MLB Power Rankings: Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers in front

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The Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers lead their respective leagues in the MLB standings, and they’ve done so by stringing many wins together at once, having winning records at home and on the road. That said, they still haven’t pulled away by a lot within their leagues, as there are four other teams in the majors who have 40 or more wins entering this week.

For the Chicago Cubs, they just swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game set, and in doing so, they are all but running away with the NL Central, currently holding a 12.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the division. It does help that each team in the Central have at least a two-game losing streak entering games Monday. The second-place team in the Central, St. Louis, has lost five straight, and the Pirates have dropped their past five games as well.

In the NL, the San Francisco Giants have won eight consecutive games to lead the West and with that have the third-best record in all of the majors at 44-26 (the Cubs are 47-20 and the Rangers are 45-25), while the Washington Nationals come in at 43-27 overall. The fifth team in the majors with at least 40 wins entering Monday is the Baltimore Orioles at 40-28, as they lead the Boston Red Sox in the AL East by one game.

But back to the Cubs and what they are accomplishing, as they are not just winning games, but they are doing so with an excellent run differential. The Cubs lead all teams in the majors with a +171 run differential against their opposition this season. For comparison’s sake, the second-best run differential in the majors is by the Red Sox at +83, followed by the Cardinals at +65. In all of the majors, just 12 of the 30 teams have a positive run differential thus far this season.

With all of that said, this week’s MLB Power Rankings have some changes, even near the top, but we all know who the best team in the majors really is. After that, where do the rest fall? Let’s take a look.

Next: MLB Power Rankings: 30-26

2. Having an MLB-worst 21-48 record entering this week, the Twins are 3-7 in their past 10 games. Over the past week, Minnesota lost two of three to the Los Angeles Angels and three of four to the New York Yankees. They also have the worst run differential in all of baseball at -116, being just one of three teams in the majors to have that distinction.. (21-48). Previous: . Minnesota Twins. 30. team

Cincinnati Reds. 29. team. 61. Just when it looks like the Cincinnati Reds can win some games, they continue to either lose leads late or get shut out, and that was the case this past week, splitting a four-game series with the Atlanta Braves and then losing two of three to the Houston Astros. They are also one of the three teams in the majors with a -100 or more run differential, just ahead of the Twins at -107, but the one bright spot on this team continues to be <a href=. (27-43). Previous:

17. For at least one week, the Atlanta Braves are not the last-place or next-to-last-place team in these weekly MLB Power Rankings, moving up two spots this week for having a five-game winning streak, beginning with two wins against the Reds and a three-game sweep of the New York Mets, which was very surprising, to say the least. The Braves have outscored their opponents, 31-14 in those five wins, and in the series at the Mets, they outscored New York, 15-4.. (23-46). Previous: . Atlanta Braves. 28. team

96. The A’s are still just a below-average baseball team, where winning won’t happen much with them the rest of the season unless a miracle occurs. They lost series over the past week to the Texas Rangers (which is understandable) and to the Los Angeles Angels, who aren’t that great of a team either, including a 2-0 shutout loss on Sunday.. (28-41). Previous: . Oakland Athletics. 27. team

The Phillies haven’t been playing well as of late, and that includes a current six-game losing streak entering games this week. Philadelphia is one of the teams in the majors who have a negative run differential of 100-or more runs, with theirs sitting at -101 after their loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday. Being 10 games under .500 and 13 games back of the NL East lead, times look to be tough for the Phillies from here on out.. (30-40). Previous: . Philadelphia Phillies. 26. team. 6

Next: MLB Power Rankings: 25-21

Previous: . San Diego Padres. 25. team. 127. San Diego moves up one spot this week, as they were winners of their past two games against a very good Washington Nationals ball club with two consecutive wins against them. On Saturday, the Padres won 7-3, then they followed that up on Sunday with a 6-3 win. San Diego split that four-game series with the Nationals, and to start last week, they lost two-of-three to the Marlins, but that’s not the easiest of series right now, either.. (29-42)

Though they didn’t face the toughest of teams this past week, the Angels won series they should have won, and that’s a start to get back on track. LA defeated the Twins in two of their three games played (outscoring Minnesota, 19-15 in three games), then winning two of three against the A’s. Even with those wins, the Angels are still 31-38 overall after 69 games.. (31-38). Previous: . Los Angeles Angels. 24. team. 102

(31-36). Previous: . Tampa Bay Rays. 23. team. 21. The Rays sit last in the AL East, five games under .500, and have lost four straight games to add to their current misery. They are 8.5 games back of the Orioles, but this past week won a series against the Mariners, then were swept by the Giants.

Milwaukee had a very tough schedule this past week, winning once in the seven games they played combined against the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were swept by the Giants (outscored by SF, 24-8), but did win the first of a four-game series against the Dodgers, though they lost the next three. Even with just 31 wins, the Brewers are just four games back of second place in the NL Central.. (31-39). Previous: . Milwaukee Brewers. 22. team. 76

Arizona Diamondbacks. 21. team. 8. This isn’t the best of seasons for the Diamondbacks as they currently sit in four place in the NL West, but they have won their past three games against the Phillies and won once against the Dodgers this past week. Arizona won’t be a threat to win the division, but at least for one week, they played pretty decent baseball.. (32-39). Previous:

Next: MLB Power Rankings: 20-16

Previous: . Chicago White Sox. 20. team. 128. The White Sox continued to put <a href=. (33-36)

Colorado won two games against the Yankees to begin last week (it was a two-game series), but then lost that momentum with three straight losses to the Marlins, leaving them at 32-36 overall this season. They are 11 games back in the NL West, and it will be very tough for them to make any noise at the top of that division this season.. (32-36). Previous: . Colorado Rockies. 19. team. 108

Previous: . Houston Astros. 18. team. 135. The jump in the MLB Power Rankings for the Astros is somewhat due to their play, and somewhat due to the lack of success by other teams. The Astros took care of their former NL Central foes this week by winning a two-game series at St. Louis, then winning two of three against the Reds in Houston. Being two games under .500 (34-36), the Astros are nearing a positive run differential for the season as they are currently at -6.. (34-36)

(34-35). Previous: . New York Yankees. 17. team. 43. As of Monday, the Yankees are basically an average team with a 34-35 overall record, fourth place in the AL East, and being 6.5 games back of the O’s, who knows what direction they will travel from here on out? The Yankees lost two to the Rockies, being outscored 19-13, and won three of four against the Twins, which is expected of them when facing Minnesota.

Previous: . Pittsburgh Pirates. 16. team. 4. The Pirates are starting to fall in the NL Central standings because right now they aren’t playing like one of the powerhouses of the division, that shown in the past three games by being swept by the Cubs. Pittsburgh’s run differential is -12 and they have lost five straight games, and we can’t forget they are now 15 games back of the Cubs in their division and are just 1-9 in their past 10 games.. (33-36)

Next: MLB Power Rankings: 15-11

team. 62. Seattle went 2-4 over their past six games, losing a series to the Rays and to the Red Sox, pushing them even further back of the Rangers in the AL West standings. Seattle now trails the Rangers by 8.5 games and have just two more wins than the Astros, who are third in the division. It will be interesting to see how Seattle recovers from this recent slip.. (33-36). Previous: . Seattle Mariners. 15

Previous: . Detroit Tigers. 14. team. 63. The Tigers lost a series to the struggling White Sox, then lost three of four to the Royals over the past seven games. With just two wins in those contests, it isn’t looking good for the Tigers, but on the other hand, they play in a very winnable division. Detroit is just 4.5 games back of the division lead in the AL Central, but they’ll need to play better if they want to move closer to the top of the standings.. (34-35)

3. New York had a very disappointing weekend as they were swept by the Braves, and that, my friends, cannot happen to any team that faces Atlanta this season. New York won two of three to start last week against the Pirates, but being outscored 15-4 by Atlanta, including a Sunday shutout at 6-0 just can’t happen, and the Mets let that happen with them falling six games back of the AL East lead.. (36-32). Previous: . New York Mets. 13. team

Previous: . St. Louis Cardinals. 12. team. 33. The Cardinals didn’t win a single game last week as they tried and failed to “mess with Texas.” The Cardinals lost two games to the Astros, then followed that up with three losses at home to the Texas Rangers. Though all three of their losses to a very good Rangers team were each by a single run, they are still losses, and it looks bad for a team like the Cardinals to lose five straight if they want to be mentioned with the best teams in the NL.. (35-33)

(38-31). Previous: . Kansas City Royals. 11. team. 7. The reigning World Series champions have won three straight games and are seven games over .500, with them contending once again for the AL Central crown. KC won swept the Indians to start the week, then won three of four when they hosted the Tigers, so that being said, six wins in seven games makes them a contender in the division again.

Next: MLB Power Rankings: 10-6

82. Miami moved to the second-place spot in the NL East standings and in doing so won five of six games played last week, including a three-game sweep this past weekend against the Rockies. Miami has been an up-and-down team this season as they are still tough to figure out as the latter days of June have arrived.. (37-32). Previous: . Miami Marlins. 10. team

39. It was a weird week for the Blue Jays, beginning by being shut out against the Phillies before winning the series, then they opened their series with the O’s by winning 13-3. From there, though, they lost the next two games to Baltimore, leaving them 3-3 for the week. Even with that week, they are just three games back in the AL East at 39-33, though they have just one fewer win than the O’s and the same number of wins as Boston (Toronto has played in 72 games, Boston 68 games, O’s 68 games).. (39-33). Previous: . Toronto Blue Jays. 9. team

Los Angeles Dodgers. 8. team. 71. Even with 38 wins and 33 losses, the Dodgers are looking up at the Giants in the NL West, trailing by 6.5 games in the division, even after going 5-2 in their past seven games. LA won two-of-three to start last week at Arizona, then won three of four against the Brewers. This week will start off to see how good LA really is with a three-game series vs. the Washington Nationals.. (38-33). Previous:

Previous: . Boston Red Sox. 6. team. 14. With <a href=. (39-29)

Next: MLB Power Rankings: The Top 5

Though the Orioles are the leaders of the AL East and have 40 wins, they do get to move up one spot in the MLB Power Rankings as they did win two of three against Boston this past week, and they also won two of three against the Blue Jays as well. Baltimore is one of the best teams in baseball, but are in for a tough battle for the AL East crown with the Red Sox and Blue Jays for the rest of the season.. (40-28). Previous: . Baltimore Orioles. 5. team. 11

Washington Nationals. 4. team. 90. Washington may drop two spots, but don’t let that fool you, as they are still one of the best teams in the majors. Even after losing their past two games, the Nationals are still 7-3 in their past 10 games, have a +77 run differential and hold a 5.5 game lead in the NL East. They have a series up next with the Dodgers that should really show where they stand as June continues.. (43-27). Previous:

40. The Giants have the second-most wins in the NL at 44-26 and have won nine of their past 10 games, and they just are a very good baseball team with stout starting pitching with <a href=. (44-26). Previous: . San Francisco Giants. 3. team

(45-25). Previous: . Texas Rangers. 2. team. 126. It is said “God Blessed Texas,” and if that is so, then God has blessed the Texas Rangers this season with the ability to win a lot of games thus far as they have the second-most wins in the majors (45-25) have outscored their opponents by a +42 run differential and are winners of their past six games, and eight of their past 10. The team from Arlington is very good right now, and teams might not want to see them on their schedule anytime soon.

Chicago Cubs. 1. team. 9. The Cubs keep first place yet again as they’ve won three straight games, have a +171 run differential (the best in baseball) and hold a 12.5 game lead over second place in the NL Central. Everyone knows the Cubs are the best team in baseball right now, but will they add even more talent to their roster via trades? If the Cleveland Cavaliers ended their 50-plus year NBA Championship drought this week, maybe the Cubs are next to do so and can end their 100-plus year drought without a World Series championship.. (47-20). Previous:

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