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Baseball's second half resumes Thursday
NEW YORK, The Major League Baseball season resumes Thursday after the All-Star break, with prospects high that the 2010 pennant races could be exciting ones.
The largest lead in any of baseball's six divisions is 4 1/2 games as the second-half schedule gets under way with seven games.
Surprises dot the standings heading into the season's second half, chief among them the Atlanta Braves holding onto a four-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East. Philadelphia, the two-time defending league champion, is struggling to make the playoffs -- currently 4 1/2 games off the pace.
Pre-season NL Central favorite St. Louis finds itself in a battle with Cincinnati, currently standing a game back of the Reds.
In the NL West, the closing months could provide plenty of drama since all four teams are battling for the lead. San Diego unexpectedly finds itself two games in front of Colorado and the Los Angeles Dodgers with San Francisco four games behind.
The New York Yankees closed the first half of the season by winning eight out of nine games and they were two games ahead of Tampa Bay in the American League East at the break. Boston has the third-best record in the league, but it is also in third place in the division.
The Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins are set to fight it out in the AL Central. Texas owns a 4 1/2-game advantage over the Los Angeles Angels in the West, although both teams stumbled in the early days of July.
Key series will start when Minnesota hosts the Chicago White Sox and Texas travels to Boston. The White Sox have the longest current winning streak in the majors at eight games.
In the National League, Philadelphia will attempt to extend a four-game surge when it visits the Chicago Cubs. Milwaukee will have a three-game winning streak on the line in its trip to Atlanta and the Dodgers will be in St. Louis.
All 30 teams will be in action Friday.
NEW YORK, The Major League Baseball season resumes Thursday after the All-Star break, with prospects high that the 2010 pennant races could be exciting ones.
The largest lead in any of baseball's six divisions is 4 1/2 games as the second-half schedule gets under way with seven games.
Surprises dot the standings heading into the season's second half, chief among them the Atlanta Braves holding onto a four-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East. Philadelphia, the two-time defending league champion, is struggling to make the playoffs -- currently 4 1/2 games off the pace.
Pre-season NL Central favorite St. Louis finds itself in a battle with Cincinnati, currently standing a game back of the Reds.
In the NL West, the closing months could provide plenty of drama since all four teams are battling for the lead. San Diego unexpectedly finds itself two games in front of Colorado and the Los Angeles Dodgers with San Francisco four games behind.
The New York Yankees closed the first half of the season by winning eight out of nine games and they were two games ahead of Tampa Bay in the American League East at the break. Boston has the third-best record in the league, but it is also in third place in the division.
The Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins are set to fight it out in the AL Central. Texas owns a 4 1/2-game advantage over the Los Angeles Angels in the West, although both teams stumbled in the early days of July.
Key series will start when Minnesota hosts the Chicago White Sox and Texas travels to Boston. The White Sox have the longest current winning streak in the majors at eight games.
In the National League, Philadelphia will attempt to extend a four-game surge when it visits the Chicago Cubs. Milwaukee will have a three-game winning streak on the line in its trip to Atlanta and the Dodgers will be in St. Louis.
All 30 teams will be in action Friday.
