AL East
Baltimore remained on top in the East, but they couldn't shake free from the Yankees, who fell back by two games mid-month but were never rattled, despite an 11-12 record for July. The Orioles weren't much better, posting a mark of 12-13 for the month. Both picked it up as July ended, the Yankees especially, winning five straight with Juan Soto and Aaron Judge heating up. The Yanks pulled in Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Mariners, taking third base from DJ LeMahieu and his sub-.200 batting average.
New York was just 10-23 from June 15 though July 31, but, thanks to the O's playing sub-.500 baseball, they maintained their second place spot and the top wild card position.
With the two top teams faltering, Boston was all to make up some ground before the mid-month break, going 13-11 for the month, but stalled out after the all-star break, going 4-8 through the end of July. Their 9-3 start to the month fizzled and the month ended with Boston two games out of the wild card being the Yanks, Twins and Royals, and down seven in the division.
Tampa Bay was 13-11 in July, staying barely relevant, but dealt away their top players, including Zach Eflin (to Baltimore) and Randy Arozarena (Seattle). Looks like the playoffs are off the calendar his season in Tampa.
Toronto, despite loads of talent, didn't make any trade deadline moves, remaining content in last place, going 12-14 in July and looking forward to next year.
Cleveland maintained their 6-game lead in the division with a 13-12 mark for July, as the Twins went 12-11 to keep pace while the Royals went 13-10 to move into a tie with the Twins for second place and the second and third wild cards. None of the top Central division teams made any serious trades prior to the deadline, which suggests that their management is content with what they've got going forward.
That shouldn't surprise anybody. The top three teams in the Central are all currently in playoff spots and the Twins and Royals could conceivably make the division race closer should the Guardians falter.
The Tigers had a solid month of July, with a 14-11 mark, but their poor start has left them too far behind to consider a playoff bid.
The biggest story may be the White Sox, who ended July with a 17-game losing streak and were just 3-22 for the month. At their current pace, the Sox will likely have 100 losses before September. At 27-84, Chicago is likely to post one of the worst full season records in MLB history.
Since 1901 to the present (modern era) the worst record belongs to the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics with a 36-117 mark. The 1962 Mets were pretty bad, going 40-120, not even completing two rain-out make up games. They hold the record for most losses, but were nearly equalled by the 2003 Detroit Tigers, who went 43-119.
The Tigers were also awful in 2019, going 47-114, just a year after Baltimore stunk up Camden Yards with a 47-115 mark.
With a .243 win percentage at the end of July, the White Sox are actually on pace to win just 12 or 13 more games, and post a record of 40-122, which would be the most losses for a team in the modern era.
Amazingly, the Sox aren't the least-attended home club in the majors. Their average of 17,351 is better than Tampa Bay, Miami, and twice as many as Oakland's pathetic 8,422. BTW: The Dodgers are far and away the most popular team, drawing an average of 48,226 fans per home game, ahead of the Yankees (41,968) and Phillies (41,439).
Seattle began July with a 3 1/2-game edge over the Astros, but by the end of the month found themselves ties for first place with Houston after the Mariners posted a 10-14 record for the month while the Astros went 14-11.
While the Mariners traded for Justin Turner and Randy Arozarena, the extra bats may not be enough to keep the Astros from taking the division for the fourth straight year and seventh time in the last eight seasons.
Reigning world champion Texas had a solid month with a 14-11 record, but were still 8 games out of the last wild card sport at the end of July. They have a better chance of winning the division, 4 1/2 behind Seattle and Houston. Dropping five of their last six in July didn't help. The Rangers were swept at Toronto and dropped two of three in St. Louis.
The Angels went 11-14, while the A's were heating up with a 15-9 mark, the best in the AL. Despite almost nobody attending Oakland home games, the team may manage to not finish in last place, trailing the Angels by only three games at month's end.
NL East
The Phillies won 10 and dropped 14 games in July, but managed to increase their lead in the division by 1 1/2 games over the Braves, who went on something of a skid, losing six straight before winning four of five to close out the month for an overall July record of just 12-13.
The Braves managed to hold onto the top wild card, but just barely, leading San Diego by 1/2 and Arizona by one game.
The Mets were the story of the month, going 17-10 in July, finishing up just a half game behind the D-Backs for the final wild card. A model of consistency, the Mets were 7-2 after July 5, heading into the all-star break and 7-3 to close out the month.
The front office in New York was busy at the end of the month making six acquisitions as the trade deadline came and went. Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Huascar Brazoban, and Tyler Zuber added depth to the bullpen and they nabbed starter Paul Blackburn from the A's and got left-hand hitting outfielder Jesse Winker from the Washington Nationals. They appear to have their sights set on October baseball.
The Nationals were 10-16 for July, the Marlins 10-14. See ya next season, fellas.
The Brewers kept rolling along with a comfy lead in the division, though the Cardinals managed to draw from 6 1/2 out to just 5 behind by July 31. Milwaukee added pitchers Frankie Montas and Aaron Civale
Milwaukee went 11-13; the Cards, 13-12, but St. Louis fell out from the last wild card spot while the Mets, San Diego and Arizona heated up and passed them by. Meanwhile, the Cardinals traded away Tommy Edman, but reunited with Tommy Pham, who socked a grand slam in his first at-bat after the trade from the White Sox. St. Louis also added starter Erick Fedde and reliever Shawn Armstrong.
The Cardinals have gone 41-30 since Mother's day (May 12), topping the majors with the most wins over that span.
Pittsburgh remained relevant in terms of both the division and the wild card, posting one of the best records in July with a 15-10 mark. The Pirates ended July just one back of St. Louis, 6 behind the Brewers, and 2 1/2 out of the final wild card adding outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and utility infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
Cincinnati went 13-11 in July, Chicago, 13-12, neither team making any significant trades prior to the deadline, apparently content to battle for the bottom of the division.
The Padres and Diamondbacks both closed ground on the Dodgers during July, San Diego picking up three games, Arizona 4 1/2, as LA stumbled through the month with an 11-13 record.
Arizona topped the majors with a 17-8 mark and gained a wild card, but are only 1/2-game behind the Padres and one behind Atlanta. San Diego was a very respectable 13-9.
San Francisco plugged away with a 13-12 record while the Rockies continues far back, winning 11 and dropping 15. They are 24 games out and seem to have a lock on last place.
Los Angeles dealt for Tommy Edman from the Cardinals and Ahmed Rosario from Tampa Bay, but made a big move to their starting rotation by nabbing Jack Flaherty from Detroit after the Yankees apparently passed on a deal for the former St. Louis and Baltimore hurler.
The Padres got righty reliever Jason Adam from Tampa Bay for three minor leaguers and landed Marlins' closer Tanner Scott. Arizona also bolstered their bullpen with the additions of A. J. Puk and Dylan Florio.
With Atlanta holding a tenuous 1/2-game lead in the wild card and one game over Arizona, the NL wild card race is about to get even wilder with the Mets, Cardinals, and Pirates all poised for late season runs.
Six teams vying for three spots will make August and September in the National League exciting and full of suspense.
Division races in the AL will be equally challenging as the Orioles and Yankees battle in the East and Houston tries to hold off Seattle and Texas. There's even a chance the Royals or Twins could run down the Guardians, who have been front-runners since opening day, though they appear to be the best in the Central and maybe the AL as a whole.
AL Central
AL West
NL Central
NL West
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