The stretch run is here. Entering Aug. 27, Milwaukee owns MLB's best record at 82-51, with the Dodgers, Rays, Braves and Yankees close behind among the league's leading clubs.
Los Angeles is 80-53, Tampa Bay 79-54, Atlanta 78-55 and the Yankees 75-57. The standings are now meaningful enough that every head-to-head series can shift division and Wild Card positioning.
Dodgers-Braves pairs two of the league's strongest teams and two frontline starters in Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Chris Sale.