If the postseason started today, four of five American League East teams would be participating.
Let’s assume for now that the Yankees run away with the division, which seems likely given their 13-game lead over the second-place Red Sox. That leaves Boston, Toronto and Tampa Bay as the three AL Wild Card leaders, with the Rangers just behind the Rays.
There are seven AL teams with winning records, with four coming from one division.
Keep an eye on the Guardians heading into the All-Star break. All of their games will be against teams behind them in the AL Central: two in Detroit, three in Kansas City, four at home against the White Sox and four against the Tigers. The only division opponent they don’t play before the break is actually the No. 1 Twins.
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at the latest Power Rankings.
Biggest jump: The Brewers jumped six spots, from No. 14 to No. 8. Going into Sunday’s game — which was Milwaukee’s 81st of the season — the Brewers ranked second in the NL with 113 homers, while their pitchers were third in strikeout percentage (24.9%) and fourth in ERA (3.76).
Biggest drop: The Giants fell six spots, from No. 9 to No. 15. San Francisco has lost 11 of its last 14 games.
1. Yankees (58-22; 1 last week) The Yankees have outscored their opponents 133-70 (+63), the largest margin in the Majors. They also went on to surpass the Major League single-season wins record of 116 held by the 2001 Mariners and 1906 Cubs. The Yankees are on pace for 117 wins.
2. Astros (52-27; 2) The Astros didn’t just survive their toughest stretch of the season — they obliterated it. In nine straight games against just the Yankees and Mets — who have been ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in our Power Rankings for most of the season — the Astros have won seven of them. They beat the Mets four times and didn’t trail at any point in those four games. And now it gets easier – Houston is on a 26-of-28 streak against teams below .500. The Astros opened this stretch of their schedule with a win over the Angels.
3. Dodgers (50-29; 4) The Dodgers haven’t been as dominant as the two teams ahead of them, going just 16-15 over the past month heading into the Rockies’ opener on Monday. But the offense, after scoring a fairly ordinary 4.2 runs per game during that stretch, got a boost with the return of Mookie Betts from IL. And after taking three of four from the Padres over the weekend, the Dodgers have a slightly easier week ahead of them — three with the Rockies and four with the Cubs.
4. Mets (50-30; 3) The Mets have an opportunity to pull away from the second-place Braves in the coming weeks leading up to the All-Star break. After their series with the Reds, the Mets will host the Marlins for four before a three-game set with the Braves in Atlanta. They then travel to Chicago to play four against the Cubs. Entering Monday, the Mets had won 24 of 35 games against teams below .500.
5. Padres (47-35; 5) The Padres also have a schedule on their side as they approach the All-Star break. All of their remaining 13 games will be against sub-.500 teams, with 11 coming against division opponents (two against Seattle, four against San Francisco, four at Colorado and three against Arizona). San Diego reached the halfway point of the season with a 47-34 record, somewhat remarkable considering the Padres had played all year without Fernando Tatis Jr.
The rest of the field of 30
6. Brave (6)7. Red Sox (8)8. Brewers (14)9. Blue Jays (7)10. Cardinals (11)11. Rays (13)12. Gemini (12)13. Guardians (10)14. Phyllis (15)15. Giants (9)16. White Sox (18)17. Sailors (16)18. Marlins (19)19. Rangers (17)20. Angels (20)21. Orioles (21)22. D-backs (22)23. Rocky Mountains (23)24. Cubs (26)25. Pirates (24)26. Tigers (25)27. Red (27)28. Royalty (29)29. Nationals (28)30. A (30)
Voted by: Alison Futter, Anthony Castrovins, Paul Casella, Mark Feinsand, Natalie Alonso, Doug Gauzepol, Mike Petriello, Sarah Langs, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Brett Bluweiss.
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