12 days in August: How Jays, Cubs & Mets seized playoff leads
How much can happen in less than two weeks? Plenty.
When the final pitch was thrown on the Aug. 1 schedule, the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs and New York Mets were all on the outside looking in when it came to the playoff chase.
After Thursday's action, all three teams are leading either their division or the wild-card race. Credit a collective 29-3 record by this red-hot trio of contenders.
On the night of Aug. 1
| Team | Record | Division rank | Wild-card rank |
| Blue Jays | 53-52 | 3rd in AL East (6 games back) | 2 games back |
| Cubs | 56-47 | 3rd in NL Central (9 1/2 games back) | 1 game back |
| Mets | 54-40 | 2nd in NL East (1 game back) | 3 1/2 games back |
SINCE AUG. 2
| Team | Record | Division rank | Wild-card rank |
| Blue Jays | 11-0 | 1st in AL East (1/2-game lead) | --- |
| Cubs | 9-1 | 3rd in NL Central (7 1/2 games back) | 4 1/2-game lead |
| Mets | 9-2 | 1st in NL East (4 1/2-game lead) | --- |
The biggest catalyst for each team:
Blue Jays: Sure, newcomers Troy Tulowitzki and David Price have done their parts, but Josh Donaldson has been even more productive. In this 11-game span, Donaldson is hitting .293/.408/.707 with five homers and 10 RBI, cementing his status as an AL MVP candidate.
Cubs: Manager Joe Maddon's decision to insert rookie Kyle Schwarber's bat into the lineup stole the headlines (Schwarber has four homers, two doubles and 12 RBI in his past nine games). But right fielder Jorge Soler is hitting .314 with a .400 on-base percentage and nine RBI in his past 10 games and just had a 10-game hitting streak snapped Wednesday.
Mets: As first baseman Lucas Duda cooled, center fielder Curtis Granderson caught fire. In his past 11 games, Granderson has four homers, 13 RBI, nine runs scored and a .571 slugging percentage. Remember, incoming slugger Yoenis Cespedes didn't hit his first homer for New York until Wednesday.
