The Phillies’ incredible surge has vaulted them up our latest weekly Power Rankings, while the Brewers have gone in the other direction since last week’s rankings after falling out of first place in the National League Central. Meanwhile, the Yankees continue to roll on in dominant fashion as some of their closest competitors faltered in the week just concluded. Here’s a look at this week’s rankings:
Biggest jump: Though they lost for the first time under interim manager Rob Thomson on Sunday, the Phillies have been one of the hottest teams in baseball, entering Sunday on a nine-game winning streak behind Bryce Harper’s .433 average and five homers over that stretch. As a result, the Phils jump six spots to No. 14. The Braves, who won their 11th straight on Sunday, come in a close second by jumping four spots to No. 8.
Biggest drop: The Brewers were flying high on June 2, with a 33-20 record and a spot atop the NL Central standings. Milwaukee then fell on hard times, losing eight in a row before finally snapping the skid with a 4-1 victory over the Nationals in Washington on Sunday. The result was a fall of six spots, out of the top five to No. 11.
1. Yankees (44-16, last week: 1)
The Yankees moved into the top spot of our Power Rankings last week, and it wasn’t a hard choice to keep them there. The Bronx Bombers were a unanimous choice for No. 1 this week, and for good reason: They pummeled the Cubs in a weekend sweep at Yankee Stadium during which they outscored Chicago, 28-5. That included an 18-4 rout Sunday that capped a 5-1 week. The Yanks lead the Majors in home runs (98), wRC+ (121) and team ERA (2.84), among other key stats, and there is no sign of them slowing down.
2. Mets (40-22, last week: 3)
The Big Apple has the top two teams in our Power Rankings after the Mets went 3-3 during the previous week, ensuring a .500 mark over that span with a 4-1 win over the Angels in Anaheim on Sunday Night Baseball. That game, which featured Pete Alonso’s fifth homer already this month, marked the end of a grueling 10-game West Coast road trip during which the Mets faced the Dodgers and Padres in addition to the Angels. New York emerged with a 5-5 record on the trip, and now the Mets return to Citi Field for three against the badly slumping Brewers before four with the Marlins.
3. Dodgers (37-23, last week: 2)
It was a rough week for the Dodgers, who drop a spot in the latest rankings after being swept by the rival Giants over the weekend at Oracle Park to finish the week 2-4. The bats have gone virtually silent for the high-powered Dodgers’ offense, which only scored four runs over three losses in San Francisco. With the Padres right on their heels in the NL West, the Dodgers will have to start hitting again, and soon.
4. Padres (37-24, last week: 7)
The Padres were hot entering the second game of a doubleheader against the Rockies at Petco Park on Saturday, having won four straight and seven of eight to keep the heat on the Dodgers in the NL West standings. But then they dropped two in a row to Colorado and missed their chance to capitalize on the Giants’ sweep of the Dodgers.
5. Astros (37-23, last week: 4)
Despite a rough homestand on which they went 2-4, the Astros hold on to a top-five spot. They got a much-needed victory to avoid a sweep at the hands of the suddenly hot Marlins on Sunday as they prepared to open a three-game visit to Arlington before returning to Minute Maid Park for a series against the White Sox. The nine runs Houston scored Sunday were one more than it scored in the previous three games combined.
The rest of the field of 30:
Voters: Alyson Footer, Anthony Castrovince, Mark Feinsand, Nathalie Alonso, Mike Petriello, Sarah Langs, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Doug Gausepohl