The NL Wild Card race is heating up. While the Nationals and Cubs currently hold the top two spots, there’s five teams, including the Mets, that aren’t far behind.

Here’s the latest news and updates from all the teams vying for a Wild Card spot.

Washington Nationals ( 67-56, +1.5 GB)

Fresh off scoring 30 runs in their last two games, the Nationals are expected to activate their ace, Max Scherzer, from the IL Thursday. Scherzer has been out since July 25 with an upper back strain.

However, their closer, Sean Doolittle has been placed on the IL with right knee tendinitis. In his last seven innings pitched, Doolittle has given up 10 runs, raising his ERA from 2.93 to 4.33.

Before they face the Mets again on Sept 2, they will have a soft schedule. Nine of their next 12 games come against the Pirates, Orioles, and Marlins – all last place teams.

According to FanGraphs, their playoff odds are 90.4%.

Chicago Cubs (66-58, 0.0 GB)

After being swept by the Phillies, the Cubs rebounded with a series win against the Pirates. Behind the red-hot bat of Nicholas Castellanos – 1.102 OPS since joining the Cubs – and an effective Jose Quintana, Chicago rolled past the Bucs by a score of 7-1 on Sunday night.

The Cubs are gearing up for 11 straight games against the Giants, Nationals, Mets, and Brewers, and will have their closer, Craig Kimbrel, for this crucial stretch. On Sunday, the Cubs activated Kimbrel from the IL with knee inflammation.

The seven time All-Star owns a 6.08 ERA and 1.65 WHIP with nine saves in 13.1 innings this season.

According to FanGraphs, their playoff odds are 76.4%.

Milwaukee Brewers (64-60, 2.0 GB)

The Brewers’ pitchers were the recipient of the Nationals 30 run barrage this Saturday and Sunday. Though the Brewers edged the Nationals in Saturday’s 15-14 thriller, they couldn’t keep up with Washington’s scorching hot offense in Sunday’s 16-8 loss.

An alarming aspect of their pitching woes is performance of the usually dominant Josh Hader. Hader has given up seven runs – six earned – over his last 4.2 innings pitched. And since July 1, he holds a 6.19 ERA.

But the Brewers pitching will get a boost with Zach Davies slated to start Monday night. Manager Craig Counsell also stated that there’s a chance that they will have starter Brent Suter back in time for September.

According to FanGraphs, their playoff odds are 24.8%.

New York Mets (64-60, 2.0 GB)

The Mets rebounded from a series loss in Atlanta to take two games from Kansas City. But now that the Mets defeated the 44-80 Royals, their schedule gets difficult. They play 18 straight games against teams over .500, starting Tuesday against the 74-51 Indians.

Jeff McNeil (.332/.400/.529) remains on the Injured list with a hamstring strain, but J.D. Davis (.312/.375/.513) expects to be back in the lineup Tuesday. The Mets removed Davis from Sunday’s game after rounding the bases, but manager Mickey Callaway explained that the move was mostly precautionary. Davis has been dealing with a tight right calf.

At 24-10 since the All-Star break, the Mets have stormed back into contention. But this tough upcoming stretch against playoff caliber teams will put them to the test.

According to Fangraphs, their playoff odds are 42.4%.

Philadelphia Phillies (64-60, 2.0)

The Phillies had won four in a row, but they lost back to back games to the Padres over the weekend. They received tough blows earlier last week, losing both Jake Arrieta and David Robertson to season ending injuries.

Bryce Harper exited Sunday’s game due to dehydration. Harper has smashed four home runs and 10 RBI over the past seven days, including a walk-off grand slam against the Giants. Harper is now batting .254/.374/.492 with 26 home runs and 90 RBI in his first year with the Phillies.

Philadelphia plays three games against the Pirates before starting a three game series against the Mets on August 30.

According to Fangraphs, their playoff odds are 9.4%.

San Francisco Giants (63-62, 3.5 GB)

The Giants couldn’t finish off the sweep of the Diamondbacks, despite having their ace Madison Bumgarner on the mound. The Giants won the first three games of the series, but Bumgarner yielded four runs in six innings in their 6-1 loss.

The Giants’ top pitching prospect, Logan Webb, impressed in his MLB debut on Saturday with seven strikeouts during five innings of one-run ball, and will stay in the rotation for now.

San Francisco begins a big three game series with the Cubs tomorrow.

According to Fangraphs, their playoff odds are 2.9%.

Arizona Diamondbacks (62-63, 4.5 GB)

The suddenly hot bat of ex-Met Wilmer Flores helped Arizona avoid the sweep against the Giants. Flores went 2-for-5 with a home run in yesterday’s 6-1 win, and he has 12 hits in his last 19 at-bats.

Arizona is 4-6 over their past ten games, but they own the best run differential of any team currently behind a NL playoff spot at +66.

They play a four-game series at Citi Field starting on September 9.

According to FanGraphs, their playoff odds are 4.3%.