Cincinnati Motorboaters Claim NL Reins

On the strength of a 1-hit shutout from Lon Costello over the San Fransisco Slingers, the Cincinnati Motorboaters moved into the coveted top spot in the NL. Philadelphia Flash fans will remember the Motorboaters as the team that dashed all hopes for the local ball club in the playoffs last season. Worse, home fans were absolutely tortured in that series last year, as the road team won every game, giving Cincinnati the 3-2 series win.

The Atlanta Mad Dogs jumped out to an 11-3 start to the season, and have held the best record in the NL ever since. But a steady and slow decline has drawn both Cincinnati and Philadelphia closer to them. If the Mad Dogs slide continues, the Flash may yet get a first-round bye in the playoffs, even without having to catch Cincinnati.

And so, as they say, the race is now on. In just a few hours the trading deadline will pass and the stage will more or less be set. These 3 World Series hopefuls will begin the stretch run, all looking to claim one of those coveted free passes through the first round.

Standings as of 6:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time:

Cincinnati Motorboaters: 75-31 -.- GB
Atlanta Mad Dogs: 74-32 1.0 GB
Philadelphia Flash: 70-36 5.0 GB

It should be noted that Philadelphia is playing .660 baseball, which is up from the .636 winning percentage they posted a year ago. Last year, a .636 winning percentage was good enough to claim the NL's top seed. It just goes to show you how impressive the competition is at the top of the NL this season.