MLB races starting to heat up with playoffs looming

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This is the time of the year when things really get interesting for Major League Baseball.
With approximately 40 games left in the regular season, several division races are starting to heat up like the summer days of August.
Starting in the American League West, the Houston Astros find themselves in a dead heat with the Oakland Athletics, as the Seattle Mariners lie only 3.5 games back.
The Astros have suffered a number of key injuries which has caused a drop in wins. Houston is 2-8 over the last ten games while the Athletics are 7-3 over that same stretch. Getting some of their starters back should give the Astros the boost they need for the playoff push.
Over in the National League East, the Philadelphia Phillies find themselves only one game behind division leading Atlanta. Not far behind is the Washington Nationals, who trail the Braves by 7.5 games.
Both Atlanta and Philadelphia were not expected to make much hay in the NL East, as Washington was the hands down favorites. Needless to say, the Nationals have been a true disappointment, losing to the last place Miami Marlins on Sunday.
The Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals are within three games of each other in the NL Central, with the Cubs leading the pack. Chicago just recently took over first place, as the Brewers controlled the division for most of the season.
The red-hot Cardinals are back in the mix now after an eight-game winning streak that was followed by winning two of three games against the Brewers over the weekend.
The NL West is the tightest division of all, as the Arizona Diamondbacks hold a half game lead over the Colorado Rockies and a two game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers in reality may be the best team in the division, but they have to be 2-3 games better than the Diamondbacks and Rockies the rest of the way, with under 40 games left to work with.
As far as the other divisions go, the leaders have seemed to pretty much sewn up the race. In the AL East, the Boston Red Sox lead the New York Yankees by nine games, while the Cleveland Indians have a 13 game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the NL Central.