MLB News and Updates 2016: Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox Lead ESPN Power Rankings on Last Week Before Playoffs

By Maverick Russel Flores, CP Contributor Wednesday, September 28, 2016

The World Series is less than a month away and Major League Baseball, the cult favorite of American sports fans, entered its 25^{th week. The Chicago Cubs are still the hottest franchise coming into the last week of competition and it looks like they have found their opponent in the championship series.}

It is still a tight contest at the top tier of the league. The postseason is shaping up to be a pretty tough clash and ESPN has released its power rankings for all 30 teams at the final stretch before the playoffs.

Chicago Cubs (101-56)

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The Cubs are currently the favorites to sweep through the National League Championship Series. Their 99^{th win over the St. Louis Cardinals} on Sunday not only won them the division series, but it also gave them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Jon Lester continued his run for the Cy Young Award, making history vs. the Cardinals. He is the first ever Cub to give up one or fewer runs in eight consecutive starts. David Ross also played his last regular-season game at Wrigley on Sunday, bidding farewell to four standing ovations. They already won twice this series and this week, they are set to play against the Pirates.

Boston Red Sox (92-65)

The Cubs might be the top team this season, but the Red Sox are the story. They lost to the New York Yankees on Tuesday, but before that, they entered the last regular season week with an 11-game win streak.

David Ortiz is also putting up an MVP performance in his final season, albeit overshadowed by the overall skill of Mookie Betts. Meanwhile, a sore forearm will rule out Drew Pomeranz from the starting lineup indefinitely, which is a shame considering his showing at the pitch so far.

Texas Rangers (93-65)

The Rangers are currently at the top of the American League, with a 93-65 record after a win vs. the Brewers. They have a 51-26 record at home and are looking strong against the Milwaukee Brewers in the last series of the season.

Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish had a sweet performance last week and might have clinched a starting spot come the postseason for the Rangers. Hopefully, his brother's conviction on grounds of the latter's involvement in an MLB gambling ring would not affect his play entering the playoffs.

Trailing behind at the fourth and fifth spots are Los Angeles Dodgers (90-67) and the Washington Nationals (92-65), respectively.