Here are my power rankings. Click here for my latest on the Orioles.
1. Baltimore Orioles (47-24, No. 3 last week): Despite lots of adversity, the 2024 Orioles are showing some 1983 grit.
2. New York Yankees (50-24, No. 2): The Yankees had a lousy end to the week by taking a two-day beating at the hands of Boston. They have the Orioles in their back yard for a big three-game series this week.
3. Philadelphia Phillies (47-24, No. 1): The Phillies lost a big series in Baltimore two games to one. The timing couldn’t be better to get their engine back in Trea Turner, who has missed about six weeks with a hamstring injury.
4. Cleveland Guardians (44-25, No. 4): The bullpen is the club’s real secret weapon. When they get the lead, the Guardians are very tough to come back on.
5. Seattle Mariners (43-31, No. 8): The Mariners are 15-5 in the past three weeks, fueled by great starting pitching. The offense is showing more signs of life of late.
6. Milwaukee Brewers (42-29, No. 6): Pat Murphy, the man who replaced Craig Counsell, is doing one of the best jobs managing in all of baseball. His rotation is tattered and torn. Thirteen different pitchers have started games for the Brewers. Tobias Myers is 3-2 with a 3.76 ERA. Does that name ring a bell in Baltimore? Dan Duquette traded him to Tampa Bay for Tim Beckham, who had one amazing three-week stretch with the Orioles in 2017. The Brewers acquired Myers after stints with Tampa Bay and Cleveland, and the early results are promising. Beckham hasn’t been with the Orioles since 2018.
7. Los Angeles Dodgers (44-29, No. 5): The 1-2 punch of losing starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (strained rotator cuff) for at least 15 days and Mookie Betts (broken hand) for at least four weeks opens up the division for runs by San Diego, San Francisco and Arizona.
8. Minnesota Twins (40-32, No. 10): The offense has really perked up of late with Royce Lewis back from injury, Carlos Correa looking more like himself and Max Kepler finding a rhythm. But the starting pitching has been wildly inconsistent.
9. Atlanta Braves (38-31, No. 9): The Braves just don’t look like themselves. The red-hot Nats are just four games behind them. The unthinkable is suddenly possible — the Braves could slip out of the playoffs.
10. Kansas City Royals (41-32, No. 7): The Royals are 7-12 in the last three weeks and it really looks like the wheels have come off the cart. A road trip to Oakland and Texas gives them a shot at a turnaround.
11. Boston Red Sox (37-35, No. 11)
12. St. Louis Cardinals (35-35, No. 14)
13. San Diego Padres (37-38, No. 13)
14. Cincinnati Reds (34-37, No. 15)
15. Detroit Tigers (34-37, No. 12)
16. Toronto Blue Jays (35-36, No. 16)
17. San Francisco Giants (35-37, No. 19)
18. Arizona Diamondbacks (35-37, No. 22)
19. Pittsburgh Pirates (34-37, No. 20)
20. Chicago Cubs (34-38, No. 17)
21. Washington Nationals (35-36, No. 24)
22. Tampa Bay Rays (34-38, No. 21)
23. Texas Rangers (33-38, No. 17)
24. New York Mets (33-37, No. 25)
25. Houston Astros (33-38, No. 23)
26. Los Angeles Angels (28-43, No. 26)
27. Colorado Rockies (25-46, No. 29)
28. Oakland Athletics (26-48, No. 27)
29. Miami Marlins (23-48, No. 28)
30. Chicago White Sox (19-54, No. 30)