All is right again in the universe again, at least for Yankee fans, as the Bronx Bombers are on a tear and have leapfrogged not only Baltimore and Tampa Bay for the best record in the AL East, but also Texas for tops in the American League.
Meanwhile an unlikely power is not going away in the NL East as the once-laughable Nationals look like real contenders and are challenging the Dodgers for tops in the senior circuit.
10. St. Louis Cardinals: 32-31 record; 4.9 runs scored, 4.1 runs allowed*—There are 14 teams out there with better records than the Cardinals, but on paper St. Louis still looks like a good team that’s had some bad luck. Mike Matheney’s club is just 8-15 in games decided by two runs or less so far despite great contributions from veterans Carlos Beltran (19 home runs, .298 batting average) and Rafael Furcal (.294 batting average, 41 runs scored). Catcher Yadier Molina is hitting .324 through 210 at-bats. Previous: 9
9. Baltimore Orioles: 36-26 record; 4.5 runs scored, 4.4 runs allowed*—Every time the Orioles are written off for dead here, they keep rising up. After dropping to tenth in last week’s power rankings, Baltimore has responded with four straight wins against NL opponents Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to get back into contention. They still have the worst run-scoring differential in the division (plus-four) but are showing some real resiliency to still be in second place in mid-June. Previous: 10
8. San Francisco Giants: 36-28 record; 4.0 runs scored, 3.8 runs allowed—The Giants’ front office has seen a couple of big moves pay off in the past year which have propelled this team into a Wild Card-contender’s spot in the National League. First, they swapped talented pitcher Jonathan Sanchez for outfielder Melky Cabrera, who many thought was a one-hit wonder with the Royals in 2011. Sanchez, fresh off the disabled list, is currently 1-2 with a 5.93 ERA while Cabrera is scorching NL pitching to the tune of a .363 average through Thursday. Then earlier this year they signed number-two starter Matt Cain to a six-year $127.5 million extension, which made people wonder how much top-starter Tim Lincecum is worth. But while the latter is struggling, Cain is now 8-2 with a 2.18 ERA after his perfect game Wednesday night. Previous: NR
