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Major League Baseball heads into its final month of play, with three of the six divisions basically decided. The Dodgers and Astros are running away with their respective Wests, while the Cardinals have completed a nice comeback and seem destined to win the NL Central.

The other three divisions seem like they are going down to the wire, including a slugfest between two solid teams in the Mets and Braves for the NL East and a mediocre fest of who wants to lose less between the Twins, Guardians, and White Sox.

The Yankees’ post-All-Star skid has also shaved ten games off their lead in the AL East, making what once looked like a landslide win into a close race with the Rays just five games back. Those two teams meet up this weekend in the Bronx for three games, so things could get interesting in that division. Here’s some other MLB Betting news and happenings for the week of September 5th-11th.

MLB News and Happenings This Week

Playoff Projections

The NL East could send three teams to the postseason, as whoever wins the division between the Braves and Mets, the loser, still has a 10-game lead on the wild card. The Phillies also currently hold the third spot behind the Padres, with the Brewers at 2.5 GB the only other competition.

The streaky Mariners are hot again, winners of seven straight coming out of the weekend. They’ll never catch Houston in the division, but Seattle is in the top wild card spot, followed by the Rays and Blue Jays. Baltimore needs a hot September (2.5 GB) if they want to snap a five-year playoff drought.

One Month Since Trade Deadline

It’s been a little over a month since the trade deadline, so buyer’s remorse – or contentment – is really becoming clear. The biggest blunder of the trade deadline seems to be the Padres acquiring of Milwaukee’s Josh Hader, who seems powerless without cheese and beer as he’s posted a 19.06 ERA with San Diego.

Juan Soto was the biggest chip of the trade deadline, and he hit .256 with three HRs since joining San Diego. By comparison, the Mets have gotten four HRs from trade deadline acquisition Daniel Vogelbach and for a far less haul.

The Phillies have gotten into contention thanks to a couple of pitchers acquired near the deadline. Noah Syndergaard has gone 3-1 with Philadelphia, while David Robertson has a 1.54 ERA and four saves since coming over from the Cubs.

Looking back, Jordan Montgomery looks like the steal of the deadline and somebody the Yankees could have really used right now. Instead, Montgomery is 4-0 with a 1.76 ERA for St. Louis, who has built up an 8.5-game lead in the NL Central.

Injuries and Other News

The New York Mets got good news when Max Scherzer’s side inflammation was nothing more serious after he was pulled against Washington on Saturday night after just 67 pitches. He may miss a start or two just to be cautious as the Mets are headed towards the postseason either as division champs or in the wild card.

The Rays are also hoping that pitcher Shane McClanahan can return from the IL when eligible on September 14th. He was playing catch at 75 feet over the weekend after being scratched last Wednesday with shoulder issues. Tampa Bay also has Wander Franco rehabbing at Triple-A and Brandon Lowe eligible to return this week, so that could be a boost as the team tries to chase down the Yankees.

I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?