A look at where each team stands with one month left in the season.

National League

ARIZONA is trying to patch its rotation, and jumped the alignment to bring Livan Hernandez back on three days of rest for Friday’s game against Colorado so it will need a fifth starter only three more times this season.

ATLANTA has a big week ahead of it. The Braves play three with the Mets this weekend and then host the Phillies for three next week. They are scrambling to stay in both the NL East and wild-card race, having fallen 4 ½ games back in both. They don’t have time to waste considering 12 of their final 19 games are on the road, including three-game visits to both the Mets and Phillies.

CHICAGO has taken advantage of Milwaukee’s fold, moving into first place despite going into Thursday having lost 20 of its last 36. The schedule does a favor for the Cubs as they have only four of their final 30 games against a team with a winning record, and that’s the Dodgers, who open a four-game visit to Wrigley Field on Monday. Chicago does have five games remaining with St. Louis, the only other team on the Cubs schedule with postseason possibilities.

CINCINNATI is helping interim manager Pete Mackanin make a case for getting a real shot at running the team next year. The Reds went into Thursday having won 16 of 24. The next three weeks, however, will test the Reds resolve. This weekend they embark on a stretch of 18 consecutive games against postseason hopefuls St. Louis, the Mets, Milwaukee and the Cubs.

COLORADO is barely alive in the postseason race, but if it can win 16 of its final 29 games it can win a franchise-record 84 games, which would be a step forward in a long-term building plan.

FLORIDA goes into the weekend tied with Washington for worst record in the NL. The Marlins do have six games left with the Nationals, but those are the only remaining games against a team with a losing record. As well as a three-game visit to Colorado, Florida has home-and-away series remaining with NL East top dogs Atlanta, Philadelphia and the Mets.

HOUSTON is looking for a general manager, but odds are interim manager Cecil Cooper will get to come back next year. Cooper has long been at the top of the managerial candidate list of commissioner Bud Selig, who developed a strong relationship with Cooper when Selig was the owner and Cooper the first baseman for the Brewers.

LOS ANGELES is so desperate to patch its rotation that it picked up LHP David Wells, whose career is at a point where contender San Diego decided to pay him off and release him, which allowed the Dodgers the chance to pick him up. Los Angeles was then was award Esteban Loaiza and the more than $8 million he is guaranteed on a wavier claim from Oakland.

MILWAUKEE got a boost with the return of RHP Ben Sheets to the rotation in Wednesday’s win against the Cubs. The Brewers had been in a fast fade, having lost 25 of 36 dating back to the first start Sheets missed when he went on the disabled list. They get a chance to catch their breath when they embark this weekend on 18 consecutive games against teams with losing records.

NEW YORK was swept in a four-game visit to Philadelphia this week and now spends the weekend in Atlanta. Then the Mets have a week to regroup before hosting the Braves and Phillies. They get through that stretch, though, and the Mets are in good shape. Twelve of their final 13 are against Washington and Florida. The lone exception is a makeup game with the Cardinals, who are at Shea Stadium in the midst of a season-ending homestand, so doesn’t require extra travel.

PITTSBURGH is currently looking for a new CEO, and once that decision is made the focus for the Pirates won’t be on the field. The questions to be answered will be whether the new boss can justify keeping GM Dave Littlefield and his hand-picked manager, Jim Tracy. The Pirates are only nine losses away from their 15th consecutive losing season.

PHILADELPHIA has made its presence felt in the NL East with the sweep of the Mets this week, but is also within two games of the wild-card lead, too. The Biggest test is a 10-game trip in mid-September that includes three-game visits to the Mets and St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS is trying to get to .500, but the Cardinals have taken advantage of the lack of a quality team in the NL Central and find themselves in the middle of the division race thanks to a 14-6 stretch that was interrupted by back-to-back losses in Houston this week.

SAN DIEGO has parlayed the emotional lift of releasing David Wells into a run towards the top in the NL West. The Padres went into Thursday looking to sweep a four-game series from Arizona, as they have won seven of eight. The top two teams in the division meet for the final time when the Padres visit Arizona for three games starting on Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO seems destined for a last-place finish. The Giants are being forced to back off on starters Noah Lowry and Tim Lincecum, feeling both have fatigued arms.

WASHINGTON has a challenging end to its season, playing its final 16 games against Atlanta, the Mets and Philadelphia, including a season-ending trip that takes it to New York and Philadelphia. The Nationals were making a run for respect but then went into the weekend having lost 16 of 23, including being swept in back-to-back three-game series at Colorado and Los Angeles.

American League

BALTIMORE is looking to finish strong and reaffirm the decision to give interim manager Dave Trembley the job full time next year. As if a 30-3 loss to Texas on the day Trembley was given the job for 2008 wasn’t enough, the Orioles went into Thursday having lost eight in a row since the decision was announced, and have been outscored 90-32 in the stretch.

BOSTON was swept by the Yankees this week, but the Red Sox still have a five-game lead in the AL East. The Red Sox do have three more games with the Yankees, Aug. 14-16, but those are at Fenway Park. More significant is the fact that those are the only three games Boston has left against a team with postseason ambitions.

CHICAGO, two years removed from a world championship, is faced with the possibility of its first last-place finish since 1989. The White Sox went into Thursday 2 ½ games behind Kansas City. The White Sox are 29-37 at home, worst in the AL, and better than only Florida (28-40) among major league teams.

CLEVELAND has taken control in the AL Central. After this weekend, though, the Indians road abilities will be tested. Seventeen of their final 27 games are on the road, including four-game visits to both Seattle and Anaheim.

DETROIT needs a lift, having lost 13 of 22. They have only 10 games remaining against teams with winning records – seven at home against Seattle (3), Toronto (1) and Minnesota (3), and then a three-game visit to Minnesota.

KANSAS CITY is looking for any signs of improvement and there are a couple on the horizon. The Royals need to win only four of their final 30 games to avoid a fourth consecutive 100-loss season. They also go into the weekend in fourth place in the AL Central, trying to hold off the White Sox.

LOS ANGELES sent a strong message to AL West challenge Seattle by sweeping a three-game series in Seattle this week where the Angels outscored the Mariners 24-8. They have 12 games left on the road, and none of the opponents are challenging – three each at Baltimore, the White Sox, Texas and Oakland.

MINNESOTA is fading into the middle of the pack in the AL Central. The Twins have lost nine of their last 13 against teams with a winning record. They have 13 games remaining against teams with a winning record, including a season-ending four-game visit to Fenway Park.

NEW YORK has battled its way back into the AL wild-card lead, taking a one-game lead over Seattle. Other than a three-game visit in mid-September to Boston, the only games the Yankees have left vs. teams with a winning record are seven games against Toronto, which goes into the weekend one game above .500 (67-66).

OAKLAND GM Billy Beane has been busy trying to whittle salary, and got a break when waiver claims were awarded to Arizona for LHP Joe Kennedy, who the Diamondbacks have since released, and to the Dodgers for RHP Esteban Loaiza, who with a guarantee for next year carried an $8 million price tag.

SEATTLE stumbled against the Angels, getting swept at home this week, and now embarks on a 10-game trip that began with a makeup game at Cleveland on Thursday night that the Mariners lost to fall a game behind the Yankees in the AL wild-card race. Seattle then heads to Toronto, New York and Detroit. The Mariners also have a four-game series in Anaheim against the Angles Sept. 20-23.

TAMPA BAY would have to win 20 of its final 29 games to avoid a 90-loss season for the 10th time in its 10-year existence. That isn’t likely. However, the Devil Rays could play well enough to get ownership to exercise the two-year option on the contract of manager Joe Maddon.

TEXAS is headed to its eighth losing season in nine years. The biggest question is whether the Rangers can avoid their four 90-loss season during that stretch. They play 16 of their final 29 games on the road where Texas is 24-41 this year. The only team with less success on the road is Tampa Bay, which is 22-42.

TORONTO appears destined for a third-place finish, but needs to play well in September for the sake of manager John Gibbons, who could become the scapegoat for the mediocrity of GM J.P. Riccardi. The Blue Jays play 17 of their final 33 games against teams with winning records – three this weekend against Seattle, a makeup game at Detroit, six against Boston and seven against the Yankees.

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