The Pittsburgh Pirates finally appear as if they are ready to break their two-decade streak of losing seasons after sweeping a double header to take first place in the NL Central over the Cardinals and now the team has the best record in baseball as the trading deadline nears to a close on Wednesday and the team could make moves, including adding Alex Rios.
The team now has a 64-42 record and holds a slight edge over the Rays for the best record in the majors since they have one less loss. The Cardinals are now 1.5 games behind in the division after losing the double header and now the Reds are six games back as they try to get back into the race. The Cubs and Brewers are long out of it and the Pirates appear to be ready to finally make the playoffs after a long absence.
The Oakland A's lead the AL West by five games over the Rangers and the Angels continue to slide, as the Mariners have jumped past them in the division standings with a solid month of July, coming in with two more wins to remain 12.5 games back, while the Angels are 14 games out, ahead of the 27 that Houston is back. The Braves are tops in the East in the NL by a 10-game margin over the Nationals and the Phillies are just behind at 11.5 games out. The Mets and Marlins are clinging to the bottom and now the AL Central has the Tigers up 2.5 games on the Indians and seven on the Royals.
The Dodgers have zoomed into first out west and after defeating the Yankees the team is now 3.5 games up over Arizona and 7.5 over the Rockies and the Giants are in last place after winning the World Series last season. The Dodgers have 57 wins now and have gone 9-1 over their last 10 games while the two teams behind them have gone 4-6 over that span. Teams are coming close to fully being out of it as there are only two months left in the season and the Pirates continue playing great baseball, as are the Dodgers, Rays and Red Sox.
