End to historic win streak shakes up Power Rankings
It really occurred: The Rays misplaced. They really misplaced twice! While the Rays are, alas, not going to go 162-0 this yr — or 161-1, for that matter — they’ve firmly established themselves as contenders shifting ahead. After all: Even in the event that they go .500 the remainder of the season, they’ll win 87 video games. And they certain appear like a group that’s going to be higher than .500 the remainder of the season.
They won’t, although, be the perfect group in baseball, at the very least to not our Power Rankings voters: They fell one spot this week, to No. 2. But it’s type of troublesome to argue with the No. 1 group: They look downright terrifying to this point.
Here are this week’s rankings.
Biggest Jump: The Rangers took two out of three from the Royals at the start of the week, and did the identical towards these hated rivals from Houston over the weekend. The most spectacular factor has been the pitching, which is at the moment holding a top-10 spot within the Majors. And the perfect starter hasn’t even been Jacob deGrom: It has been Martín Pérez. Again.
1. Braves, 12-4 (final week: 2)
The Rays’ profitable streak is outdated news. The cool streaking group now could be the Braves, who went 6-0 on the week, sweeping the Reds and the Royals. The Braves at the moment have three gamers with an OPS over 1.000: Matt Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr. and, the group’s chief in that class, Sean Murphy, who’s getting on base at a .446 clip. They even have a top-10 pitching employees proper now. They’ve bought one other enjoyable sequence set as much as begin the week towards the Padres in San Diego, however it’s the Padres who ought to be afraid: The Braves are already rolling.
2. Rays, 14-2 (final week: 1)
Sorry, Rays: A 5-2 week finally ends up dropping you a spot within the rankings, even when these two losses had been on the street towards the Blue Jays, additionally probably the greatest groups in baseball. It was Shane McClanahan who ended the Rays’ two-game skid — solely once you’ve received your first 13 video games can two losses in a row be thought-about a “skid” — with one other gem on Sunday: He’s now 4-0 with a 1.57 ERA. The Rays get a few middle-of-the-country groups this week: The Reds on the street and the White Sox on the Trop.
3. Blue Jays, 10-6 (final week: 7)
A terrific method to get your self to soar up the rankings: Beat the group that has received 13 in a row twice. Matt Chapman’s spectacular contract-year resurgence has been the story of the primary couple of weeks, however the Blue Jays look extra well-rounded than they did final yr, particularly on protection. They’re tied for the second-best report within the American League, which has earned them … a four-game deficit within the AL East. That’s the identical distance from first place as Colorado is correct now. They’re tied within the Power Rankings with a group that feels their ache …
4. Yankees, 10-6 (final week: 4)
It’s not straightforward to maintain tempo within the AL East, and the Yankees really did drop a recreation throughout a 4-3 week. But most likely extra worrisome is the hamstring harm to Giancarlo Stanton, which landed him on the injured record. Aaron Judge has had a bit of extra assist in the lineup this yr to this point, with Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu off to wonderful begins. But shedding Stanton — nonetheless predictable it may be — shouldn’t be useful.
5. Astros, 7-9 (final week: 6)
The Astros had been No. 1 within the season’s first energy rankings, so even with a sluggish begin, they’re not going to fall too far. They had a enjoyable sequence with the intriguing Rangers over the weekend, and the schedule is about to get even harder: Their subsequent 4 opponents are all groups that reached the playoffs final yr: The Blue Jays and Phillies at residence, and the Braves and Rays on the street.
6. Brewers (8)
7. Dodgers (3)
8. Twins (10)
9. Mets (9)
10. Padres (5)
11. Guardians (11)
12. Rangers (18)
13. Angels (15)
14. Orioles (16)
15. Mariners (14)
16. D-backs (20)
17. Cardinals (12)
18. Cubs (21)
19. Pirates (24)
20. Phillies (13)
21. White Sox (17)
22. Red Sox (22)
23. Marlins (23)
24. Giants (19)
25. Reds (25)
26. Rockies (27)
27. Royals (26)
28. Tigers (28)
29. Nationals (29)
30. A’s (30)
