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WHICH<br />
MLB TEAMS<br />
ARE LEADING THE WAY<br />
HEADING INTO JUNE?<br />
Aaron Judge, gettyimages.com<br />
CONTRIBUTED BY ADRIAN BOWLES<br />
After just thirty-six games into the MLB season, some teams are still trying to<br />
get a grip on the season whereas others are flying ahead of the rest as they<br />
quickly catch more momentum.<br />
The American League (AL) East<br />
can’t get any hotter as the New<br />
York Yankees and the Boston Red<br />
Sox lead the way as the nation’s<br />
best teams in the battle for the<br />
division. The AL Central has gotten<br />
off to a slow start but as expected<br />
the Cleveland Indians are in first<br />
place with a .500 record (18-18).<br />
Also, as expected the Houston<br />
Astros are the front runners of<br />
the AL West, but the unlikely<br />
Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles<br />
are creeping close behind only<br />
being a half game behind in the<br />
division. The National League (NL)<br />
East has gotten off to an odd start<br />
as both divisional favorites, the<br />
Washington Nationals and New<br />
York Mets, have sank to third and<br />
fourth place as the Atlanta Braves<br />
and Philadelphia Phillies sit at the<br />
top of their division. The NL Central<br />
is the closest division in baseball as<br />
the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee<br />
Brewers, the Pittsburgh Pirates,<br />
and the Chicago Cubs all sit within<br />
a game of each other. Lastly, by<br />
the looks of things in the NL West<br />
the Arizona Diamondbacks look<br />
like they’re the best team in the<br />
division.<br />
In their past 23 games, the<br />
Yankees have managed to win<br />
19 of those games marking a<br />
.826 winning percentage to sling<br />
shot themselves to the top of the<br />
division. The Yankees severely<br />
needed that jump as the Red<br />
Sox opened their season looking<br />
like the hottest team in baseball<br />
winning 13 of their first 15 games.<br />
In their last 23 games the Red<br />
Sox have had a .565 winning<br />
percentage going 13-10. Both<br />
teams finished this 23-game<br />
stretch in a rival series against<br />
one another in New York between<br />
May 8 and May 10. In their first<br />
meeting on May 8, we finally<br />
saw Giancarlo Stanton come to<br />
life in his newly acquired Yankee<br />
uniform as he went two-for-three<br />
with two homeruns, bringing in<br />
two runs (RBI). Aaron Judge also<br />
went one-for-four with a RBI as<br />
42<br />
42 www.EverythingElko.com \ June 2018
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