MLB power rankings: Dodgers climb, Giants fall and Braves just keep rolling
By Kevin Henry
MLB Power Rankings: 20. Los Angeles Angels
How about a triple play? Did you see the one pulled off by the Angels last week? The Angels turned the seventh triple play in franchise history on Friday against Tampa Bay and the first since July 5, 1997 against Seattle. The play was the first 6-4-3-2 triple play since Milwaukee did so on April 28, 1971 at Boston. Per Elias, Nolan Schanuel became the first player to be part of turning a triple play in his MLB debut since Sal Fasano on April 3, 1996 for Kansas City at Baltimore.
MLB Power Rankings: 19. Cleveland Guardians
Logan Allen took the mound for Cleveland on Sunday looking to build on some impressive numbers. Opposing teams were hitting .175 (14-for-80) against Allen with runners in scoring position, the lowest average of any starter on the roster (minimum of 30 innings pitched). The rookie southpaw was also holding hitters to a .091 (3-for-33) average with runners in scoring position and two outs.
MLB Power Rankings: 18. New York Yankees
August has been a good month for Gleyber Torres, even if the Yankees are struggling mightily. Heading into Sunday’s finale against the Red Sox, Torres was slashing .328/.411/.484 (21-for-64) with four doubles, two home runs and five RBI. In his first 17 games of August, Torres has also walked eight times and stolen four bases. He hit safely in 13 of those games and has reached base in 15 of those contests.
MLB Power Rankings: 17. Minnesota Twins
Don’t look now, but Carlos Correa could be heating up. Before Sunday’s finale against Pittsburgh, including Saturday’s 1-for-4 performance with a walk, Correa has reached base safely in 11 straight games since August 5. Between August 5-19, Correa was hitting .333 (12-for-36) with two doubles, three home runs, nine RBI, seven walks, a .455 on-base percentage, a .639 slugging percentage and a 1.093 OPS.
MLB Power Rankings: 16. San Francisco Giants
One of the reasons San Francisco has slipped in our rankings? It’s their ineffectiveness in recent games with runners in scoring position. On Saturday, San Francisco went 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position. In the previous seven games before that, Giants batters went 5-for-49 (.102). Those kind of numbers won’t help the Giants as they try to hold on to a Wild Card spot.