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NL Playoffs Weekly Watch: Flaming Arizona, Giant Fall, Brewers Gaining Form

In this week’s NL Playoff Weekly Watch: Can the Arizona Diamondbacks ride this hot streak to the playoffs? Are the Milwaukee Brewers getting hot at the right time? Will the Philadelphia Phillies fix their issues?  Is the season over for the San Diego Padres?

2023 NL Playoffs: Hot Arizona, Giants Fall, Brewers Gain Form

NL East: All Quiet on the Front

Another week brings more proof that the Atlanta Braves have all but secured their division. With another 4-2 week, their lead in the East grew to 13 1/2 games, with only 37 left to play. Their chances for the single-season home run record may have diminished greatly. But the Braves still have plenty of other accolades to chase. Matt Olson is looking for a Home Run title, and Ronald Acuna Jr. is the leading MVP candidate. In the standings, the Los Angeles Dodgers have stayed within reach for the 1st seed of the NL Playoffs. So while this week might seem easy for Atlanta, with series against the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies, the one game against the Dodgers will show just how well they stack against their main competitors.

Meanwhile, in Philly, the team is still waiting for a sign that they will emerge as a real World Series threat. Bryce Harper and Trea Turner have been slowly gaining form, and their offense has looked more productive lately. However, the defensive laps and suspect pitching are still present, with no end in sight. Another 3-3 week is proof of that. With coming games against the lowly Saint Louis Cardinals and the seemingly cursed Los Angeles Angels, they should increase their lead in the Wild Card race. If they will do that, remains to be seen.

In the race for the Playoffs, the Miami Marlins are losing ground. With a disappointing 2-4 week, they are now two games back of the final Wild Card spot. They have to face the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays in their pursuit to correct that. Two teams that have been hot as of late. And while I know there are still plenty of games to be played. I fear this might be the beginning of the end for Miami

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NL West: A Race for 2nd Place

While Atlanta is rolling through the East, the Dodgers are doing the same to the West. A 12-game lead over the field proves that, but the Dodgers can’t settle. After a 4-2 week, they have maintained the distance between themselves and the Braves. But they didn’t gain any ground, and the season is coming to an end sooner rather than later. They have some real tests coming up in the desperate Boston Red Sox, and the hot Arizona Diamondbacks. So just like their superstar Mookie Betts has done in the MVP race, it’s time for the Dodgers to make a last-minute push for the top.

For the second spot in the division, a picture is emerging. A young, fiery team, with plenty of talent, soaring from its own ashes, and a team falling back to mediocrity, the Diamondbacks and the Giants. Arizona has won five straight, and gotten back into a playoff spot, but is looking at a tough week against the young Cincinnati Reds and the Dodgers. San Francisco went 2-4, is out of a Wild Card spot, and has just as bad of a week against Atlanta and Cincinnati. The Giants are hoping that this is a turning point, that through this tough week, they will regain form, and Arizona will cool off. That their pitching will manage to carry the average hitting core to the promised land. But looking at their 5-12 record since August 5th, their hopes look to be in vain.

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NL Central: Brewing Hot Streak

In the struggle for the Central division, both the Chicago Cubs and the Reds had good weeks, posting 4-2 records. But the way Milwaukee played, it wasn’t enough. The Brewers had a white-hot week, winning all five of their games, and four of them in convincing fashion, with their starting pitching appearing to return to form, and the bats finally remembering how to hit baseballs. This gave them a more comfortable three-game lead over Chicago, but the race is far from over. As the Brewers face off with the Cubs right after a series with the Padres, Chicago has a much easier series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

You can never take the Reds out of the loop. Their superstar rookie team can always get hot, mop the floor out of nowhere with Arizona and the Giants, and erase the 4 game deficit they have. This division definitely provides the action in the NL.

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NL Playoffs Picture

The division leaders stayed the same as last week, with all of them gaining ground over their divisions. But while Atlanta and Los Angeles are sure-fire winners, Milwaukee is not out of the woods just yet.

Meanwhile, in the Wild Card race, the Padres remain six games back, praying for a hot streak that will bust them out of futility. Philly still maintains a marginal, yet respectable, 2 1/2 game lead over the field, with the Cubs and Arizona being in, while the Giants and Reds are half of a game back, and the Marlins drifting a bit away at two games back.

Main photo credits:

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Cosmin Durla

Cosmin Durla

He is a student working on his Bachelor's in Computer Science, and he has a passion for American sports and writing. Fan of great players doing great things. Cheese enthusiast.

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