The American League isn't providing much September drama, with the five playoff teams all but decided, but the National League might provide enough action for both circuits. Eight teams are battling for five spots and every day this week features at least one game between two contenders.
The two wild cards look like they probably will come down to teams in the Central or West, but there's still a race for the East division title.
Here's how the races stack up, with a look at the week ahead:
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
BIGGEST SERIES -- Dodgers vs. Cardinals: The Dodgers head to St. Louis for four games in a series with big implications on two divisions and the wild card. St. Louis swept three games at L.A. in August. Kenley Jansen gave up the winning runs in two of those three games, but he has pitched much better since then. The Cardinals have had some problems of their own in the late innings, but Carlos Martinez appears to have taken over closer duties, allowing just one run in 9⅓ innings since moving to the bullpen.
GAME OF THE WEEK -- Brewers (Chase Anderson) vs. Cubs (Kyle Hendricks) on Wednesday night: Milwaukee enters the series just two games behind the Cubs, so this game could be for first place in the Central, or it could provide Chicago the opportunity to put the Brewers in the rearview mirror.
MOST ON THE LINE -- Diamondbacks: Falling 2½ games behind the division leader is less than ideal, but the Diamondbacks have a big opportunity to make up that ground with four games against the Rockies to start the week. After that, a tough task awaits them in Houston. A good week could erase the club's deficit, but a bad one might leave the D-backs in a hole too big to dig out of.
NL EAST
Braves 82-64 --
Phillies 74-71 7.5 GB
BRAVES
The week that was: 3-4 (0-3 vs. Red Sox, 3-1 at Diamondbacks)
The week ahead: The Braves finish their West Coast swing with three games against the Giants and miss Madison Bumgarner, but their series at home to end the week against the Nationals figures to include a game against Max Scherzer, although Washington's makeup game Thursday could impact that.
What you need to know: The 20-year-old Ronald Acuna leads all MLB hitters with 12 homers over the past month, and is up to 25 dingers on the season. In the past 50 years, the only players 20 years old or younger to hit more homers in a season are Mike Trout (30) and Alex Rodriguez (36).
PHILLIES
The week that was: 2-4 (1-2 at Marlins, 1-2 at Mets)
The week ahead: Philadelphia has a six-game homestand with three games against the Nationals (without Scherzer) and three against the woeful Marlins.
What you need to know: Since his return from Triple-A last month, Hector Neris has struck out 22 of the 41 batters he has faced while walking just three and giving up one run in 10⅔ innings.
NL CENTRAL
Cubs 84-61 --
Brewers 84-63 1 GB
Cardinals 81-65 3.5 GB
CUBS
The week that was: 2-4 (1-2 at Brewers, 1-2 at Nationals)
The week ahead: The NL Central leaders have six games at home this week with a Thursday makeup at Washington in between. They host the team trying to chase them down in the Brewers before closing the week against the Reds.
What you need to know: Javier Baez is receiving MVP consideration, but since May 1, Anthony Rizzo has been the Cubs' best hitter with a .308/.402/.537 slash line and 23 home runs.
BREWERS
The week that was: 5-1 (2-1 vs. Cubs, 3-0 vs. Giants)
The week ahead: The Brewers head south to Wrigley for a big series to start the week before hosting the Pirates over the weekend.
What you need to know: There are 24 National League hitters who qualify for the batting title with at least 3.0 fWAR this season. Not only do the Brewers have two of the top three in Lorenzo Cain (5.2) and Christian Yelich (5.1), Cain and Yelich are the only two of the 24 to change organizations over the winter.
CARDINALS
The week that was: 3-3 (2-1 at Nationals, 1-2 at Tigers)
The week ahead: St. Louis plays a full slate of seven games this week, all at home. Pittsburgh comes to Busch Stadium for three before the big four-game set against the Dodgers.
What you need to know: Since the beginning of August, the Cardinals have won an MLB-best 25 of 36 games. Of their 11 losses, six have been by just one run with another three by only a pair.
NL WEST
Rockies 80-65 --
Dodgers 79-67 1.5 GB
Diamondbacks 77-69 3.5 GB
ROCKIES
The week that was: 4-2 (3-0 vs. Giants, 1-2 vs. Dodgers)
The week ahead: Your West-leading Rockies have a big four-game series hosting the Diamondbacks, followed by three games in San Francisco, including a Saturday matchup against Madison Bumgarner.
What you need to know: In his past 12 starts, 23-year-old German Marquez has pitched into the seventh inning eight times and put up a 2.55 ERA and 100 strikeouts. The only pitchers in baseball with a lower ERA and more strikeouts during that span are Jacob deGrom and Carlos Carrasco.
DODGERS
The week that was: 3-3 (1-2 vs. Mets, 2-1 at Rockies)
The week ahead: The Dodgers continue their 10-game road trip with three games against the Reds and four against the Cardinals, who swept them in Los Angeles three weeks ago.
What you need to know: Since the beginning of August, Justin Turner has been the best hitter in the National League with a .369/.462/.664 line and a 205 wRC+.
DIAMONDBACKS
The week that was: 2-4 (1-1 vs. Padres, 1-3 vs. Braves)
The week ahead: Arizona has the toughest schedule of any contender this week with four games in Colorado before heading to Houston for three against the Astros.
What you need to know: Before going down with a thumb injury in mid-May, A.J. Pollock was one of the best hitters in the game with 24 extra-base hits and nine steals over the first six weeks of the season. But since coming back in July, he's hitting just .235/.300/.362. He has gotten on base in six straight starts (.379 OBP), so maybe he's snapping out of it.
NL WILD CARD
Brewers 84-63 + 2.5
Cardinals 81-65 --
Dodgers 79-67 2 GB
Diamondbacks 77-69 4 GB
What you need to know: The significance of the Dodgers-Cardinals series in the wild-card picture is clear, and Thursday's opener is a dandy pitching matchup: 22-year-old Jack Flaherty against Clayton Kershaw. When Kershaw was 22, he put up a 2.91 ERA and struck out 25 percent of the batters he faced. Flaherty won't get close to Kershaw's 200-plus innings, but he does have a 2.92 ERA while striking out 30 percent of batters faced in 132⅓ innings.