1. Los Angeles Angels (83-53) (Last Week 1) – What a statement week for the Angels. In a huge four-game series against Oakland, with the A.L. West lead on the line, L.A. swept, outscoring the A’s 18-4 and opening up a five-game lead in the division.
2. Baltimore Orioles (79-56) (LW 5) – The Orioles have won six of their last seven and are poised to win their first A.L. East title since 1997. With a nine-game lead over the Yankees, Baltimore’s magic number of 19 is the lowest in baseball.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (77-60) (LW 4) – The Dodgers will be taking a more deliberate approach with their pitching staff going forward. L.A. is moving to a six-man rotation, in part to give Dan Haren more time between starts and to potentially line up the front three starters for their series against the Giants in two weeks.
4. Oakland Athletics (78-58) (LW 2) – Once a World Series favorite, Oakland is now free falling. Being swept in four games against the Angels puts the Athletics in danger of falling out of the division race, and the bats are nowhere to be found. Since trading Yoenis Cespedes, Oakland is hitting an A.L.-worst .223
5. Washington Nationals (77-58) (LW 3) – After winning 12 of 13, the Nats cooled off quickly, being swept in a three-game series against the Phillies. It was their first time being swept since mid-June. But, they bounced back to take two of three from Seattle.
