MLB Pennant Races Taking Shape as Post-Season Looms
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The 2022 MLB season is entering its final month, which means it’s time to start thinking about pennant races. Things are red-hot in the NL East, where the Braves are racing to keep up with the soaring New York Mets. The Dodgers are playing insanely good baseball, sporting one of the best run differentials in history. And, as always, the Astros are in the conversation to make their way to a World Series.
Here’s how the biggest teams in the MLB are looking with only a few more games to go before the season ends.
The Dodgers just won a World Series in 2020 and they look poised to do it again. This time, if the team manages to fight through the post-season and secure a championship, it could shake off the doubters who say that the shortened season in 2020 amounts to their World Series win being compromised.
The team is on track to win an eye-popping 113 games, making them one of the most stunning teams in the modern version of baseball. Maybe that momentum will carry them deep into the playoffs.
The NL East is on fire, sporting three teams with over 70 wins and with a shockingly close pennant race between the first-place Mets and the ascendant Atlanta Braves. The Mets don’t have a ton of home run power, but they have undeniably strong fundamentals. The club has done an astonishing job keeping the bases full and getting guys over to make every run count.
The Astros are still a powerhouse team. They’ve got the incredible infrastructure with so much good starting pitching that they traded Jake Odorizzi. The Braves jumped on a chance to shore up their often-injured starting lineup of pitchers, and the Astros certainly look no weaker without him. Meanwhile, the team also put Cristian Javier in the bullpen, reserving his arm for later in the game.
The defending World Series champs might be in second place, but don’t let that number fool you. They’re on pace to win over 100 games this season, and they’re only behind another shockingly good team: the Mets.
The pennant race in the NL East is going to be extremely heated, and it’s anyone’s guess which of these two sterling lineups will take home the division title. The Braves would certainly love to make another deep post-season run and become back-to-back World Series champs, but they’ve got some fierce competition ahead this season.