seattle Mariners
  • The Mariners began the season with the lead in the AL West for the third straight season. Just like those three years, they are now struggling to hang on in the Wild Card standings. Seattle did take all three against Pittsburgh over the weekend. However, they dropped their series this week against the Yankees at New York. Now tied with the last spot in the AL Wild Card. Seattle travels to Detroit to close out the first half against the League leading Tigers.
• Tampa Bay Rays
  • The month of July has not been kind to the Rays. It started off with a series loss at home to the Athletics. Then over the past week, Tampa lost twice at Minnesota. They held a 3-1 lead in one game and a 4-1 lead in the other. Followed by a series loss at Detroit. Now Tampa is limping into the All-Star break with a 1.5 game lead on the cutoff. They get to play at the red hot Boston Red Sox for four games this weekend starting tonight (July 10).

While the season is beginning to see the finish line. There is still a ton of baseball left to be played. The Detroit Tigers who were multiple games below .500 this time last year proved that as a red hot second half propelled Detroit to a Postseason spot. The trade deadline is coming up soon. Around that time, you start to see who is serious and who is not.