- Yankees won moving percentage points ahead of the Dodgers for the best record in baseball
- Mike Tauchman is batting .297/.373/.566 with 14 home runs
- Gio Urshela is batting .324/.367/.568 with 16 home runs
- Mets still 0.5 games back of the WC
- Nelson Cruz left the game last night with a wrist injury
- Indians beat the Twins to move a game away from the lead in the central

And Bo Bichette is having a great rookie start:

quote:
Blue Jays rookie shortstop Bo Bichette is having a pretty good start to his career. He debuted on July 29, registering at least one hit in each of his 11 games. Additionally, after homering in the fifth inning on Thursday night against the Yankees, Bichette has an extra-base hit in nine consecutive games. Per Sportsnet Stats, he is the first rookie since Ted Williams in 1939 to record an extra-base hit in nine straight games.
After the homer, Bichette is batting .404/.451/.830 with four dingers, six RBI, and seven runs scored in 51 plate appearances

quote:
3. Mets: .512
Games back in Wild Card: 0.5; Postseason odds: 42.5%

Key series: This weekend's set against the Nationals huge, but the biggest one after that is probably versus the Phillies (Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at PHI). New York just took care of business against the Padres, Pirates, White Sox and Marlins, and now it’s time to “slay the giants.” If the Mets can dominate the Phillies and Nationals again Sept. 2-4, their storybook run could move even closer to reality.

quote:
6-T. Cardinals: .501
Games back in Wild Card: 0.5; Postseason odds: 28.7%

Key series: Same logic applies here as with the Brewers, and we're circling that same Sept. 13-15 series at Busch Stadium. But really, the Cardinals’ entire September is filled with key matchups, including the Giants, Nationals, Cubs (two series) and D-backs. St. Louis could control its own destiny with a strong finish.

quote:
8. Indians: .500
Games back in Wild Card: +3.5; Postseason odds: 91.1%

Key series: The Tribe has held its own against the Twins, taking five of the 10 head-to-head matchups to this point. But this weekend’s series and the teams’ next matchup (Sept. 6-8 at MIN) are both at Target Field, with the second of them sandwiched between winnable series against the White Sox and Angels. If Cleveland can bulldoze its way through that stretch, the pressure could fall to Minnesota for their last head-to-head, Sept. 13-15 at Progressive Field.

quote:
9. Cubs: .497
Games back in Wild Card: +3.5 in NL Central; Postseason odds: 90.8%

Key series: Baseball’s oldest rivals have a home-and-home lined up over the season’s final two weeks, and the first leg (Sept. 19-22 at CHC) is an opportunity for the Cubs to take care of business at Wrigley before the final weekend at Busch Stadium.

quote:
11-T. Braves: .492
Games back in Wild Card: +5.5 in NL East; Postseason odds: 98.7%

Key series: A three game set at Nationals Park (Sept. 13-15 at WSH) falls in the middle of the Braves’ 14 consecutive gamesagainst the Nationals and Phillies, a run that will essentially define Atlanta’s hopes for a second consecutive NL East title. Roll through this two-week stretch, and the division is wrapped up. But if the Braves stumble, the last two weeks could get nerve-wracking. A strong series in Washington could demoralize a surging challenger.

quote:
13. Red Sox: .491
Games back in Wild Card: 5.5; Postseason odds: 12.9%

Key series: Boston’s four-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees last week essentially put its AL East title hopes in the rear-view mirror. The Indians (Aug. 12-14 at CLE) and Rays (Sept. 20-23 at TB) are the two biggest AL Wild Card contenders left on Boston’s schedule, and they need to make up ground sooner than later.

14. Dodgers: .486
Games back in Wild Card: +18.0 in NL West; Postseason odds: 100.0%

Key series: Los Angeles’ seventh consecutive NL West title is a foregone conclusion. Taking two out of three from the Braves (Aug. 16-18 at ATL) would likely seal up home-field advantage through the NL postseason, too.

15. Yankees: .485
Games back in Wild Card: +10.5 in AL East; Postseason odds: 100.0%

Key series: With the AL East crown in sight and their slates against fellow division leaders Houston and Minnesota wrapped up, the Yankees’ marquee Interleague matchup at Dodger Stadium (Aug. 23-25) might be their most important showdown left. Remember, regular-season record dictates World Series home-field advantage now, and it certainly wouldn’t be shocking to see New York and Los Angeles rekindle a classic Fall Series matchup.

quote:
16. Rays: .482
Games back in Wild Card: +0.5 for 2nd Wild Card; Postseason odds: 67.7%

Key series: Tampa Bay has a real opportunity to feast on cellar-dwellers like the Mariners, Padres, Blue Jays, Tigers and Orioles. So its remaining series against the Indians (Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at TB) and a four-game set against the Red Sox (Sept. 20-23 at BOS) really stand out. The Rays have already won nine of their 15 head-to-heads against Boston, including each of the last four.

17. Astros: .467
Games back in Wild Card: +10.0 in AL West; Postseason odds: 100.0%

Key series: The Astros have dominated the A’s, winning nine of their first 11 head-to-head matchups. Take at least three of these four games at the Coliseum (Aug. 15-18), and Houston can really begin mapping out their stars’ rest days before October.

quote:
ilIn 1906 The Philadelphia A's twenty-game losing streak ends when Joe Bush beats the Tigers, 7-1. The 20-80 club has won only three of their prior 43 contests, with lone victories during the stretch snapping skids of twelve and nine consecutive defeats.

quote:
1946 In MLB's version of Friday Night Lights, all eight games, scheduled in eight different cities, will be played under the lights. It will be the first time in the major league history that every team will participate in an evening tilt on the same night.

quote:
2002 Barry Bonds joins Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron as the only players ever to hit 600 career home runs. The 38 year-old Giant left fielder hit the milestone homer in the sixth inning by lining a 2-1 pitch thrown by Pirates starter Kip Wells over the center field wall at Pacific Bell Park.

This post was edited on 8/9/19 at 5:26 am