September has just arrived. Hence, with just a few weeks left in the regular season, October baseball will come soon. Several teams are fighting hard for a spot in the playoffs. In August, some teams did have a great month and it’s worth reviewing their great performance.
The Dodgers now have the best record in the majors. By far, they already won 90 games and lost just 40 times. In August, the Dodgers won 22 games and only lost 6 times. They are just unstoppable. Also in the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals had a great August. The Cardinals now lead in the NL Central and they won 22 games in August. Meanwhile, in the American League, the Rays had a great month with a record of 18 wins and 9 losses. Moreover, it’s worth watching the NL East. The Mets are now the division leader, but the Braves are just 3 games behind the Mets. The Mets won 19 games in August and the Braves won 18 games last month. At the same time, the Phillies also won 18 games in August.
We’ve seen that some teams had a great August. Now, let’s see what made these teams enjoy a great month.
Let’s start with the pitching performance. The Dodgers pitching staff had done a great job in August. Last month, they posted a 2.29 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Opponents batted only .183 against the Dodgers pitchers. It’s just tough to face the Dodgers pitchers. In the meantime, the Guardians pitching staff owned a 2.80 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. And, the Rays pitchers had an ERA of 2.85 and a 1.06 WHIP last month. The Rays pitching staff only gave up 53 walks in August, fewest among 30 MLB teams.
Now, let’s look at the batting performance. The Cardinals batters had been doing a great job in August and the team had an OPS of .864. They posted a batting average of .281 and they blasted 51 home runs. Both were the best among 30 MLB teams. At the same time, the Dodgers batters owned an .816 OPS in August. They had a batting average of .273 last month and crushed 40 home runs. Furthermore, the Braves owned an OPS of .788. In August, the Braves’ batting average was .271 and they smashed 36 home runs. Meanwhile, the Phillies had an OPS over .770 in August. The Phillies also blasted 30+ home runs last month.
The Dodgers have been playing excellently this season. In August, they just again showed how good they are. Their pitching performance has been very solid and the Dodgers batters consistently do damage. Meanwhile, the Guardians and the Rays each showed that they have great pitching depth. The Guardians now lead the AL Central and they will surely need their pitching staff to continue doing great things. Moreover, the AL wild race has been quite intense. The Rays will really need their pitching staff to stay solid in September to clinch a spot in the playoffs. Furthermore, the Cardinals and the Braves did hit well in August. Good offense could help the Cardinals win the division title for the first time since 2019. Additionally, in the NL East, the title race might be even more intense. Will the Mets win the first division title since 2015? Maybe good offense can help the Braves surpass the Mets?
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