3 contenders hoping to survive the dog days of summer

With the All-Star Game behind us, baseball's now fully engaged in the unofficial second half. And while much of the focus has turned to the trade deadline and juicy rumors, the specter of falling flat in August already looms large for many clubs.

Yes, the dog days of summer are fast approaching. It's when many teams truly feel the grind of the 162-game schedule, and how they handle it will largely determine their regular-season fates - for better or for worse. Here's a look at three contenders who are hoping to survive until September.

Tampa Bay Rays

Kevin Cash has his Rays flying high in the AL East. If the season ended today they'd host the rival Yankees in the wild-card game - but in reality, there's plenty of time left, and Tampa Bay is only three back of Boston for the division lead.

Ah, but as always, trouble lurks around the corner. The Rays' bullpen has been a problem of late, well before Sunday's tough loss to the Angels. Cash doesn't have many relievers to rely on, and help in that department - which Tampa's reportedly searching for - can't come soon enough. The worst stretch will come right as the dog days hit in August, when the Rays face the Yankees, Astros, Brewers, Red Sox, and Indians in succession. That's the kind of run that makes or breaks a team's playoff hopes during the slow grind of August baseball.

Milwaukee Brewers

It's been a remarkable season in Milwaukee, where the Brewers were widely expected to continue their rebuild following an 89-loss campaign. But thanks to a young, potent offense that includes six players with double-digit home run totals, the Brewers have shocked cheeseheads everywhere by sitting 10 games over .500 with a wide lead in the NL Central. Yes, it's a fine time to be a Brewers fan.

But trouble could be on the horizon. Milwaukee's starting rotation remains a sore spot that threatens to derail the team, and it doesn't help that Chase Anderson's breakout first half was cut short thanks to an oblique injury that sent him to the disabled list. But the biggest potential threat looms about 90 minutes south, where the Cubs snagged Jose Quintana - a controllable pitcher Milwaukee had interest in - and then started the second half strong by sweeping Baltimore to close the Central gap to just 4 1/2 games.

These young Brewers will be tested during the coming summer race against a far more experienced Cubs squad. In addition to having nine games left versus their North Side rivals, the Brewers also have seven against Washington, plus a West Coast swing that takes them through Dodger Stadium. Unless they sacrifice prospects for a controllable pitcher who can help them now and beyond, the 2017 Brewers could easily falter during the coming summer grind.

New York Yankees

It's already begun for the Baby Bombers, who surged out to an early AL East lead only to fall back to earth as the season moved forward. The Yankees haven't won a series in their last nine tries, and on Sunday they were shut out for the first time this season.

Pitching has been a major problem all season, and the matter was only exacerbated when it was revealed Michael Pineda likely needs Tommy John surgery. The bats have also dried up - since July 1, the Yankees are hitting .210/.293/.345 with a wRC+ of 70 as a team. Even Aaron Judge is in a mini-slump, hitting just .120 with no homers since breaking Joe DiMaggio's club record for rookies (though to be fair, Jackie Bradley Jr. did rob Judge of homer No. 31 on Sunday night).

The AL East will always be a monster division, and now that the Yankees find themselves behind both the Rays and Red Sox with quite a few holes in their roster, nothing will come easy during the dog days that are approaching fast.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)