Much of the weekend revolved around the World Series rematch with the Yankees visiting the Dodgers. We didn’t get a walk-off grand slam or anything, but there was entertaining baseball and a Dodgers series win.
Friday was actually the first time all season the Dodgers were underdogs at home, as they were facing a red-hot Yankees team with Max Fried on the mound. The Yankees had won 16 of 20 heading in and were 10-1 on the year with Fried on the mound. He hadn’t allowed more than two runs in a start all season. The Dodgers got him for six runs en route to a come-from-behind victory.
Then came the Saturday slaughter with the Dodgers winning 18-2. This was a Yankees team with the best run differential in baseball that had been toying with much of the rest of its competition.
The Bronx Bombers, of course, didn’t go quietly, putting up a victory of their own on Sunday, 7-3. They are clearly one of the best teams in baseball, even if they looked slightly inferior in this series.
Most interesting to me here is that these Dodgers go in waves, almost to the point you could get away with calling them inconsistent. They started 8-0 but then lost six of their next nine games. Then they won four in a row before losing four of five and then winning seven in a row. Between that seven-game winning streak (through May 3) and this past week, the Dodgers went 9-11, but they went into Cleveland and took two of three from a Guardians team that was previously 14-8 at home. And then they won the Yankees series.
There’s really no takeaway here other than ebbs and flows happen during the course of 162 and the Dodgers are a very good team. I’m sure someone could try and make the point that it’s possible they hit one of their cold spells in the playoffs and get knocked out early, but that could happen to any team and it’s even happened to the Dodgers a few times.
As noted, the Yankees were bludgeoning their opposition before this series. They still have the second-best record in the American League (another Power Rankings shout-out to how awesome the Tigers have been!) and look fully capable of making the World Series a rematch for the first time since 1978. Funny enough, those 1977-78 Fall Classics pitted the Dodgers and Yankees against one another.
I’m not betting on it — there are a bunch of teams capable of making a run this season and funky stuff can happen in this playoff format — but it’s definitely on the table.
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Diamondbacks
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They just keep winning. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is and it doesn’t matter if it’s a slugfest or a pitcher’s duel, a blowout or a close game. The Tigers just win. They are now on pace to win 105 games. That would, remarkably, be a club record. Currently, the 1984 Tigers hold that mark with 104. | 1 | 39-21 |
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At 2.91, the Mets have the second-best rotation ERA in baseball behind the Rangers. This was thought to be their weak spot heading into the season. Also, Sunday marked the first time that Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso homered in the same game. | 3 | 37-22 |
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There’s a lot of focus on Shohei Ohtani’s home runs, as well there should be, but have you seen his runs scored? He’s crossed home 63 times, putting him on pace for 173 this year. There hasn’t been a player who scored even 150 runs in a season since Jeff Bagwell in 2000 and he is the only player to get there since 1949. | 1 | 36-23 |
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Aaron Judge headed to June hitting over .390. The highest Yankees batting average in a full season since integration is .365 (Mickey Mantle, 1957). Since the addition of the DH, in a full season? Don Mattingly’s .352 in 1986. | 1 | 36-22 |
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Bullpen was a big problem area for the Cubs early in the season, but their relievers have a 2.48 ERA since April 19, which is the best mark in baseball. | 1 | 37-22 |
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Where has the power gone? Kyle Schwarber still brings it, but he’s the only Phillies player in double digits in home runs. He’s also the only one slugging above .450 (Bryce Harper, with an injured elbow at present, is at exactly .450). | 5 | 36-23 |
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The Padres might finally be back on track now, having won three straight series after their six-game losing streak. They have a tough road trip coming, though, as they head to San Francisco and Milwaukee. | 4 | 33-24 |
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The Giants just finished a nine-game road trip in which they scored only 18 runs. And they still won four of those games. | 1 | 33-26 |
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The Cardinals went 19-8 in May and still have gained zero ground on the Cubs since the end of April. Legitimately, they were four games out after April 30 and now sit four games out. The two rivals don’t even play each other until June 23, which is a scheduling travesty. | 1 | 33-26 |
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Cal Raleigh now has 23 home runs, putting him on pace for 64 this season. No, I don’t think he’s getting to 60, but the catcher record for homers in a season is 48 by Salvador Perez in 2021. | — | 32-26 |
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Remember Emmanuel Clase’s rocky start? He’s only allowed two earned runs in his last 15 outings (1.23 ERA). | 1 | 32-26 |
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Uh oh. The Twins have now lost five of seven. | 3 | 31-27 |
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Jeremy Peña’s bat regressed in 2023 and stagnated last season, but he’s hitting .309/.373/.480 here in his age-27 season. Meanwhile, Carlos Correa … ah, never mind. | — | 32-27 |
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This is the best the Brewers have looked all year, having won seven straight, including an impressive sweep in Philly. And they still have only gained one game on the Cubs. | 7 | 32-28 |
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The Rays have won nine of their last 12 games and the three losses in there were by a combined four runs. | — | 30-29 |
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Here come the Jays? They’ve won five straight. | 6 | 31-28 |
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They won five in a row to climb above .500 a few weeks ago, but the Reds have gone just 4-7 since. | 2 | 29-31 |
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There just isn’t enough help for Bobby Witt Jr. and he’s even been much less of a one-man wrecking crew than last season. Maybe Jac Caglianone will help. | 4 | 31-29 |
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Does Marcus Semien have his mojo back? I thought it was clear that age-related decline had come for him, but over the weekend series he went 7 for 8 with a double and home run. | 1 | 29-31 |
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The series win over the Braves snapped a five-game losing streak. | 2 | 29-32 |
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The Braves are now 3-6 since the much-ballyhooed (rightfully so) return of Ronald Acuña Jr. He’s hit .324/.395/.647 and could sure use some help. | 4 | 27-31 |
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James Wood is already a star and might get to 40 homers this season. The last Nats player to hit 40? Bryce Harper with 42 in 2015. In fact, only three players in franchise history have gotten to 40. In addition to Harper, Alfonso Soriano in 2006 and Vladimir Guerrero twice with the Expos. | 2 | 28-31 |
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Before salvaging Sunday’s game, the D-backs had lost nine of 10 in a potentially season-altering tailspin. | 7 | 28-31 |
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Since that eight-game winning streak, the Angels have gone 1-7. | 1 | 26-32 |
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Xavier Edwards had a five-hit game on Sunday, tying a Marlins record. It was done most recently, unsurprisingly, by Luis Arraez, but some other names on that list: Chuck Carr, Miguel Olivo, Eric Owens, Terry Pendleton and Josh Willingham. | — | 23-34 |
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How about this one? The 6-foot-7 Oneil Cruz is leading the NL with 20 stolen bases. The tallest player in history to ever reach 40 steals? It happened last year. Elly De La Cruz at 6-foot-5 with 67, joining fellow 6-5ers Von Hayes (48 SB in 1984) and Alex Rios (42 in 2013). | 1 | 22-38 |
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It is surely too little, too late, but the Orioles have won six of eight. | 1 | 22-36 |
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Jacob Wilson is now hitting .357. The A’s haven’t had a .350 hitter qualify for the batting title since … JIMMIE FOXX! In 1933, three stops ago for the nomad A’s. | 2 | 23-37 |
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As the White Sox try to progress from the catastrophic 2024 season, little victories can matter in the grand scheme of things. The rotation this season has a 3.83 ERA, ranking 16th in baseball. Last season it was 4.62, sitting 25th in baseball, and that was with Garrett Crochet. | — | 18-41 |
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The Rockies lost their 50th game on June 1. The White Sox last season didn’t lose their 50th until June 10. They had 17 wins at the time. | — | 9-50 |
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