MLB Power Rankings: Boston Red Sox close in on Chicago Cubs
Everyone knows as of right now the Chicago Cubs are not only the best team in the National League, but also the best team in the majors, as they enter this week with a 27-9 overall record, the best record in baseball.
The question for this week is who is the second-best team in the majors, also meaning who is the best team from the American League? The Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox each have a 24-14 record entering Monday, and the Baltimore Orioles are right there with them, having a mark of 23-13 after their first 36 games of the season, including a record of 8-2 in their most recent 10-game span.
There are also the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners from the AL, who have been playing well this season, but as of right now, the aforementioned Red Sox, Orioles and White Sox seem to be having the “best of the best” type of season as we enter the mid-May portion of the MLB season.
It is still early, but with the White Sox having a five-game lead in the AL Central and having the likes of Chris Sale, who became just the third pitcher in MLB history to start 8-0 with an ERA under 2.00, that helps their case as being the second-best team in the majors. The Red Sox and Orioles are at a tie for first in the AL East, with the O’s having just a tick better winning percentage (.639 compared to .632), and those two teams hold a 5.5 game lead over the next team in the division standings, the Toronto Blue Jays.
The biggest mover this week in these MLB Power Rankings was one team jumped six spots, while the teams that fell the most dropped four spots each.
We all know who the worst team in baseball is (they still have just nine wins), being they are the last team to have under 10 wins this season.
It was another exciting week in MLB with sparks (and fists) flying between the Rangers and Blue Jays, the Cubs just kept mostly winning, and teams are beginning to somewhat lay the foundation as to how competitive they will be this season.
Here is this week’s edition of Call to the Pen’s MLB Power Rankings.
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 30-27
Atlanta Braves. 30. team. 17. There isn’t a whole lot anyone can say about the Atlanta Braves right now, except they are in a rebuilding mode for the ages, and they do seem to be very good at losing baseball games right now. They did gain a win on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals by a 5-0 score, and with 11 hits that day, the Braves did show some signs of life. It also helped them win two games in a four-game span, which is something positive for their fan base to enjoy.. 9-27. Previous:
team. 2. The Minnesota Twins aren’t much to brag about either this season, as they gained their 10th win of the season on Sunday, defeating the Cleveland Indians, 5-1 in Cleveland on a day where they were out-hit, 9-8. The Twins actually won their weekend series against the Indians, as their Saturday victory came by a 6-3 score, giving the Twins their first series win since the last time they faced the Indians from April 25-27, where they also won two-of-three that series.. 10-26. Previous: . Minnesota Twins. 29
28. team. 61. Cincinnati had a big road win on Sunday, taking down the Philadelphia Phillies by a 9-4 score, tallying 14 hits in the win and even their bullpen held up on that day. Though the Reds haven’t won a series since their April 18-20 showdown with the Colorado Rockies, one plus for this team has been the play of <a href=. 15-22. Previous: . Cincinnati Reds
135. The Houston Astros went 3-4 this past week, with two wins against the Cleveland Indians and one win against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday by a 7-6 score. Yes, it wasn’t the best of weeks for the Astros, but the reason for their fall was not due to the losses to Boston (OK, it was some of the reason), but a few teams just jumped ahead of them for their play. Again, it is still disappointing the Astros have fallen off the wagon early on this season, as their roster is better than a 15-win team entering the third week of May. . 15-24. Previous: . Houston Astros. 27. team
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 26-23
Previous: . Milwaukee Brewers. 26. team. 76. The Brew Crew also went 3-4 this week, losing series to the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres, both of which are now ahead of them in there MLB Power Rankings. Milwaukee did win on Sunday by a 3-2 score, due to the offensive outburst of <a href=. 16-22
This past week, the San Diego Padres went 4-3 with a series win against the Chicago Cubs, both wins coming in the same day by scores of 7-4 and 1-0, along with two wins in three games against the Milwaukee Brewers giving them two series wins this past week. This was one of the better weeks for the Padres this season, and with the San Francisco Giants and L.A. Dodgers up this week, we’ll see if that momentum can carry over. . 17-22. Previous: . San Diego Padres. 25. team. 127
24. team. 8. The Arizona Diamondbacks began this past week with two consecutive wins over the Colorado Rockies by scores of 10-5 and 5-1, but from there, they lost their next five straight games with two losses to the Rockies on Wednesday and Thursday and then being swept four straight by the San Francisco Giants. The Diamondbacks scored no more than three runs in any of the four games played, being outscored 14-7 against their NL West rival. . 17-23. Previous: . Arizona Diamondbacks
team. 63. Motown’s Tigers have been very disappointing this season with just 16 wins as the reigning AL Central champions. If they keep playing like they have been, it will be a long season with the division having a new champion, as they are coming off series losses to the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles, though they did upset the Orioles on Sunday with a 6-5 win, snapping a four-game skid. . 16-21. Previous: . Detroit Tigers. 23
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 22-19
21. In six games over the past week, the Tampa Bay Rays went 1-5, losing three straight games to the Seattle Mariners and two-of-three to the Oakland Athletics, but they did win a game on Saturday against the A’s by a 6-0 score. Thus far in the month of May, the Rays are 6-6 in 12 games. Five of their losses have come by two or less runs this month.. 16-16. Previous: . Tampa Bay Rays. 22. team
The A’s went 2-4 last week with two wins on Friday and Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays, while losing three straight to the Boston Red Sox, so it wasn’t the easiest of schedules for the A’s. This upcoming week won’t be easy either with the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees up next, though for the A’s, one of their negatives this season has been their team ERA pitching with the 27th-best ERA in the majors at 4.90, which is the worst in the American League. . 16-22. Previous: . Oakland Athletics. 21. team. 96
16-21. Previous: . Los Angeles Angels. 20. team. 102. It is a shame that the Los Angeles Angels haven’t surrounded <a href=
16-20. Previous: . New York Yankees. 19. team. 43. The New York Yankees were the biggest jumpers this week in the MLB Power Rankings, moving up six spots with five wins in seven games, winning series against the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox, as the White Sox are holders of the best record in the American League with 24 wins. The Yankees are a Jekyll and Hyde type of team this season and will be interesting to watch. This week’s schedule is in their favor, with games against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland Athletics.
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 18-15
Winning their past four games and finishing 4-2 last week, the Colorado Rockies continued to play pretty well this season, as they are coming off wins against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Mets, sweeping the Mets over the past three games, winning by a combined seven runs by scores of 5-2, 7-4 and 4-3. Colorado is one game over .500 this season, and they are the first team in these rankings thus far with a winning record. . 19-18. Previous: . Colorado Rockies. 18. team. 108
Kansas City Royals. 17. team. 7. Kansas City doesn’t seem to be the team they’ve been the past two seasons when they won two American League titles and a World Series championship, but they’ve lost some of the pitching that got them back to the championship and have yet to find the spark they had those two seasons. They are 3-4 in their past seven games, losing a series to the Yankees. They did manage to win a series over the weekend against the Atlanta Braves but lost to them on Saturday by five runs.. 18-19. Previous:
19-20. Previous: . Toronto Blue Jays. 16. team. 39. There is no reason for the Toronto Blue Jays, with the talent they have, to be one game under .500 and hovering around the middle of the pack in the AL standings. This week, the Blue Jays don’t have a tough slate with winnable games against the Tampa Bay Rays, then four games against the Minnesota Twins. Maybe their fight with the Texas Rangers will spark them to play a little better than they have thus far.
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 14-11
Previous: . St. Louis Cardinals. 14. team. 33. The St. Louis Cardinals have the fifth-best ERA in the National League (3.85), and this past week they went from being a .500 team in the standings to a team that is two games over .500 by winning three straight against the Los Angeles Angels and one of three against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with that win coming on Sunday Night Baseball by a 5-2 score. This week, the Cardinals can improve upon their overall record with three games against the Colorado Rockies and three against the Arizona Diamondbacks. . 20-18
82. This is one of the surprise teams in the majors this season as they did win four games last week with two wins against the Milwaukee Brewers and two wins against a very good Washington Nationals. They split their four-game series against the Nationals over the weekend. In a series that could be exciting to watch on Monday through Wednesday, the Marlins face the Philadelphia Phillies, who are another surprise team thus far. They will also have a weekend rematch against the Nationals as well. . 20-17. Previous: . Miami Marlins. 13. team
71. The Los Angeles Dodgers went 4-3 in their past seven games, and though they split a four-game series to the New York Mets to start the week, they improved by winning two games of three against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers also had a three-game winning streak during this past week, leaving them two games over .500 thus far in ’16. . 20-18. Previous: . Los Angeles Dodgers. 12. team
19-17. Previous: . Pittsburgh Pirates. 11. team. 4. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, it wasn’t the greatest of weeks, and though a four-spot drop might be a tad much for them to fall, they did lose to the Cincinnati Reds by a 3-2 score and then won by just one run against one of the worst teams in the majors this season The Pirates also lost two of three to the Chicago Cubs, and though the Cubs have the best record in the majors, the Pirates need a better showing against them if they want to compete for the division title.
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 10-5
21-16. Previous: . Seattle Mariners. 10. team. 62. Seattle had a week that started off great with three straight wins against the Tampa Bay Rays but ended on a sour note with three losses to the Los Angeles Angels, with all three losses to the Angels coming by three or fewer runs. The Mariners stay in the Top 10 because of their overall body of work as they are five games over .500 and are just a half game out of the AL West lead. They have a week where they start a three-game series on Tuesday against the Orioles and then this weekend play three at the Cincinnati Reds. Should be interesting, for sure.
Previous: . Texas Rangers. 9. team. 126. The Rangers do hold the AL West lead by a half game over the Seattle Mariners, and they’ve won their past two games and seven of their past 10 games to stay atop their division. The Rangers have a winning record at home at 14-7, but on the road they are under .500 at 8-9. This team can be a very solid team as the season continues, but they must start playing better away from The Ball Park in Arlington if they really want to make some noise in the American League. . 22-16
3. For the New York Mets this past week, it wasn’t that great with two wins against the Dodgers, but they still lost two to the same team and three straight to end the week at Coors Field. The Mets have lost four straight, and with a day off on Monday, they will start the week with a tough task from Tuesday through Thursday with games against the Washington Nationals. . 21-16. Previous: . New York Mets. 8. team
22-18. Previous: . San Francisco Giants. 7. team. 40. The San Francisco Giants played much better last week as they are currently on a five-game winning streak, winning one game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, followed by a four-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving them a five-spot jump in these MB Power Rankings. The Giants have a good chance to improve their record early in the week with three straight against the San Diego Padres, before a weekend showdown with the Chicago Cubs, The Giants lead the NL West by one game and have won seven of their past 10 games.
team. 6. This is the top surprise team in all of the majors as they are six games over the .500 mark and trail the Washington Nationals by just one game in the AL East, which is maybe the most surprising part of the MLB season thus far. The Phillies won two of three against the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds last week, but their next three games will be much tougher with a series against the Marlins. What is strange for the Phillies is they are next to last in the NL in home runs (29) and runs scored (126) but are just one of seven teams in the majors with 22 or more wins. . 22-16. Previous: . Philadelphia Phillies. 6
Next: MLB Power Rankings: The Top 5
The leaders off the NL East, the Washington Nationals have lost their past two games, but they stay in the Top 5 for their overall season of work, and they did win four of their past six games, with two wins against the Detroit Tigers and two wins over the weekend against the Miami Marlins. The next six games will be very important for the Nationals with those games all being against the NL East, with three at the New York Mets and three at the Miami Marlins. . 23-15. Previous: . Washington Nationals. 5. team. 90
Chicago White Sox. 4. team. 128. The Chicago White Sox took a small step backwards this week with series losses to the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, finishing the week 2-4 as all the games were on the road. The White Sox start this week on Tuesday with three against the Houston Astros and the more against the Kansas City Royals. One standout performance was by Chris Sale on Friday night when he went the distance against the Yankees, improving to 8-0 on the season. . 24-14. Previous:
Baltimore had an excellent week with five straight wins until Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers, winning two against the Minnesota Twins and three wins against the Tigers Thursday through Saturday. With the Orioles, who have 23 wins, they are 8-2 in their past 10 games and are a real threat to make a lot of trouble for teams in all of the American League. . 23-13. Previous: . Baltimore Orioles. 3. team. 11
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2. team. 14. In any other season, the Boston Red Sox would be the best team in the majors. Still, being ranked No. 2 in these MLB Power Rankings is a strong spot, moving up one spot from last week after winning six of seven games this past week, including a four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics and two of three against the Astros. In those seven games, the Red Sox outscored their opponents, 73-37. This week, the Red Sox travel to the Kansas City Royals and then host the Cleveland Indians. . 24-14. Previous: . Boston Red Sox
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9. The Chicago Cubs are still the best team in baseball, and is there a team really that close to them? Yes, they did slip up this week with two losses on the same day against the San Diego Padres, but they did win three games combined against the Padres and two against the Pittsburgh Pirates. This wasn’t the best of weeks for the Cubs … they are still are the best team in the majors, but the gap closed just a little on them from their recent play. The Cubs still lead the majors in run differential at +109, with the next team coming in at +59 (Cardinals) on the season. Chicago enters this week with an eight-game lead in the NL Central. . 27-9. Previous: . Chicago Cubs. 1. team