It would be an exaggeration to say that the Rays have panicked with a six-game losing streak, but it’s worth noting that Tampa Bay to move up to No. 1 prospect of all baseball, Wander Franco, just as they are going to host the Red Sox — the team that took him off the top of the AL East.
Recently, things seemed to be going well for the Rays, who had a string of 11 wins in May and led that division. Taking that into account, this bad moment is probably just that, something the best teams confront at least once in a six-month season.
However, the East of the Americana is worth seeing. The Blue Jays have dropped to the .500 mark by losing series to strong teams like the Yankees and Astros. New York is a good team, but it still hasn’t reached the pace we were all hoping for. The Red Sox are leading men, but they lost five of seven to Houston.
Biggest jump: The Astros moved up four spots, from 6 to 2. Houston has the best career differential at +112 and has overwhelmed the opposition this month. In fact, the last series they lost was May 21-23, when the “Siderales” were swept by the Rangers.
Major drop: The Rays lost two of three games to the White Sox before being swept by the Mariners in four games. As a result, they dropped from No. 1 to No. 6.
The Dodgers benefited from an easier segment on their schedule, with 10 wins in 12 games against the Pirates, Rangers, Phillies and Diamondbacks. Now it will be more difficult, with clashes with the Padres, Cubs and Giants. Los Angeles came within 1.5 games of the leading Giants in the NL West on Monday, but has the best run differential in the division at +103. For those who want a 2017 World Series rematch between the Dodgers and Astros, it could happen.
Speaking of easy schedules, the Astros just completed a series with the only team over .500 that they will watch the rest of the month and they played great. Houston swept the White Sox in four games with an aggregate score of 27-8. A single match was decided by fewer than four runs. Some predicted that the Astros would be in first place in the AL West by the end of June and it looks like they could be headed for that.
The Giants haven’t lost two games in a row in nearly a month. The last time was May 21-23, when they were swept by the Dodgers. Buster Posey is hitting .372 / .438 / .535 with seven runs scored in his last 12 games, while Brandon Belt is 12-for-28 (.429) with eight extra-base hits in his last seven games.
Oakland lost two of three to the Yankees in New York over the weekend, the first time they have lost in a three-game series since 24-26 to the Mariners. It was also the Athletics’ first road series loss in 2021. Oakland’s 19-11 road record is the second-best in the majors, second only to the Red Sox (23-12). .
As mentioned, the Chicago in Houston series did not have the drama that was expected. But with everything and the sweep suffered, the White Sox entered Monday with a 2.2 game advantage over the Indians in the AL Central.
The rest of the 30 MLB teams:
6. Rays (1)
7. Red Sox (8)
8. Parents (5)
9. Mets (10)
10. Cubs (9)
11. Yankees (13)
12. Brewers (11)
13. Blue Jays (12)
14. Indians (14)
15. Reds (18)
16. Braves (16)
17. Phillies (17)
18. Cardinals (15)
19. Angels (20)
20. Nationals (22)
21. Mariners (23)
22. Marlins (19)
23. Royals (21)
24. Twins (24)
25. Tigers (26)
26. Rangers (25)
27. Rockies (27)
28. Pirates (28)
29. Orioles (29)
30. D-backs (30)
Voters: Alyson Footer, Anthony Castrovince, Jesse Sánchez, Mark Feinsand, Nathalie Alonso, Mike Petriello, Sarah Langs, Andrew Simon, David Venn.
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