After sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates over this past weekend, the Indians find themselves once again in first place in the AL Central.
Cleveland (39-31) embarks on a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies at home to begin this week, while the second place Detroit Tigers (39-33 1 game behind) go to the West Coast to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Chicago White Sox (35-38, 5.5 games behind) are home for three against their crosstown rivals, the Cubs.
The Minnesota Twins (31-39, 8 games behind) have been on fire, winning 14-of-16, and have moved into fourth place in the Central. Minnesota now heads to San Francisco to begin the week, while the Kansas City Royals (31-41, 9 games behind) will entertain the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The AL East sees the Boston Red Sox (43-28) on top, followed by the New York Yankees (41-29, 1.5 games behind). The Tampa Bay Rays (39-33, 4.5 games behind) are still within range, but the Toronto Blue Jays (36-36, 7.5 games behind) and the Baltimore Orioles (32-37, 10 games behind) are rapidly digging themselves a hole which it will be hard to crawl out of.
In the AL West, the Texas Rangers (38-35) lead the way, but the Seattle Mariners (37-35, 0.5 games behind) are hot on Texas' trail. After Seattle are the Los Angeles Angels (35-38, 3 games behind), with the Oakland Athletics (33-40, 5 games behind) bringing up the rear.
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The National League East is becoming the Philadelphia Phillies' (45-28) playground. Philly checks in at the beginning of the week with the best record in the Major Leagues. The Atlanta Braves (40-33, 5 games behind) are well in the Phillies' rear-view mirror, but do find themselves tied, at present, for the Wild Card lead. Tied for third in the East are the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals, both at 35-37 and both 9.5 games behind, while the Florida Marlins (32-40, 12.5 games behind) are falling shockingly fast, having lost 10 in a row.
The NL Central finds a tie at the top between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St.Louis Cardinals, both of whom check in at 40-33. In third place are the Cincinnati Reds (38-35, 2 games behind). The Pittsburgh Pirates, after being swept by the Indians, have fallen back below .500 at 35-36, but find themselves only four games out of first.
Fifth place in the Central belongs to the Chicago Cubs (29-42, 10 games behind) while the Houston Astros (27-46, 13 games behind) find themselves with the worst record in baseball and the dubious distinction of being the only sixth-place team in the Majors -- helped, of course, by the fact that their division is the only one with six teams.
The NL West is led by the San Francisco Giants (39-33), but the Arizona Diamondbacks (39-34, 0.5 games behind) are hot on their tail. The Indians' next opponent, the Colorado Rockies (35-36, 3.5 games behind) slipped back below .500 with their loss on Sunday to the Tigers, while the West is rounded out by the Los Angeles Dodgers (32-41, 7.5 games behind) and the San Diego Padres (30-43, 9.5 games behind).
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As stated above, the Braves are tied for the NL Wild Card lead with both the Brewers and the Cardinals, although, of course, the latter teams are also tied for first in their division.
In the American League the Yankees at present hold down the Wild Card spot, three games ahead of the Rays and the Tigers.