With about 20 games left in the regular season, some of Major League Baseball’s playoff races look set to go down to the wire.
The New York Mets have 1½-game lead in the National League East entering Monday, pulling back two games in the days after they lost possession of first place after nearly five months on top. The Atlanta Braves have gone since 64-26 – a 115-win pace – since June 1 and managed to briefly overtake the Mets on Friday, before losing the last two of their weekend series in Seattle.
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The AL Central race has also gotten more interesting, with the Cleveland Guardians holding a 2½-game advantage over the second-place Chicago White Sox, who have won seven of 10 – while the Minnesota Twins have fallen to third by losing eight of 10.
Here’s how USA TODAY Sports’ eight-person panel voted this week:
Rank (movement from last week)
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (–)
2. Houston Astros (–)
3. Atlanta Braves (+1)
4. New York Mets (-1)
5. New York Yankees (+1)
6. St. Louis Cardinals (-1)
7. Tampa Bay Rays (–)
8. Toronto Blue Jays (+1)
9. Seattle Mariners (-1)
10. Philadelphia Phillies (+1)
11. San Diego Padres (-1)
12. Milwaukee Brewers (+2)
13. Cleveland Guardians (–)
14. Baltimore Orioles (-2)
15. Chicago White Sox (+1)
16. Minnesota Twins (-1)
17. Boston Red Sox (–)
18. San Francisco Giants (–)
19. Arizona Diamondbacks (–)
20. Colorado Rockies (+4)
21. Texas Rangers (-1)
22. Los Angeles Angels (-1)
23. Miami Marlins (-1)
24. Chicago Cubs (-1)
25. Cincinnati Reds (+1)
26. Kansas City Royals (-1)
27. Detroit Tigers (–)
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (+1)
29. Oakland Athletics (-1)
30. Washington Nationals (–)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: Mets, Braves battle atop NL East standings