Wild-Card Races Muddled by Streaks, Injuries and the Virus

After a rough April and May, the Reds have slowly climbed the standings into the second wild-card spot. They have been powered by the hitting of first baseman Joey Votto (17 home runs in the second half, tied for most in M.L.B.) and the pitching of Wade Miley, who, by some advanced metrics, has been one of the best starters in baseball this season.

After those teams, it gets messy: Through Wednesday, four teams were within five and a half games of the Reds for the second wild-card spot — the San Diego Padres, the Philadelphia Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Mets, in that order.

The Padres, who reached first place in the highly competitive N.L. West in late May but sputtered in July and August, are fighting to reclaim a playoff spot. The Phillies have surged in their division and wild-card races with the help of outfielder Bryce Harper, who surpassed Fernando Tatis Jr., Shohei Ohtani and Guerrero as the major league leader in O.P.S. (1.014) through Wednesday.

Tied with the Phillies were the Cardinals, who, in the span of two weeks in June, dropped from first in the N.L. Central to fourth, and have been trying to make it up since. Once in first place in the N.L. East, the Mets were overtaken by the Braves and the Phillies in August, and have been a mess on and off the field.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/sports/baseball/wild-card-races.html