MLB Update

OK, this whole Nats thing is starting to get serious. The Nats had a brutal schedule in June -- 15 games in a row against AL East teams, a 10-game road trip that included series at Baltimore and Atlanta, and they lost one game because their ace, Stephen Strasburg, was overcome by the heat. But they are still in first place -- in fact, they now have the best record in the National League, due largely to the fact that the rest of the Senior Circuit was hammered during inter-league play. The Giants, who have gone 18-11 since the last time we checked the standings, also had a great month. But the Dodgers, who went 12-18 over the same period, are reeling. Meanwhile, the Phillies, who have won the NL East for five seasons in a row, are in big trouble.

Meanwhile, the Yankees went 23-7 since the last time we updated the standings and they now have almost caught the two-time AL champs, the Texas Rangers. The Yankees have won the World Series in each of the last six times Kentucky won the national basketball title. Could they make it seven in a row?

Here are the standings by league. The percentage next to each team is its estimated chance of making the playoffs, according to coolstandings.com. Teams with less than a 10 percent chance of making the playoffs are in italics. It looks like in the National League, we have a pretty tight battle, with nine teams competing for five playoff slots. Over in the American League, the Yankees, White Sox, and Rangers are in very strong positions, with the Red Sox and Angels likely to make the playoffs as wild cards.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
1. Washington (70.7%) 45-32 ---
2. San Francisco (64.7 %) 45-35 1 1/2
3. Cincinnati (61.8 %) 43-35 2 1/2
4. Los Angeles (48.2 %) 44-36 2 1/2
5. Pittsburgh (57.5 %) 42-36 3 1/2
6. New York (51.5 %) 43-37 3 1/2
7. Atlanta (45.3 %) 41-37 4 1/2
8. St. Louis (52.3 %) 41-38 5
9. Arizona (31.8 %) 39-39 6 1/2
10. Miami (2.8 %) 38-40 7 1/2
11. Milwaukee (9.3 %) 36-42 9 1/2
12. Philadelphia (3.2 %) 36-45 11
13. Houston (0.3 %) 32-47 14
14. Colorado (0.4 %) 30-48 15 1/2
15. San Diego (0.1 %) 30-50 16 1/2
16. Chicago (0.1 %) 29-49 16 1/2

AMERICAN LEAGUE
1. Texas (95.7 %) 50-30 ---
2. New York (85.0 %) 48-30 1
3. Los Angeles (65.7 %) 44-35 5 1/2
4. Baltimore (15.1 %) 42-36 7
T5. Chicago (72.1 %) 42-37 7 1/2
T5. Boston (53.4 %) 42-37 7 1/2
7. Tampa Bay (20.4 %) 41-38 8 1/2
8. Cleveland (18.9 %) 40-38 9
9. Toronto (27.8 %) 40-39 9 1/2
10. Detroit (23.9 %) 39-40 10 1/2
11. Oakland (13.8 %) 38-42 12
12. Kansas City (6.2 %) 35-42 13 1/2
13. Minnesota (1.1 %) 33-45 16
14. Seattle (0.9 %) 34-47 16 1/2

NOTE: Since the last time we checked the standings, the Swingin' A's have gone 16-13, and their chances of reaching the playoffs have gone from 3.2 percent to 13.8 percent.