Weekend sweeps alter division races in AL and NL

Weekend sweeps have altered races in both the National and American leagues. Here are thoughts on the storylines of the week: * Before the trade deadline, the general consensus on the Blue Jays was that they didn't have enough pitching to contend. Now that's theory is out the window: David Price, acquired in a trade from Detroit, has pitched two brilliant games and he and Mark Buehrle are more than solid at the top. R.A. Dickey has fixed his walks issue and has a 0.99 ERA since the break. Marco Estrada has allowed two earned runs or less in seven of his last eight starts. Aaron Sanchez and Robert Osuna have come on strong in the bullpen. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and left fielder Ben Revere improve the defense. The Blue Jays have closed in on the Yankees in the AL East, thanks to a weekend sweep, and it looks like the Orioles will have to worry more about the Blue Jays than the Yankees if they want to win the division. * The Twins swept the Orioles before the break as part of one of baseball's best feel-good stories of the first half. But after getting swept in Toronto and Cleveland, the Twins are sliding, and by the time they arrive in Baltimore on Aug. 20, it's likely they are going to be out of the wild card picture completely. The Twins' biggest issue is that their strong pitching has a 6.17 ERA since the All-Star break, highest in the AL, and they don't have enough offense to make up for it. Still, even if they can't rebound, the Twins have become relevant with the growth of Aaron Hicks, Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton. * The Cubs in the playoffs? It might happen. They've taken hold of a spot in the NL's wild card game after sweeping San Francisco over the weekend. Former Oriole Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester have been outstanding leading the rotation. It also helped that Cubs manager Joe Maddon benched shortstop Starlin Castro because Castro wasn't hitting. What's interesting is how the schedule for those two teams shapes up: The Giants' next seven series include the Astros, Nationals, Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs, Cardinals and Dodgers. The Cubs play the Brewers, White Sox, Tigers, Braves, Indians, Giants and Dodgers in their next seven series. * The Phillies were one of the worst teams before the All-Star break and now, they are 16-5, best record in baseball since the break. They have three sweeps after the break, including the weekend sweep of the Padres, and have escaped the NL East cellar for the first time since May 27. The Phillies, who traded pitcher Cole Hamels to Texas, have at least taken the first rebuilding step because young players such as Odubel Herrera, Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco are playing well. * The Nationals finished their homestand with a split versus Arizona while losing two of three to the pitching-thin Rockies, a bit of a surprise given the Rockies still haven't won consecutive games since the All-Star break. Now the Nationals start what might be their toughest trip of the final two months, going to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Colorado. If they can survive, it's safe to say their schedule is favorable. After Aug. 16, the Nationals play 12 games against teams with winning records, including six against the Mets. * Speaking of the Mets, third baseman David Wright has started baseball activities in trying to come back from spinal stenosis. The Mets already have Juan Uribe, thanks to a trade with Atlanta, at third base. Wright will be given a chance when he's ready, but what does Mets manager Terry Collins do if Wright gets off to a slow start, sit the franchise player that makes $20 million a year? Given their young pitching staff, the Mets need Steven Matz to get healthy more than they need Wright. Matt Harvey, coming back from Tommy John surgery, has about 50 innings left this season. Noah Syndergaard is approaching his limit of 175 innings and Jacob deGrom is closing on his limit of 215. * Now that Dave Dombrowski will no longer be the Tigers' general manager, it would make sense that San Diego's A.J. Preller and Seattle's Jack Zduriencik are next on the hot seat for GMs. The Mariners have spent a ton of money and taken a step back. Preller had a chance to trade potential free agents Justin Upton and Craig Kimbrel at the July 31 deadline and didn't get the job done.