Winners and losers from MLB's Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day weekend isn't just the unofficial beginning of summer; it's also the first real signpost of the MLB regular season, the moment at which "it's still early!" goes out the window and fan bases around baseball can start locking in on the standings — and on how close their team might be to a World Series run.

For some budding contenders, that's great news. For others, however, the holiday weekend served as a harsh reality check. So, as we settle in for what should be a wild summer, let's survey the landscape of the league and see who made the most and the least of Memorial Day.

Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers

It appears that reports of the demise of the two-time reigning champions may have been exaggerated. The Dodgers began their week taking two of three from the division-rival Padres in San Diego, then went to Milwaukee over the weekend and took two of three from the otherwise red-hot Brewers. They've won eight of 10 overall, now two games clear in the loss column in the NL West — and slowly but surely looking more like the juggernaut we all expected on Opening Day.

The lineup is showing signs of busting out, the bullpen has stabilized and, perhaps most importantly, Roki Sasaki is taking real strides, throwing five innings of unspectacular but solid two-run ball in a win over the Brewers on Saturday. L.A. isn't going anywhere any time soon.

Loser: Craig Counsell and Jed Hoyer

Monday's loss to the Pirates made it nine in a row for the Cubs, who have scored three or fewer runs eight times in that span. The offense has disappeared, and an already beleaguered pitching staff sent another starter to the IL in Edward Cabrera. Now third in the NL Central and five games in the loss column behind Milwaukee, it's officially time to panic on the North Side.

And if this keeps up, it's fair to wonder just how many heads might roll. Jed Hoyer just signed a contract extension last summer, but this was supposed to be the culmination of Chicago's post-World Series core rebuild. Instead, marquee free-agent addition Alex Bregman has flopped, while he's once again failed to build requisite pitching depth. Are he and Counsell — whose contract runs through 2028 — truly safe if this goes fully sideways?

Winner: Houston Astros

Did we all write the Astros off a little too soon? Granted, they're still just 24-31, but sweeping the Cubs at Wrigley and then throwing a (combined, but still) no-hitter against your in-state rivals is a heck of a way to turn the vibes around. And hey, in the worst division in baseball right now (more on that in a moment), seven games under .500 means you're only 3.5 games out of first place! If Houston's pitching can just find its way to average, they have the bats to climb back into a thoroughly mediocre postseason picture in the AL.

Loser: MLB history

Look, I don't mean to come off as a Debbie Downer here. Any type of no-hitter is historically impressive and worthy of celebration, and I certainly don't mean to take anything away from the three Astros pitchers who combined to keep the Rangers hitless on Monday night — or Houston fans who want to celebrate.

At the same time, though ... I mean, we can all agree that it's a different sort of historically impressive, right? The spirit of a no-hitter is that one pitcher managed to navigate a big-league lineup three or four times without surrendering a single hit. Monday's version didn't have that same sort of magic, which is why it's such a bummer that it feels like the new normal as teams (understandably!) get serious about keeping pitch counts in check.

Winner: Jacob Misiorowski

The Miz delivered 12 more strikeouts while surrendering just two hits over 12 innings in a win over the Cardinals on Monday, and at this point it's fair to wonder whether we've just witnessed one of the greatest pitching months in baseball history. The righty's numbers across five starts in May: 31.1 innings pitched, 11 hits allowed, six walks allowed, one earned run allowed and a whopping 49 strikeouts. Misiorowski is pushing the upper limits of the radar gun, and he's finally harnessed his command enough to allow his ridiculous stuff to truly take off. Paul Skenes officially has some company in NL Cy Young conversations.

Loser: Detroit Tigers

Detroit finally got back into the win column in the second half of a Sunday doubleheader against the Orioles, but that's the thinnest of silver linings. The Tigers have still dropped eight of their last nine, including a home sweep at the hands of the Guardians — the team they now trail by nine in the loss column in the AL Central. Detroit is stuck in last place at 21-33, and while they have the talent to turn things around, we've yet to see this team play like it for any extended period of time. And there's only a couple months left until Scott Harris has to face down the ultimate Tarik Skubal decision.

Winner: Aaron Judge

Few players needed a single swing the way Aaron Judge needed his two-run, walk-off homer against the Rays on Sunday afternoon. New York came into that game having dropped three in a row to division rivals Tampa and Toronto, with Judge (who has a .593 OPS over the last two weeks) and a moribund offense the biggest reason why. Sunday's victory, as well as a ninth-inning rally in Kansas City on Monday, helped stop the bleeding — and quiet fears of yet another early-summer swoon from Aaron Boone's team. With the Rays finally cooling off a bit, the Yankees can still grab hold of the AL East if Judge can get it going.

Loser: Toronto Blue Jays

It felt like Patrick Corbin somehow outdueling Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh might be an inflection point moment for Toronto, a stirring win that could spark another summer sprint ... only for the Jays to promptly lose their next two games and lose Dylan Cease to the IL with a hamstring strain. Cease had been the only constant in this injury-ravaged rotation; with him gone, Toronto really needs Kevin Gausman to find his form (and for Corbin to keep up this Linsanity run) to climb back into the AL East race.

Bonus loser: The entire AL West

The Astros are showing signs of life, but they still own one of the worst records in the AL. The Rangers offense has completely collapsed of late, culminating in Monday's no-hitter. The Mariners can't get out of their own way for more than a day at a time. The Angels are, well, the Angels. Right now the A's lead the AL West almost by default at 27-27, the only division leader without a winning record. If I had to bet, I'd still put my money on Seattle — but the longer this drags on, the more it seems like this division simply isn't serious.

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