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Roundtable: Which contender is going to blow it down the stretch?

Baseball as it looks right now has a decent number of sure things considering it’s still August: The Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals would have to really mess up to miss the playoffs.

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Despite that, there’s not a lack of contenders around baseball. Both the AL and NL wild cards look wide open, with a dozen teams within four games of a postseason berth. They won’t make it, of course. That’s the nature of these things. So for this week’s Big League Stew roundtable, our staff is looking at which teams are most likely to blow it down the stretch.

Take a look at our picks, then add your own in the comments.

(AP)
(AP)

THE DODGERS
The Dodgers have gone from big spenders to underdogs thanks to a historic rash of injuries. On Tuesday, they tied a dubious major-league record by placing their 27th different player on the disabled list. That goes beyond being unlucky into the realm of the absurd, yet they’ve still managed to climb to the top of the NL West. The question now though is can they continue holding strong down the stretch? I have my doubts about that.

The war of attrition that is baseball season challenges every team. When you’re fighting uphill as long the Dodgers have been though it’s going to catch up eventually. Even with the newfound optimism surrounding Clayton Kershaw, they’re going to be digging deeper and deeper into their talent pool after losing Scott Kazmir and Brett Anderson … again. And there’s really no guarantee Kershaw will hold up either.

There are too many questions and not enough healthy bodies to bet on the Dodgers finishing strong. It may not be a matter of them falling apart though as much as running out of the duct tape that’s currently holding them together. (Mark Townsend)

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BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 21: Jonathan Schoop #6 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates with Chris Davis #19 after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 21, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 21: Jonathan Schoop #6 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates with Chris Davis #19 after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 21, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

THE ORIOLES
For months now, the Orioles have exceeded expectations despite an iffy pitching staff. Some of that was expected, as the team loaded up on 30-plus home run hitters and hoped for the best.

While Baltimore is clearly a good team, and a much better one than people expected coming into the year, a recent run of injuries and ineffectiveness have put them in a shaky spot. Chris Tillman’s 3.76 ERA resurgence had become a key part of the club outperforming early on. Now, he finds himself on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. And though Dylan Bundy has looked solid as a starter thus far, he’s never shown the ability to hold up in the role and could wear down in the next few weeks.

Those things make it tough to count on the Orioles hanging in the race down the stretch. Sure, they’ve proved people wrong all season, but their path to the playoffs looks a lot more difficult now that Tillman is out of commission. (Chris Cwik)

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(AP)
(AP)

THE BLUE JAYS
With the AL East race so tight, it won’t take much of a stumble to eliminate one of them from the race. And the Toronto Blue Jays have plenty of potholes they could fall into. Their rotation, which has been strong all year, has been remade into a six-man rotation to limit Aaron Sanchez’s innings. But to do that, that means everyone gets a longer rest between outings. And for pitchers who are used to pitching every fifth day, that could be dangerous.

Even more dangerous is the Blue Jays’ offense, which hasn’t exactly been inspiring. They’re currently 13th in the American League in average, beating only Houston and Tampa Bay. Plus, Jose Bautista has had a disappointing season that’s included two trips to the DL and his worst numbers since 2008. Quiet bats have killed the playoff chances of many teams, and it’s possible that the Blue Jays could be next. (Liz Roscher)

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DENVER, CO - AUGUST 5: Adeiny Hechavarria #3 and Martin Prado #14 of the Miami Marlins celebrate after going ahead in the middle of the ninth inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on August 5, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 5: Adeiny Hechavarria #3 and Martin Prado #14 of the Miami Marlins celebrate after going ahead in the middle of the ninth inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on August 5, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

THE MARLINS
I’m probably picking the lowest common denominator here, but there’s only one true answer to this question for me: The Miami Marlins. And if you’ve followed baseball even remotely the past few you’re years, you’ve read those words, nodded your head and said, “Truuuuuue.”

The Marlins have a knack for messing everything up. So why should we expect anything else from the 2016 version? Kudos to them, they’ve been better than expected and hung in there despite losing Dee Gordon to a PED suspension, having to trade back one of their trade-deadline acquisitions and eventually losing Giancarlo Stanton to injury.

Somehow they’re still in the wild-card hunt (1.5 out coming into Friday’s action). My anti-Marlins pick isn’t just piling on to their bad reputation. Andrew Cashner has been pretty good since coming over from San Diego, but not so good that they don’t have rotation questions anymore. And losing Stanton makes their offensive a lot less dynamic. It’s hard to imagine these Marlins — as surprisingly good as they’ve been — beating out the rest of the field in the NL wild-card hunt. (Mike Oz)

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!