A Pennant Race is Unfolding in the Wild Wild West

Three weeks ago, the West Division was the league's weakest, with A-Rod's Mirrors the only team in the division among the league's top eight in winning percentage. Now, the Wild Wild West features the league's tightest pennant race and three teams - the Mirrors, the Lower Haighters, and the Marin Menehunes, are all playoff eligible.

What has changed? Max Scherzer has emerged as a dominating starting pitcher for the Menehunes earning four straight quality starts and striking out 34 batters. Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz has also been a force behind the plate, reaching base at a .479 clip, and striking out just 10 times in his last 60 at bats.

The Lower Haighters are seeing production at third base with the addition of Trevor Plouffe. Plouffe has nine home runs in his last 19 games. Ryan Braun has also lifted his game, hitting seven home runs and driving home 15 RBI in his last 70 at bats.

With Rivalry Week at hand, the West Division could get even wilder heading into the dog days of summer.

The Menehunes lost to the Mirrors 8-4 in their Week 5 matchup earlier this year. Cole Hamels was dominant on the mound for the Mirrors in that series, earning two quality starts and striking out 14 batters. The Menehunes had one quality start the entire series. Chooch Ruiz was the star at the plate, belting two home runs for the Menehunes and driving in 11 runs. The rematch is critical for both teams, as the Menehunes trail the West Division leading Mirrors by 7.5-games. The Mirrors will enter the series with one of the league's hottest pitchers, Justin Masterson. Masterson has three quality starts in his last four appearances with 27 strikeouts, a 1.55 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. The team's hottest hitter is David Murphy, who has four home runs and 15 RBI in his last 16 games. The Mirrors added Boone Logan to the pitching staff this week but he'll be on the bench, despite four holds in his last 10 appearances. That means Josh Lindblom will have to respond after giving up five runs in his last 7.1 innings. The Menehunes' resurgence has been bolstered by the hot bat of Ben Zobrist. In his last 17 games, Zobrist has reached base at a .465 clip and scored 12 runs. To pull off the upset, the Menehunes will need production from its starting pitchers. Barry Zito, Alex Cobb, and Vin Mazzaro have given up a combined 36 runs in their last 10 starts. Final Prediction: Marin Menehunes 7, A-Rod's Mirrors 5.

The pennant race in the South Division heats up this week when the division's top two teams meet. The Cys currently trails Bomba by 10 games. When they met in Week 5, the Cys won the series, 6-5-1. It was dominating pitching that keyed the victory. C.J. Wilson and Yu Darvish each had two quality starts and combined to strikeout 33 batters. The Cys also won the bullpen battle as three relieves combined to pitch scoreless baseball and Fernando Rodney collected two saves. At the plate, Jason Kipnis hit two home runs, scored six times, and drove in six runs. Bomba was led by Chipper Jones, who had two home runs, nine RBI and seven runs scored. Slugger Miguel Cabrera scored just one run and drove in two, one of his worst performances of the year. Both teams have some injury issues. The Cys' catcher Carlos Santana has had upper body soreness and Bomba outfielder Andrew McCutchen missed some time over the weekend with a sprained wrist. The Cys need Santana and Kendrys Morales to take off offensively. They have combined for just one home run and eight RBI over the past three weeks. Final Prediction: Los Coche Bomba 7, The Cys 4.

The Bulls snapped a four-week losing streak last week with an impressive 8-3-1 victory over Twinkle Toes. They now have a 7.5-game lead in the North Division. Bacon dropped its third straight series, 4-8 to Scully's Slammers, and sit 13.5-games behind the Bulls in third place in the division. When they met in Week 5, the Bulls prevailed 6-4 in a hard-fought series that saw two categories, Home Runs and RBI, tied. Hunter Pence and Carlos Gonzalez supplied the power for the Bulls, smacking six home runs and driving in 18 between them. Brian McCann and Justin Upton each had two home runs for Bacon. Trevor Cahill was the star on the mound, earning two quality starts for Bacon, but it was a solid effort by the Bulls' bullpen which helped the team split the pitching categories. Joaquin Benoit had two holds and Frank Francisco two saves. The Bulls come into this series with serious injury problems and need some starting pitchers to step up. Bud Norris, Wei-Yin  Chen, Jason Vargas, and Felix Doubront have allowed 48 runs over the past three weeks, recording just four quality starts in their last 14 appearances. Final Prediction: Bacon at Mile 11 11, The Bulls 1.

This is a huge series for Twinkle Toes. Coming off a disappointing 8-3 loss to the Bulls, the team is now 18-games behind the Slammers and in third place in the East Division. The Slammers are the league's hottest team, winning seven of their past eight series including a come-from-behind 8-4 victory over Bacon last week. When they met in Week 5, these teams tied, 5-5. It was a see-saw battle on the mound with the Quality Start and Hold categories ending in a tie and WHIP ending with the Slammers winning by .03. James McDonald was the star for the Slammers, earning two quality starts and striking out 17 batters. Brett Myers anchored the bullpen for the Toes with three saves. Myers will need to regain that dominance if the Toes want to win the category again. The Houston closer has allowed six earned runs in his last six outings while recording just two saves. On paper, the Slammers have a significant advantage on offense with Carlos Beltran and Edwin Encarnacion. They combined for four homers and 13 RBI in the first series. The Toes will need Gregor Blanco to get on base in this series and Ian Kinsler and Buster Posey to stay hot. The Slammers also appear to have a pitching advantage with Zack Greinke earning quality starts in three of his past four appearances and Tyler Clippard, Jim Johnson, and Heath Bell anchoring a strong bullpen. Final Prediction: Scully's Slammers 9, Twinkle Toes 3.

Give it a Yankee is coming off a disappointing 4-8 loss to the Lower Haighters in a series that saw the team build a big lead only to fall behind in the last two days. Give it a Yankee is just 7.5-games behind the Bulls in the North Division and the Bulls are battling injuries so now is the time to cut into the lead. Home Run 101 fell to High Cheese 4-8 last week and sit last in the North Division, 15-games behind the Bulls. When they faced each other in Week 5, Home Run 101 stunned Give it a Yankee, 8-2. A pair of middle infielders - Howie Kendrick and Ian Desmond - sparked the upset. Both had two home runs and combined for nine RBI. Alcides Escobar and Alexi Casilla also combined to steal four bases. Give it a Yankee hit just three home runs in the series with Mike Napoli, Adrian Gonzalez and David Wright combining for just one RBI. Wright is now on fire, driving home 16 runs in his last 19 games. Alex Rios, who failed to score in the last series, has four home runs, six stolen bases, and 16 runs scored in the past three weeks. Home Run 101 will rely on its starting pitchers and it has two of the hottest in the league in Johnny Cueto and Josh Johnson. They are both a perfect 4-for-4 in quality starts the past three weeks, striking out 51 batters. Final Prediction: Give it a Yankee 8, Home Run 101 4.

The Machine continues to pressure the Slammers in the East Division pennant race. The Machine hasn't lost in three weeks and is coming off a resounding 8-3 victory over HUMA. They are second in the East Division, 9-games behind the Slammers. The Jersey Boys had won three consecutive series but now find themselves on a two week losing streak after falling 8-2 to the Menehunes. They are last in the East Division, a whopping 21-games behind the Slammers. When these teams met in Week 5 it was close, with the Machine squeaking out a 6-5 victory. Pitching was the difference as Matt Cain and Ricky Nolasco each earned two quality starts for the Machine. The bullpen also held its own, as Antonio Bastardo and Francisco Rodriguez combined for five holds. The offensive star of the series was Freddie Freeman of the Jersey Boys. He had three home runs, 10 RBI, and six runs scored. J.J. Hardy also had three home runs and five runs scored. Hardy enters this series in a slump, hitting just one home run and driving in five RBI the last three weeks. Final Prediction: The Machine 6, Jersey Boys 6.

When these teams met in Week 5, the Vicious Fishes were coming off a series victory. It was the last series victory the team had this season. They haven't won in nine weeks though they have tied two teams, including the Lower Haighters, 6-6. The Fishes are now last in the standings, 18.5-games behind A-Rod's Mirrors in the West Division. Starting pitching is part of the problem. Dan Haren hasn't had a quality start in three weeks. Carlos Zambrano has allowed seven earned runs in his last 13.1 innings. Tommy Hanson, the team's ace, has just one quality start in his last three trips to the mound. In the first meeting, the Fishes had six quality starts, including two by Jason Hammel. Since that meeting, the Lower Haighters have rebuilt their pitching staff around the bullpen, going with a three man starting rotation. It's working as the team has won six of its past seven series and is now just 5.5-games behind the Mirrors in the West Division. The Haighters enter the series with two hot hitters - Ryan Braun and Trevor Plouffe - who have combined to hit 16 homers the past three weeks. Final Prediction: Lower Haighters 8, Vicious Fishes 3.

Two struggling teams will try to maintain contact with the playoff pack when they meet for the second time this season. High Cheese is coming off its first series win in three weeks, beating Home Run 101, 8-4. HUMA lost to the Machine 3-8, in a series that was never truly competitive. High Cheese is now ninth in the overall standings and third in the South Division, 21-games behind Bomba. HUMA is 13th overall and last in the South, 25.5-games out of first place. High Cheese dismantled HUMA 8-3 when they meet in Week 5, winning four of the six offensive categories as HUMA struggled at the plate, hitting just three home runs. Joey Votto and Josh Hamilton combined to drive in just two runs for HUMA. Jordan Zimmerman was the best pitcher in the series, earning two quality starts for HUMA. Recently acquired Ike Davis will enter this series swinging a hot bat for High Cheese. He has six home runs and 23 RBI in his last 17 games. Final Prediction: HUMA 7, High Cheese 5.