MLB Power Rankings: Where Red Sox stand at end of May
The American League East and National League West have gotten a whole lot more interesting over the last couple weeks.The Boston Red Sox remain at the top of their division, but they have some company. The Tampa Bay Rays are the hottest team in baseball and have tied the Sox for the No. 1 spot amid their 10-game win streak. The New York Yankees are right there as well, only a half-game behind.The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have bounced back to remind the rest of the league why they entered the season with lofty expectations. The defending champs are rolling as of late and "Slam Diego" is doing its thing with nine straight victories and an MLB-leading 30 wins so far on the year.So how do all of these juggernauts stack up in our latest MLB Power Rankings? Let's take a look.
Previously: 25
The D'Backs are MLB's newest cellar dwellers amid an absolutely abysmal stretch. They've lost eight consecutive games and now own the worst record in baseball.
Tomase: Are the rallying Red Sox really this good?
Previously: 29
The O's are 5-15 in May. On the bright side, Trey Mancini's phenomenal comeback story continues as he currently leads the majors with 41 RBI.
Previously: 28
The Pirates have MLB's worst run differential (-78). Their 20-1 loss to the Braves didn't help.
Previously: 21
The Mariners were no-hit for the second time this season and it wouldn't be a surprise if it happened again. Their .200 team batting average is the worst in the majors.
Previously: 30
Spencer Turnbull's no-hitter highlighted an impressive stretch for a Detroit in which it won nine of 11 games. The Tigers lost two of three in their weekend series vs. Kansas City, but the surprisingly strong run moves them up a few spots.
Previously: 29
The Rockies have a tough schedule ahead as they'll be tested with a seven-game road trip. They're 2-17 on the road this season.
Previously: 27
The Twins finally caught a break and won an extra-inning game on Sunday, bringing their record in extra innings to 1-8. They remain in last place with Byron Buxton, Nelson Cruz, Kenta Maeda, and Jorge Polanco all injured.
Previously: 22
Mike Trout is out until July with a Grade 2 calf strain. Luckily the Angels have another MVP candidate in Shohei Ohtani, but that doesn't really matter if the pitching staff can't figure it out.
Previously: 23
Losing Danny Duffy hurts. The veteran southpaw quietly had a 1.94 ERA before being placed on the injured list. The Royals did manage to win four of their last five games, however.
Previously: 20
Adolis Garcia. Remember the name. The Rangers slugger has 14 homers in 29 games including a walk-off on Friday.
The Rangers swept the Astros over the weekend after losing nine of their 10 previous games.
Previously: 16
Cincinnati was hot out of the gate this season and has been awful ever since. Much of that has to do with its pitching staff, which has the worst ERA in the National League.
Previously: 24
Things are starting to look up for the Nats as they've won three straight and Stephen Strasburg is back in the rotation after a stint on the injured list. The right-hander was solid in his return, allowing only one hit and no runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Previously: 15
The Phillies are 3-7 in their last 10 games and it isn't going to get any easier from here as a 10-game road trip looms.
Fortunately for Philadelphia, the rest of the NL East isn't doing a whole lot better. The Phillies still are only 1 1/2 games out of first place.
Previously: 12
The Brewers offense has been one of the worst groups in baseball this season, so they'll hope Christian Yelich's return to the lineup can give them the big boost they need. Milwaukee currently is 27th in the league in runs scored.
Previously: 18
Don't sleep on this Marlins team. Their young talent continues to impress with Jazz Chisholm leading the charge. The 23-year-old infielder is hitting .289 with five homers and a .867 OPS.
Previously: 9
The Mets are really banged up right now with a whopping 16 players on their 40-man roster currently on the injured list. Fortunately, ace Jacob deGrom is set to return on Tuesday.
Previously: 19
As the weather heats up, so do the Cubs. They're 13-7 in May after going 11-15 in April. All seven of those May losses have come by one run.
Previously: 14
Atlanta remains an enigma, along with the rest of the NL East. The consistency just hasn't been there for a Braves team that was supposed to be one of the best in the bigs this season.
Previously: 8
Franmil Reyes has been a bright spot for an anemic Indians offense this season, and now he's out 5-7 weeks with an oblique strain. It'll be tough to keep up with the White Sox in the AL Central while one of their best hitters misses time.
Previously: 10
The Blue Jays are having a difficult time keeping up with the juggernauts in the AL East. The Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays each are surging, but Toronto has lost five straight to Boston and Tampa Bay. Next up, a series vs. the Yankees in the Bronx.
Previously: 3
The Cardinals have beaten up on the bad teams and have gone 3-7 against winning teams this season. They still have plenty to prove heading into their next series vs. the AL Central-leading White Sox.
Previously: 5
Oakland leads the American League West and their upcoming schedule can't get much easier as their opponents up until June 16 will be the Mariners, Angels, Rockies, Diamondbacks and Royals. The A's may need to go on another big run here if they plan on holding off the Astros in the division.
Previously: 4
The Dodgers and Padres recently have reestablished their dominance in the NL West. San Francisco was swept by L.A. over the weekend, but it'll have a shot at revenge with a new series starting Thursday.
Previously: 6
The Astros have the fourth-best run differential in baseball and while they're 7-3 against the A's this season, they still trail in the division. Their upcoming schedule doesn't do them any favors as they'll see the Dodgers, Padres, and Red Sox.
Previously: 1
It was a rough weekend in the Bronx as the White Sox were handed a three-game sweep by the Yankees. They're still at the top of the AL Central heading into their three-game set vs. St. Louis.
Previously: 11
Suddenly, the AL East is looking very interesting with the red-hot Yankees sweeping the White Sox over the weekend. Corey Kluber is throwing no-hitters, they're turning triple plays, and they're getting walk-off wins. Everything is looking up for the Bronx Bombers right now.
Previously: 2
The Red Sox suddenly find themselves in a three-way dogfight for the top spot in the AL East despite winning seven of their last 10 games. They still have the most runs scored in the majors as well as the highest OPS. While it's still very early, Xander Bogaerts is looking like a serious AL MVP candidate with 10 homers and a 1.004 OPS. He's also second in MLB in hits with 59.
Tomase: Red Sox are in for a fight in historically loaded AL East
Previously: 17
The scorching-hot Rays have won 10 straight games to tie the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. After a sluggish start to the season, Tampa suddenly has the seventh-best run differential in baseball (+44).
Previously: 13
It's safe to say the Dodgers have put their rough patch behind them. They've won nine of their last 10 games to reestablish their dominance in the NL West. Well, dominance over all of their division rivals except...
Previously: 7
The Padres recently have shown why they were the most hyped up team heading into the 2021 season. They've won nine straight games with stellar pitching and an offense that got Fernando Tatis Jr. back from the IL. Since returning, Tatis has been on fire going 11-for-14 with four homers in four games.
