NL Wild Card Power Rankings: Reds gain ground on floundering Cubs
The second NL Wild Card spot is a half-game behind the Cincinnati Reds.
Before the week started, the Cincinnati Reds had a record of 74–71 and had just lost a series to the poor St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds went on a six-game road trip to Detroit because they needed to make up ground in the NL Wild Card race.
The Chicago Cubs had just won two games in a row and seemed to have the second NL Wild Card spot in their grasp. But a week makes a big difference.
The Cubs have lost five games in a row, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are now behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the race for the top NL Wild Card spot. The Miami Marlins have also pulled ahead, and the Reds’ road trip was a success.
6. NL Wild Card Power Rankings: San Francisco Giants (76-74)
This past week, the San Francisco Giants dropped a lot of ground. Even though San Francisco won on Sunday, they still lost three of four games to the bad Colorado Rockies. The Giants have a better tiebreaker than the Reds, so if San Francisco loses, the Reds win.
5. NL Wild Card Power Rankings: Chicago Cubs (78-72)
The Chicago Cubs lost more ground this week in terms of making the playoffs than anyone else. David Ross’s team has lost five games in a row and eight of the last ten. Now that both Chicago and Cincinnati have the same number of wins, the Reds have a chance to move ahead of the Cubs in the NL Wild Card standings this week.
4. NL Wild Card Power Rankings: Cincinnati Reds (78-73)
Even though the Cincinnati Reds lost to the New York Mets on Sunday, they are still in good shape to make a run at the NL Wild Card. Since the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs in the desert, the Reds can now aim for the second spot in the NL Wild Card race.
Tonight at Great American Ball Park, the Reds and the Minnesota Twins start a game. If David Bell’s team can get two wins out of three against the Twins, they’ll be close when the Pirates come to town on Friday.
3. NL Wild Card Power Rankings: Miami Marlins (78-72)
This past week, the Miami Marlins gained more ground than any other team, which is bad news for the Cincinnati Reds. Since both Cincinnati and Miami split their regular season series, head-to-head games aren’t the only way to break a tie. In short, it’s good for the Marlins.
2. NL Wild Card Power Rankings: Arizona Diamondbacks (79-72)
The Arizona Diamondbacks are now in the second National League Wild Card spot, and, believe it or not, they want to pass the Philadelphia Phillies. This past weekend, Arizona beat the Cubs and is now three games behind Philadelphia for first place.
The best thing that could have happened to the Reds this past week was for the D-Backs to sweep the Cubs. If Cincinnati had finished what they needed to do on Sunday at Citi Field, they would be where Arizona is now. In the NL Wild Card rankings, the Reds are only half a game behind the Diamondbacks.
1. NL Wild Card Power Rankings: Philadelphia Phillies (81-68)
For the Philadelphia Phillies to lose their top spot in the NL Wild Card Power Rankings, a lot would have to go wrong in the next two weeks. Philadelphia leads the next closest team by three games, but they have lost six of their last 10 games and will play in Atlanta this week. There have been some strange events.