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The 2018 MLB season is rapidly winding to a close Brandon Kintzler Jersey , as we are now just six weeks from the start of the postseason. With 16 teams still sporting a winning record and four division titles and four wild-card spots still very much up for grabs, there's still a lot left to be decided between now and the beginning of the playoffs.For now, just remember that these rankings are fluid. Teams rise and fall based on where they were ranked the previous week. If a team keeps winning, it will keep climbing s as simple as that.Here's where all 30 teams stand heading into the rest of this week's action:Updated Rankings1 Boston Red Sox (88-37)2 New York Yankees (78-46)3 Oakland Athletics (74-50)24 Houston Astros (75-49)15 Chicago Cubs (71-52)16 Cleveland Indians (71-52)17 Arizona Diamondbacks (69-56)28 Colorado Rockies (68-56)79 St. Louis Cardinals (68-57)410 Atlanta Braves (68-55)211 Los Angeles Dodgers (67-58)112 Seattle Mariners (71-54)613 Milwaukee Brewers (69-57)214 Philadelphia Phillies (68-56)215 Tampa Bay Rays (63-61)216 Pittsburgh Pirates (63-62)217 Los Angeles Angels (63-63)218 Minnesota Twins (59-64)419 Texas Rangers (56-70)220 Washington Nationals (62-63)421 San Francisco Giants (61-64)322 New York Mets (54-69)223 Cincinnati Reds (55-69)224 Toronto Blue Jays (55-69)125 San Diego Padres (49-78)526 Chicago White Sox (46-77)227 Miami Marlins (50-76)28 Detroit Tigers (51-74)229 Kansas City Royals (38-86)30 Baltimore Orioles (37-87) Teams That ImpressedJack Flaherty has been dominant for the St. Louis Cardinals this month.Colin E. Braley/Associated PressHere come theColorado Rockies.With an 8-1 record in their last nine games, they've gone from 3.5 games back in the wild-card standings to tied with Philadelphia and Milwaukee for the right to host the Wild Card Game.Trevor Story continues to swing a hot bat with a .310/.333/.634 line in August that includes six more home runs to bring his season total to 26. On the mound, Kyle Freeland sports a 2.13 ERA in four starts this month, and he's quietly been one of the NL's best starters all season, going 11-7 with a 2.96 ERA in 25 starts.TheSt. Louis Cardinalsare the other team charging hard on the NL side.With a 14-4 record and plus-43 run differential in August, they've climbed right back into the race for both a wild-card spot and the NL Central title, and series wins against the Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers this past week only furthered their cause.Young right-hander Jack Flaherty is 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in three starts this month, while Jose Martinez is hitting a robust .400/.450/.527 to bring his season batting line to .308/.369/.468 overall.That being said, no team had a better week than theOakland Athletics.By taking two of three against the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros, they are just one game back in the AL West standings. And they avenged some early-season struggles against the reigning World Series champions.This Oakland team is the real deal, and while it's going to have its hands full catching up to and holding off the Astros, it's in a great position to secure the second wild-card spot and reach the postseason for the first time since 2014.TheCleveland Indians(5-1),Minnesota Twins(5-1) andChicago White Sox(4-2) were the only other teams to win both of their series last week, as for one brief span, the AL Central didn't look quite so feeble. The only logical explanation is that they read this article from Zachary Rymer and were inspired.Teams That DisappointedMariners manager Scott ServaisLindsey Wasson/Getty ImagesTheSeattle Marinerssuffered series losses to the Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers last week, and in the process, they slipped further out of the wild-card picture.It's essentially a two-horse race between the A's and M's for the second AL wild-card spot, which makes a head-to-head series loss that much more painful. The Mariners have been hanging on by a thread all season, as evidenced by their minus-42 run differential, and last week could be the beginning of the slide.On the NL side, theMilwaukee Brewerscontinued their tumble down the rankings with a weekend series loss to the division-rival Cardinals.That gives the Brew Crew a 6-10 record and minus-31 run differential for the month. They are 3.5 games back in the NL Central race and tied for the wild card.ThePittsburgh Pirates(2-4),Washington Nationals(2-5) andSan Francisco Giants(2-4) all saw their slim playoff hopes take a hit with losing weeks.They now have a combined 19.6 percent chance to secure a postseason berth, according to the latest projections from FanGraphs. MVPs of the WeekHitter:Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta BravesStats:13-for-28, 2 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBI Tanner Roark Jersey , 11 R, 3 SBIt was quite the week for Braves rookie phenom Ronald Acuna.The 20-year-old tied a franchise record by homering in five straight games but then had to exit the team's game on Wednesday when he was seemingly intentionally drilled by Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Urena with a fastball to lead off the game.He returned the next day and showed no ill effects of the beaning with a three-hit game on Saturday, and he's been a force for the contending Braves in the second half.As he looks to chase down Juan Soto and Dereck Rodriguez in the NL Rookie of the Year race, Acuna is hitting .366/.430/.789 with eight home runs in 79 plate appearances in August. Pitcher:Jhoulys Chacin, Milwaukee BrewersStats:2 GS, 2-0, 13.0 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 13 KYu Darvish (6/$126M), Jake Arrieta (3/$75M), Alex Cobb (4/$57M), Tyler Chatwood (3/$38M), Mike Minor (3/$28M),Andrew Cashner (2/$16M) and Jason Vargas (2/$16M) all earned more money in free agency than Jhoulys Chacin, who signed a two-year, $15.5 million deal to join the Brewers.Yet, Chacin has been as good or better than all of them:Darvish: 8 GS, 1-3, 4.95 ERA, 1.43 WHIPArrieta:24 GS, 9-8, 3.25 ERA, 1.21 WHIPCobb: 23 GS, 4-15, 5.09 ERA, 1.43 WHIPChatwood: 20 GS, 4-6, 5.22 ERA Khris Davis Jersey , 1.81 WHIPMinor: 22 GS, 9-6, 4.61 ERA, 1.16 WHIPCashner: 23 GS, 4-10, 4.71 ERA, 1.49 WHIPVargas: 13 GS, 2-8, 8.10 ERA, 1.78 WHIPChacin: 27 GS, 13-4, 3.58 ERA, 1.17 WHIPFinding a frontline starter looked like the biggest need for the Brewers when the offseason began, and failing to land any of the marquee names on the open market seemed like a missed opportunity at the time.Now, after two excellent starts last week of six and seven scoreless innings, it's clear the front office made the right decision.Video Highlights of the WeekLongest Home Run:C.J. Cron, Tampa Bay Rays (464 feet)Despite his defensive shortcomings (-2 DRS) and limited on-base skills (.317 OBP, 6.2 BB%), C.J. Cron has been a consistent source of power for the Rays this season.After three straight seasons with 16 home runs, he's already set a career high with 24 long balls this season while posting a 118 wRC+and driving in a team-high 59 runs.The 28-year-old was acquired in February in a trade with the Angels, and with team control through the 2020 season, he's proved to be a cheap middle-of-the-order solution after the front office traded away Evan Longoria, Steven Souza Jr. and Corey Dickerson during the offseason and opted against re-signing Logan Morrison.His 464-foot blast off Red Sox starter David Price was the longest homer of the season by a Rays hitter this season, and he took on the Green Monster and emerged victorious. Best Defensive Play:Harrison Bader, St. Louis CardinalsHarrison Bader has been a stud in the outfield this season.The 24-year-old rookie has been worth 3.9 WAR, and while he's been solid at the plate with a .285/.354/.453 line that includes 23 extra-base hits and 12 stolen bases, it's his defense that is making him a star.This catch is the perfect example of his excellent mix of speed and instincts, as he turned what looked to be a sure double in the gap into a highlight-reel catch.Bader has racked up an impressive 21 DRS with a 19.5 UZR/150 on the season, and while he's been splitting time in center field for much of the year, a Gold Glove Award could be in his future.Must-See Upcoming MatchupCleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox (Monday-Thursday)Corey KluberJamie Sabau/Getty ImagesThe Indians have been streaking of late with a 17-6 record in their last 23 games.However http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , that run of success has come against a string of non-contenders, and the uber-weak AL Central has not provided much of a test for the Tribe all season.A big test awaits this week, though.The Indians will head to Boston to take on the first-place Red Sox for a four-game series, the first time this season the two teams have squared off.And while they'll miss ace Chris Sale鈥攚ho is on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation鈥攊t will still be a good gauge of where the Indians are as they go up against baseball's best team.For the Red Sox, it's a chance to further solidify their standing as the No. 1 team, and it could wind up being an ALCS preview.All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted. MIAMI (AP) — A modest scoreless streak from Jose Quintana has helped the Chicago Cubs to their best stretch of the young season.Quintana gave up six hits in seven innings to lead the Cubs to a 4-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.Quintana (2-1) struck out seven and extended his scoreless innings streak to 14. The left-hander didn’t allow a runner to reach second until Austin Dean’s two-out double in the seventh.“I’m very happy with this outing and how I am throwing lately,” Quintana said. “I feel great with my stuff. I just try to stay focused, one pitch at a time, one out at a time.”Javier Baez went 3 for 4 and hit his fifth homer, a solo shot to the opposite field off Adam Conley in the eighth. Baez has three hits in each of his last three games and is the third Cubs shortstop in the last 60 years with the feat, joining Larry Bowa and Starlin Castro.“I’m seeing the ball really good right now,” Baez said. “This is the hottest that I’ve been this year. I’m just trying to focus on keeping it that way and swinging at pitches in the zone.”Brandon Kintzler relieved Quintana and surrendered a two-out single to Brian Anderson and walked Castro. Jorge Alfaro drove Kintzler’s 1-1 fastball to the warning track in center before Albert Almora tracked it down for the third out.Chicago scored its fourth run on Ben Zobrist’s sacrifice fly in the ninth.Pedro Strop pitched a scoreless ninth for the Cubs, who have won five of six.“Everybody’s got to do their jobs, especially for us to get back to the promise land and win that last game of the year,” Chicago manager Joe Maddon said.“(Quintana) was on top of his game. He had great command of everything. Great carry on his pitches but the curveball was as good as we’ve seen. He’s pitching with everything he’s got with a lot of confidence and there is no reason why he can’t continue that way.”The Cubs took a 1-0 lead on Daniel Descalso’s single in the third and pushed across another run in the fourth on David Bote’s RBI groundout.Descalso singled and walked twice and Bote had two hits and scored twice.Miami starter Pablo Lopez (1-3) allowed two runs, five hits, struck out six and walked one in five innings. Lopez has not pitched six complete innings in his four starts.“I felt good physically,” Lopez said. “I did a better job with it. I still fell behind some guys and when I came back into the zone I got hit around a little bit, but I feel the sequencing was a little better, the intent and aggressiveness behind the pitch was a little better as well.”Before the game, the Marlins optioned shortstop JT Riddle to Triple-A New Orleans and recalled outfielder Isaac Galloway. Galloway started in right field and went 1 for 4. He also threw out Descalso at third as he attempted to advance from second on a flyout in the fifth.“You felt like the throw out at third is one of those plays that can change a game from the standpoint of if you can get out of that inning and you’re basically in the heart of their order and then (Galloway) leads off the next inning with a hit and you’re hoping OK this game has got a chance to change right there and we just weren’t able to do it,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said.MARLINS PARK’S OUTFIELD DIMENSIONS STYMIE BRYANT, ALFAROIn addition to Alfaro’s long flyout, Kris Bryant was betrayed by the outfield’s dimensions. Galloway tracked down Bryant’s drive to deep right center in the seventh. However, the distance failed to hold Baez’s shot that gave the Cubs a cushion to their 2-0 lead. “I think that was one of my best swings that I’ve had in all my career,” Baez said. “I hit it perfectly.”DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTMattingly voiced concern over his team’s defense prior to Tuesday’s game. His players responded with Galloway’s throw and catch of Bryant’s shot. Lewis Brinson also threw out Baez at second as he attempted to extend a single into a double in the sixth. Baez originally was ruled safe before a video overturned the call.TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: Maddon said there is no date set for LHP Jon Lester (left hamstring strain) to resume throwing while he continues non-baseball rehabilitation. LHP Mike Montgomery (left lat) postponed his rehabilitation stint Tuesday at Single A South Bend after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child.Marlins: RHP Austin Brice (gastroenteritis) was placed on the 10-day injured list. LHP Jarlin Garcia was recalled from Triple A New Orleans to take Brice’s spot on the roster.UP NEXT:Cubs LHP Cole Hamels (2-0, 3.79) is scheduled to start the series finale Wednesday against RHP Sandy Alcantara (1-1, 4.24).