Now that we’re in the middle of August, the pennant races in Major League Baseball are heating up like the Arizona desert.

There are only two divisions where a team is running away from the rest of the field, and both reside in the National League.

The slugging Atlanta Braves have been dominating the NL East for months, and currently lead second place Philadelphia by 12.5 games with a 78-42 record.

In the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers have opened up a 10.5-game lead on San Francisco after winning 11 consecutive games. The Dodgers just swept the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-game series, much to the delight of Cincinnati Reds fans.

The NL Central remains a three-team race with the Brewers holding a two-game lead over the Chicago Cubs and the Reds heading into Friday’s action.

The three American League divisions appear to be a race to the finish.

The upstart Baltimore Orioles are clinging to a two-game lead in the AL East over Tampa Bay, with the Toronto Blue Jays 7.5 games back.

In the AL Central, the best team in a mediocre division is Minnesota, and the Twins lead Cleveland by 4.5 games.

The AL West race has the Texas Rangers holding off the defending world champion Houston Astros by 2.5 games, with Seattle hanging in at six games off the pace.

The Wild Card playoff spots remain in question and will likely go down to the final weekend of the season.

There are no less than seven teams in the National League in the hunt for the three Wild Cards, which should make for an exciting wrap-up to the long season. The Phillies are leading the way, with the Giants a couple of games behind them. The final Wild Card spot is a dogfight among the Cubs, Marlins and Reds, who are in a virtual tie at this point.

Lurking behind them are the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are just a game behind for the final spot, and the San Diego Padres, who are still clinging to a bit of hope, despite a 58-64 record. Despite a disappointing season for the big-spending Padres, they are just five games behind in trying to grab the third Wild Card.

In the American League, the Rays and Astros are leading the way, with the Blue Jays holding the third Wild Card spot, 5.5 games behind Tampa Bay, and three in back of Houston. The Mariners are just a half-game behind Toronto, and the Red Sox are hanging in at 3.5 games behind the Blue Jays.

The two best teams in each league will get a bye in the first round of the playoffs, and as things stand at the

moment in the National League, that means the Braves and Dodgers will get the break.

The lowest-seeded division winner (currently the Brewers) and three wild card teams, each seeded according to their regular season record, will play a best-of-three Wild Card round, with the higher seed hosting all three games.

If the season ended today, that means the Phillies would host the Cubs, and the Brewers would host the Giants.

As of today in the American League, the Orioles and Rangers would receive the byes, with the Rays hosting the Twins, and the Astros hosting the Blue Jays.

All of this is likely to change however, with so many teams still in contention.

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REDS PRIMED FOR A POSTSEASON PUSH? – The Cincinnati Reds began an important three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays Friday night at Great American Ball Park just two games behind NL Central Division leading Milwaukee, and a game back for the final Wild Card spot.

Heading into the series versus the Canadians, 40 games remain in the season for the Reds, and with a record of 63-59, the team needs to win at least 25 of those 40 to guarantee a postseason position. That would give the Reds an 88-74 mark, which should be enough to earn

either a division title, or a Wild Card spot. Merely going .500 the rest of the way would mean an 83-79 record, which would likely fall short.

It’s impossible to predict how this young Reds team will close out the season, but they definitely have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs.

The pitching staff is about to get some much-needed reinforcements, with Hunter Greene slated to start tomorrow against Toronto, and Nick Lodolo expected to return by the end of the month. Tejay Antone could be a boost to the tired bullpen and he may be ready in a week or so.

The Reds could actually put together a promising starting rotation the rest of the way and into next year, with Greene, Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft, Andrew Abbott and Brandon Williamson potentially being a group to be reckoned with. Those five are capable of giving the team reliable starting pitching and hopefully six or seven innings each and every time they go to the mound. That, of course, comes with a caveat, which would be staying healthy.

If the starters can hold up their end of the bargain and the bullpen follows suit, it will then be up to the offense, which has struggled mightily in recent weeks. Part of the reason for that has been the loss of Jonathan India and Jake Fraley to injuries in recent weeks, and some of it

could be that the team is pressing and attempting to do things they’re simply not capable of doing, such as trying to knock the ball into the Ohio River. They will hit a few long balls simply because of the park they play most of their games in, but this Reds team is most successful when it puts the ball in play, keeps pressure on the defense, and utilizes its speed.

The only player on the team with any real pennant race experience is Joey Votto, but his bat has been a huge question mark. Votto has provided some power (13 home runs) but he’s also been struggling to keep his batting average above .200. He still has some pop however, and he’s also been a positive influence to a young, inexperienced group of players.

The young players are in unfamiliar territory, playing more games than at anytime in their careers, as well as attempting to put together productive at-bats. There have been several players who have been for the most part consistent at the dish, and really make this team go.

Elly De la Cruz, a player with the highest potential ceiling of any 21-year-old in baseball, is facing lofty expectations despite his youth and inexperience. EDLC is fun to watch and he can do things most players cannot, but he still needs to be more selective at the plate and cut down on his strikeouts. If he lays off of pitches out of the zone and takes a walk when the opportunity arises, he could be

the biggest threat in the lineup and the most important player on the team.

Spencer Steer, TJ Friedl and Matt McLain are three young players who have performed above expectations and collectively, they’ve been counted upon to make the offense churn.

Steer leads the team in games played (117), at-bats (434), hits (117), doubles (27), home runs (18) and runs batted in with 66. He is also hitting .270 and has swiped 11 bases while giving the Reds solid defense at three positions.

Friedl, who made an amazing home run-robbing catch on Wednesday, needs to be in the leadoff spot the rest of the season. He has proven to be one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball, and he’s a throwback type of player who always gives 100 percent. Friedl also leads the Reds with 23 stolen bases, and leads the world in bunt hits.

McLain is my personal favorite player currently on the roster. He may not be as flashy and athletic as De La Cruz, but he isn’t far behind. He is just a flat-out baller, a guy who constantly hustles and gets the absolute most out of his talents. Not that he isn’t skilled; he has a strong arm, surprising power, and good speed on the bases as well.

McLain has remained right around the .300 mark since he was called up from Louisville, and the former UCLA star is currently hitting .298 with 13 homers and 44 RBI. His lone weakness is one that he shares with EDLC, which is one that both will likely improve upon over time, and that is striking out too much.

Other players have stepped up at different times, and for the Reds to make it to the postseason, that will continue to be integral to their postseason hopes.

We’re talking about players such as Will Benson, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Stuart Fairchild, and yes, Covington Catholic and UK product Luke Maile. The strong-armed catcher provides leadership for a young club and his bat has come up big at times as well.

The Reds would love to see Tyler Stephenson step it up as well, and he could still be a key piece to the puzzle down the stretch. It just appears he isn’t the same hitter he was before breaking his collarbone last season.

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“Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at age 80 and gradually approach 18.” – Mark Twain

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“Winter will spring; summer will fall.” – Americana singer/songwriter/musician Scott Miller