By Douglas Benton Power pitching wins come playoff time, but does it really? The old stand-by is tossed out every October when trying to pick a winner but as we are now about six weeks from the end of the regular season, here are the team leaders in strikeouts. The results might surprise you. 1. Chicago Cubs (865) Helped out by starter Rich Hill (139 in 161 innings) and reliever Carlos Marmol (61 in 44.1 innings) 2. Los Angeles Dodgers (861) Relievers Jonathon Braxton and Takashi Saito both come out of the bullpen with over 10 strikeouts per nine inning averages. 3. Milwaukee Brewers (854) With the addition of Scott Linebrink, the Brewers now have three arms who average over 10 strikeouts per nine innings. The others are Derrick Turnbow and Francisco Cordero. 4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (833) The Devil Rays are the first surprise team to make the list this high, but starter Scott Kazmir does have 160 strikeouts in 151 innings. 5. Arizona Diamondbacks (827) They are doing this with a true sinker-ball in Brandon Webb and without an injured Randy Johnson. 6. Boston Red Sox (818) This team has power coming from the rotation and bullpen and will also rise in this category once Eric Gagne gets straightened out in his new role. 7. Florida Marlins (817) Of the three starters who qualify for the Cy Young (Dontrelle Willis, Scott Olsen and Sergio Mitre) none of them have strikeout averages over seven. 8. Houston Astros (808) Even though he has trouble closing games, Brad Lidge still can get swings and misses (66 strikeouts in 49.2 innings). 9. New York Mets (795) Like earlier in his career, starter Oliver Perez is racking up the strikeout numbers with some consistency. (128 in 130 innings) 10. Baltimore Orioles (793) Not only is Erik Bedard a bona fide ace, but he is also one of the games best strikeout pitchers. (199 in 162 innings) 11. Minnesota Twins (791) His record might point to a down year, but Johan Santana is still dealing with 170 strikeouts in 160 innings. 12. Los Angeles Angels (789) Closer Francisco Rodriguez might have the nastiest stuff in baseball and it shows in his strikeout numbers (64 in 49 innings). 13. Atlanta Braves (785) The team lacks much strikeout power outside of John Smoltz, who has 126 in 139.2 innings this season. 14. San Diego Padres (783) Jake Peavy and Chris Young make a potent one-two punch with both average over 8.50 strikeouts per nine innings. 15. Detroit Tigers (765) The loss of relievers Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney has pushed the Tigers down this list. 16. Cincinnati Reds (764) Starter Aaron Harang is the only legit threat with 146 strikeouts in 160.1 innings. 17. Philadelphia Phillies (762) With Brett Myers and Tom Gordon at the end of games, the Phillies have strikeout power with both players are healthy. 18. Toronto Blue Jays (759) With full health, A.J. Burnett is back to racking up the strikeout numbers (111 in 101.1 innings). 19. San Francisco Giants (757) The team?s numbers have dropped with those of starter Matt Cain, who only has 110 in 143.1 innings. 20. Cleveland Indians (739) With a sinker baler in Fausto Carmona and a cagy veteran in Paul Byrd, the team?s numbers are nearing the bottom third. 21. Chicago White Sox (719) Contact pitchers like Mark Buehrle and Jon Garland lead to low numbers for the team. 22. Oakland A?s (715) Starter Joe Blanton?s numbers are relatively low (100 in 171.1 innings) compared with the stuff he has. 23. Seattle Mariners (715) J.J. Putz and Brandon Morrow gives the Mariners a strong bullpen to overpower teams down the stretch. 24. Texas Rangers (713) Nobody on the roster has over 100 strikeouts on the season. 25. Pittsburgh Pirates (702) Reliever Damaso Marte has 41 in 36.2 innings, making his a possible August pick-up for some contender. 26. Kansas City Royals (694) Starter Gil Meche leads the team with 112 strikeouts on the year. 27. New York Yankees (694) Pitching injuries have hurt this number, but help appears on the way. Joba Chamberlain and Phillip Hughes have combined to strikeout out 28 batters in 25.1 innings. 28. St. Louis Cardinals (658) An injured Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright?s move to the rotation have played a role in the Cardinals? low ranking. 29. Colorado Rockies (652) Strikeouts would help in a place like Coors Field, but this team doesn?t have many strikeout pitchers. 30. Washington Nationals (635) When you have marginal pitching at best, you can?t really expect to get many swings and misses. How important do you think the strikeout is? Email your thoughts to [email protected]