(MLB Standings are through games of June 30)

AL East

The Yankees were just barely better than .500 for the month of June, going 14-13. The loss of Giancarlo Stanton mid-month really hurt, as they were just 4-10 from the 15th through the 30th.

After taking three straight at San Francisco and sweeping the Twins in a three-game set in New York, the Yanks managed to win just one more series, taking three of four at Kansas City. They lost two of three at home to the Dodgers, two of three to Boston at Fenway, the same at home to the Orioles and the Braves, before dropping two to the Mets at Citi Field, then ending the month splitting a four-game series at Toronto.

Baltimore had a solid month, going 17-12 in June, good enough to tie the Yankees for first place in the division. Baltimore leads the majors in home runs with 139. The Yankees are second, with 123.

The O's also have the league's lowest team ERA: 3.44. Because they can hit, hit for power, and have a stellar pitching staff, the Orioles look to command their own destiny in the division.

Boston was a .500 team through the end of May (29-29), but improved to go 15-10 in June. While the Red Sox may not be able to catch the division leaders, they are just 1 1/2 games out of a wild card spot.

The Rays were 14-12 in June, and the Blue Jays are going in the wrong direction, 11-16 over the month.

AL Central

The Cleveland Guardians went 14-11 in June, are are easily the best home team in either league, with a 26-9 record on the shores of Lake Erie. They have the best pitching staff in the division and rank 7th in the majors with a team ERA of 3.60.

The Guardians don't lose close games. Emmanuel Clase has racked up 25 of Cleveland's league-leading 30 saves. Unheralded Jose Ramirez has carried the team on his back, leading in batting (.280), HRs (23), RBI (76), OBP (.332), Hits (89) and Total Bases (177). He's a big reason why they have a six-game lead in the division.

With a 15-12 record in June, Minnesota passed Kansas City into second place and a wild card spot. The Twins may be looking for another arm in their rotation or a solid power hitter as the trade deadline approaches.

Kansas City lost ground with a 12-15 mark in June. They are the current holder of the third wild card, but Boston and Houston are closing in on them.

June was unkind to the Tigers (10-17) and White Sox (9-19) and the worst record in baseball.

AL West

Seattle had a four-game lead over the Rangers at the end of May, and start July with a 3 1/2-game lead over the Astros, who have gotten hot of late.

The Mariners went 15-12 in June while Houston rolled to a 17-9 mark, ending June a game over .500 for the first time this season after taking down the Mets, 10-5, in 11 innings on June 30.

Houston's won nine of their last 10 games including a three-game sweep of the Orioles, downing the Birds, 14-11, 5-1, and 8-1.

Texas went backwards in June winning 11 while dropping 16 games. The reigning champs are eight games off the pace in both the division and wild card races.

As usual, the Angels and A's are bringing up the rear, but the Angels went 15-11 in June. The A's were 9-20. Ouch!

NL East

The Phillies are taking no prisoners in the East, improving their lead over the Braves from 6 1/2 games at the end of May to 8 up on June 30, going 15-11.

Atlanta just barely kept up with a 14-13 mark for the month. Losing Ronald Acuna Jr - out since May 26 - and Spencer Strider for the season has hurt their chances to catch the Phillies and one wonders how long Marcell Ozuna (21 HRs, 67 RBI) can keep producing solid numbers.

The main threat to the Braves is coming from the Mets, who put up a 16-8 mark in June and are closing in on a wild card spot (2 games out). The Mets are the only team in the NL besides the Dodgers with more than 100 home runs thus far. They have 102, LA has hit 113. The Mets' lineup can become very scary if Harrison Bader, J.D. Martinez, and Jeff McNeil begin to pick up the pace.

Washington (13-14) went backwards in June. Miami, after their disastrous 0-9 start to the season, prove it wasn't a fluke by winning just nine times in June, losing 17.

NL Central

Closing out the month of June with a real bang, Brice Turang socked the Brewers' 5th grand slam in the team's last eight games. The Milwaukee Brewers, as dangerous as they come, went 16-11 in June, closing out the month by winning six of their last seven, increasing their lead over the second place Cardinals to 6 1/2 games.

It's not like the Cardinals didn't have a solid month, it just wasn't quite as good as Milwaukee's. The Cards were 27-28 at the end of May and finish June at 43-40, for a record of 16-12. Holding a three-game lead over the Pirates in the division, the Cardinals appear to be the only threat to Milwaukee for the division crown and are currently holding the third wild card spot.

Somehow, Pittsburgh keeps hanging around. The Pirates were 14-12 in June, but after Bryan Reynolds, who leads the team in most batting departments, and Andrew McCutchen, there isn't much in the way of offense. Pittsburgh's .227 team batting is the worst in the National League.

There were high hopes early on for both the Reds and Cubs, but both seem to be fading. Cincinnati did manage to go 14-12 in June, but the Cubs stunk it up with a mark of 11-16 and have fallen to last place.

NL West

As expected, the Dodgers are just cruising along in the West, leading the league in home runs (113), RBI (415) and 1,273 total bases. Their team average of .256 trails only the Padres (.263) and Phillies (.259). LA went 16-10 in June to pad their lead from 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 over the Padres, who did well to hang in second place with a 15-13 mark for the month.

Quietly, Arizona, after a slow start to the season, has picked up the pace, winning 16 and losing 11 in June to pull to within 2 1/2 of a wild card spot, though they realistically could be in better shape. The Diamondbacks began the month with a 11-5 mark, but since June 18 went just 5-6.

Four of those late June losses came against contenders, the Phillies and Twins, but they were not pretty. The Phillies beat them 12-1 and 4-1 in Philly, then, returning home, the Twins roughed them up with 8-3 and 13-6 beatdowns.

Arizona opens July with a tough stretch which may make or break their season. They have three each on the road at the Dodgers and Padres, then return home to host the Braves in a three-game set. If they can hold their own against those quality squads, they may be on their way back to the playoffs, but, the D-Backs haven't been over .500 since April 3rd.

If Arizona stumbles, the Giants, who are just 1/2 game behind them, may be able to make a run, given some of their injured players return soon enough. Starters Alex Cobb, Kyle Harrison, Robbie Ray and Blake Snell are all expected back within the next two to three weeks.

Cobb and Ray haven't pitched all season, Snell had only six starts before hitting the IR, and Harrison was 4-3 in 14 starts before going down. Should these starters come back healthy, the Giants could be a real danger down the stretch. San Fran was 12-15 in June, but finished well, going 5-2 to close out the month, including taking two of three at home from the Dodgers.

Colorado, um, no. 7-20 for June was the worst mark in the majors. Maybe it's location. Colorado, too high; Miami, too hot.

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