Bowden: 13 players to step up as post-season racing heats up

With just three weeks left in the MLB regular season, the postseason races are heating up. The Braves are just a half game behind the Mets in the National League East and the White Sox are just three behind the Guardians in the American League Central. The AL wildcard teams have split from the pack, with the Blue Jays, Rays and Mariners heading for the playoffs, but top spot — and first-round home field advantage — is up for grabs as the three teams went on Wednesday’s lay in the loss column. In the NL wildcard race, the Brewers have won five of their last six and are two games behind the Padres. The Phillies are 3 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee (and own the tiebreaker), but they still have seven games to play against the Braves, two games against the Blue Jays, and three games against the Astros, so their schedule isn’t easy.

Playoff spots, home field advantage and first-round byes are at stake. Here are some of the key players who will need to step up in these tight races to help their teams over the next 21 days.

Statistics are updated through Tuesday’s games.

NL EAST RACE

Mets-1B Pete Alonso

Alonso was the Mets MVP all season, batting .268/.344/.505 with 24 doubles, 34 homers and NL-leading 110 RBIs. However, he’s been relatively quiet over the past 30 days, hitting .226 with seven extra base hits in 27 games and 106 at-bats. To win the NL East and earn a valuable first-round bye, the Mets need Alonso to play like the hitter he is over the past three weeks. The good news for New York: In his last seven games, Alonso has done it, batting .345/.387/.586.

Braves – RF Ronald Acuña Jr.

Acuña has been a disappointment this season after returning from ACL surgery a year ago, but thanks to the production of rookies Michael Harris II and Vaughn Grissom, the pressure on Acuña to perform has eased. But as the Braves try to beat the Mets for the division crown, they need more from their superstar right fielder. In the last 15 games, Acuña has been battling .258 with a .310 percentage on base and just one home run. However, he has stolen three bases on as many attempts in that span of time. Acuña’s ability to steal bases will be crucial down the stretch to help the Braves batters after him get more fastballs to bat.

AL CENTRAL RACE

Guardians – their lineup, top to bottom

The Guardians pitching team is doing everything they can to lead them to a surprise AL Central title. Over the past 30 days, her team’s ERA is 2.65, the third best in baseball. However, their offense struggled during that span, finishing 29th in the majors with just 3.25 runs per game. To stop the White Sox, the Guardians need their lineup to start production. In the past 30 days, only Oscar Gonzalez (five homers) and José Ramírez (four) have hit more than two long balls. Cleveland hitters have been working the count and coming to base, but they haven’t been able to string hits together, which has become a late-season problem, especially when they’re not hitting for power. (The Guardians rank last in MLB with 16 homers in the last 30 days.) Down the stretch, the Guardians need their two position All-Stars, Ramírez and Andrés Giménez, to deliver at the plate, but they also need them Power from across the lineup, along with their elite pitching and defense to hold off the White Sox, who they face four more times.

White Sox – RHP Lucas Giolito

The White Sox are progressing strongly offensively, thanks in part to at-bats from Eloy Jiménez and Elvis Andrus, who have combined 11 home runs and 33 RBIs in their last 15 games. Four of their hitters — Jiménez, Andrus, José Abreu, and AJ Pollock — have hit over .340 in the last 15 days and posted an OBP of .390 or higher. However, the key for the White Sox during the stretch run could be Giolito, who has struggled to keep up with his fellow rotations this year. Giolito’s numbers have been declining since last season, especially after the All-Star break as he posted a 6.04 ERA and 1.638 WHIP in the second half. They need him to turn things around in his final starts of the regular season.

AL WILD CARD RACE

Wander Franco was at the IL from July 10th to September 9th. (Nick Turchiaro / USA Today)

Sailors – BY Mitch Haniger and BY Jesse Winker

The Mariners lead the majors with a 2.42 team ERA over the trailing 30 days and are poised to secure the top AL wildcard spot – and end their 20-year playoff drought – if their Lineup can get the track up. Their wildcard rivals, the Rays and Blue Jays, have racked up more runs than them over the past month, but the Mariners have progressed in their last 12 games, overtaking every AL team in that span. Julio Rodríguez and Eugenio Suárez carried them, combining for 10 homers and 15 RBIs and hitting base with 45 percent and 36 percent clips, respectively. However, these two will need the help of Haniger and Winker if the Mariners are to secure home field advantage for the first round. Over the past 15 days, Haniger has hit .143 with three extra base hits in 49 at-bats, while Winker has hit .074 with one extra base hit in 27 at-bats.

Rays – INF Isaac Paredes and SS Wander Franco

The Rays are 30th in the majors with just six home runs over the past 15 days, and while they have the pitching and defense to finish at the top of the wildcard standings, they’ll need some long balls to do so. With 18 homers, Paredes is second on the team behind Randy Arozarena, but he didn’t hit any in September. The Rays need him to go into the yard a few times during the track run. Meanwhile, Franco is finally off the injury list and has gotten off to a decent start, going 6-for-20 in his first six games with three RBIs, but the Rays will need their 21-year-old sensation to live up to his 11- Annual $182 million contract in recent weeks to beat the Mariners and Blue Jays for home field advantage in the wild card round.

Blue Jay – RHP José Berríos

Berríos has been a major disappointment this season with a 5.07 ERA, 4.68 FIP and 1.376 WHIP – all the worst stats of his career since his rookie year in 2016 – after winning a seven-year extension in last November amount of 131 million US dollars. However, he’s fared better in his last five starts, scoring two earned runs or fewer in all but one of them. The Blue Jays need him to continue in this vein to finish with the best record among AL wildcard teams and become a postseason threat. If the top of their rotation — Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, Ross Stripling and Berríos — fulfill their potential, the Blue Jays could do some real damage in the playoffs. Berríos is key and while he looks like he’ll hit the track, the Blue Jays will need him to be consistently good the rest of the way.

NL WILD CARD RACE

Josh Bell’s acquisition has yet to pay off for the Padres. (Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today)

Phillies — RHP Seranthony Dominguez

The Phillies are relieved to have their top release back from the IL because they botched five saves and the bullpen struggled in his absence. They knocked out Domínguez (right triceps tendinitis) after a game on August 17 but activated him on Sunday and he has gone two goalless games since then. From 17 June to 17 August Domínguez dominated: 18 of his 21 appearances remained goalless and he converted nine out of nine saves. During the season Domínguez has logged a 1.57 ERA and 0.87 WHIP. To retain their wildcard spot and end their postseason drought, the Phillies need Domínguez to play his best in the late innings.

Padres—1B Josh Bell

The Padres need to get their bats going. They were 12th in the NL with 98 runs scored in the last 30 days and 12th in the NL with 42 in the last 15 days. Manny Machado has been a leader in almost every offensive category, including hits, extra base hits, home runs, RBIs, and OPS, for more than a month. However, opposing teams will be fighting or walking with Machado for the remaining weeks if he doesn’t get help. Enter Josh Bell. When the Padres bought Bell at the close, he was raking for the Nationals, hitting .301/.384/.493 with 24 doubles, three triples, 14 homers and 57 RBIs in 103 games. But since blockbuster Juan Soto, Bell has hit .206/.320/.313 with just five doubles and three homers in 131 at-bats. It’s his time to shine for San Diego. Oh, and they need Soto – .120/.313/.180 in his last 15 games – to get going as well.

Brewers – BY Christian Yelich, SS Willy Adames and DH Andrew McCutchen

The Brewers need their veterans — specifically Yelich, Adames and McCutchen — to carry them. In the last 15 games, Yelich has hit .298, Adames has hit .246 and McCutchen has hit .236. And they don’t get much help from Rowdy Tellez (.204 in his last 15 games) and Keston Hiura (.208). However, Yelich, Adames and McCutchen have done it before and now need to turn it on to elevate Milwaukee above the Padres or Phillies. The Brewers have the pitching and defense to make the playoffs if this experienced trio backs up the run.

(Top photo by Ronald Acuña Jr.: Brett Davis/USA Today)