1. Phillies (2): Shutting out the best hitting team in the league will definitely move you up a spot. There is no need to go into detail, we all know how good the Phillies rotation is, and with Chase Utley now "cheating" like Derek Jeter, who can stop them?
2. Yankees (1): They certainly looked impressive in sweeping the Twins and helped ease some concerns about their rotation, but the Phillies gave up 4 runs in 3 games. Still, the Yankees showcased (again) what they do to pitchers, wear them out. Their lineup really has it all, and with Granderson now swinging the bat well (against lefties too!!) there really are no weaknesses.
3. Rangers (5): Having the Rays extend the series and forcing Lee to pitch game 5 will hurt the Rangers in the ALCS (more on that tomorrow in the Series Preview) but the Rangers still have a great team. It is strange to say this about the Rangers but they'll need to start hitting if they want to advance, because the Yankees bats won't be silenced-- not with Cliff Lee only guaranteed to pitch in one game at least.
4. Giants (6): They beat the injured Braves and the series could have easily gone to 5 games, maybe even less, with the Braves winning. With that said, they have their rotation aligned perfectly to match the Phillies. If Lincecum can split with Halladay we may have a series on our hands.
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