MLB power rankings: Red Sox, Yankees continue to dominate

The defending champs still find themselves atop the MLB mountain. A string of indiscriminate wins of late has kept them here, including tying a franchise record with 11 straight road wins and taking 17 of 20 before dropping the final three games of a weekend set in Tampa. With the remaining pre-All-Star Game slate featuring only one opponent with a winning record (Oakland, whom they have won eight of nine against), Houston should open the second half here as well.

The Yanks rallied in resounding fashion from a Saturday shutout at the hands of Chris Sale to win the weekend series over the Red Sox. Aaron Hicks joined Lou Gehrig and Mark Teixeira as the only Yankees to homer three times in one game against Boston, propelling the club to an 11-1 series-clinching victory. Coupled with Friday’s 8-1 win, the Yankees moved back into a first-place tie in the AL East before falling back a game with a loss Monday.

Although the weekend in the Bronx ended on a sour note (David Price should be banned against facing the Yankees ever again), the BoSox are still in first place in the AL East. If there is a bright note to take away, perhaps this was the turning point for Rafael Devers. The young third baseman posted a 5-for-5 Saturday performance, highlighted with a grand slam. Getting Devers on track could eliminate one concern for Boston headed toward the trade deadline.

The Mariners have kept the good times rolling and the pressure on the Astros. They ride into the new week amid a seven-game win streak, continuing to add to their impressive collection of tight wins. The greatest margin of victory during the streak was three runs. While the wins were impressive, the return of "Turn Ahead the Clock" night was easily the highlight of the Seattle week, wall all props due to Dee Gordon.

Although the Brewers sit atop of the NL Central entering the week, it has been over two weeks since they last won a series outright. They are currently fighting forward without NL WAR leader Lorenzo Cain, who is on the disabled list dealing with the uncertainty of a groin strain. However, the continued emergence of Jesus Aguilar has been a lifesaver. The first baseman has quietly put together an All-Star-worthy campaign by batting .313 with 19 home runs.

Maybe they got fed up after dropping two of three to (gasp) the Orioles and Reds. Maybe it was a jolt of life after getting back Ronald Acuna and Mike Foltynewicz from the DL. The Braves sprung back to life over the week with an authoritative sweep of the Cardinals. It was a prime time to get back on track, as the upcoming week will be a potentially unforgiving stint spent with the Yankees and Brewers.

It is not hyperbole to say that the Diamondbacks saved their season with a tremendous showing in June. Paul Goldschmidt has come back to life, Robbie Ray returned from the DL with a great showing and they fended off a resurgent Dodgers club. Reinforcements could soon be on the way as well with return of A.J. Pollock from the disabled list and Arizona emerging as a contender in the Manny Machado sweepstakes.

A sweep at the hands of the Reds and losing Kris Bryant to the disabled list are substantial lowlights for the Cubs' recent efforts. Perhaps Sunday’s 20-hit breakout against the Twins is sign of things to come. The Cubbies carry a four-game win streak into the new week and are only a game back of a Brewers team again dealing with prominent injury issues.

The Indians are 9.5 games up in the AL Central, although it seems as if they could easily be closer to 15 with a bit more consistency. The AL’s second-worst bullpen makes that a difficult ask, but given that every other team in the division is at least 10 games under .500, it's not out of the question. The performance of promising young starter Shane Bieber (3-0, 2.22 ERA through four starts) has been something to hang their hat on of late.

The bats sprung to life in June for the Dodgers, who slugged a single-month record-tying 55 home runs. Joc Pederson and Max Muncy each connected for 10 long balls, while Cody Bellinger added another eight. On the other side of the ball, remember that early panic about Kenley Jansen? He converted his 22 ^nd save of the year on Sunday.

June represented a step backward for the breakout effort of the Phillies, who posted their first month below .500. However, ending the month taking four of five from Nationals and Yankees bodes well for what’s ahead, which includes matchups with the Orioles, Pirates, Mets and Marlins.

The A’s are seriously in business in the AL West right now. Since June 16, Oakland is 12-3 with eight of those victories coming on the road. The next challenge will be proving it regularly against upper-level teams, and they'll get that chance with a nine-game road trip against the Indians, Astros and Giants.

The Nats have been mostly mediocre of late and again showed why they are baseball’s most frustrating team over the weekend. They unleashed a 17-run blitzkrieg against the Phillies on Friday built around seven home runs, including a three-run shot from Bryce Harper and a pair from Juan Soto. However, it was their sole victory in the four-game set with their most immediate rival in the AL East, whom the Nats have now dropped five of their last seven head-to-head matchups against.

The middle of a brutal turn of scheduling, the Cardinals find themselves facing an identity crisis. Coming out of a pair of stop-and-go series with the Brewers and Indians, St. Louis was ravished by the Braves over the weekend, suffering through a home sweep. They now head west for a fourth straight series with a first-place team in Arizona, winning the first game of the series Monday, before heading up the Bay Area to face the hot Giants.

The odd situation surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s availability took a positive turn last week when GM Billy Eppler announced he should return as a hitter at least. While Ohtani’s availability on the mound remains a far less certain forecast, his return in any capacity will be welcomed. Following a six-game losing skid over the last week, the Angels have fallen into fourth place in the AL West. Alternating series with the Mariners and Dodgers to close out the first half could prove to be the mountain the Angels live or die on this year.

In the most unlikely of scenarios, the Rays took seven of eight from the Yankees, Nationals and Astros. It was an improbable run that included three shutout wins and back-to-back victories over Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. No other team has managed to defeat the two Cy Young favorites this year on consecutive occasions.

After an 18-10 June showing, San Francisco has joined the Dodgers in the chase of the Diamondbacks out west. June represented the first time in two calendar years the Giants finished a month with a winning record. Brandon Crawford and Andrew McCutchen led the everyday attack, both hitting north of .300, while Johnny Cueto allowed only three earned runs over five starts (0.84).

Although many teams are hovering above the Toronto roster looking for parts that could be scavenged to better their respective pennant pushes, the Blue Jays have been somewhat better of late. Toronto has earned at least a split in four of the past five series. Roberto Osuna's situation aside, this team could look much different in a month's time.

The biggest victim of the upswings in Arizona, Los Angeles and San Francisco has been Colorado, who has continued its slide down the NL West hierarchy. An indisputable sign that things are far from getting back on course is the news on Sunday that the club’s opening day starter Jon Gray was demoted to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Gray allowed more earned runs than innings pitched in four of his last nine outings.

The Pirates are plugging along, picking up the pieces from a four-game sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks by taking four of six from the Mets and Padres. The Pirates slightly better than losing clubs but unable to keep the pace for long with those above .500. By that rule, the rest of the month could be tough, with the Dodgers, Nationals, Phillies and Brewers awaiting.

A sweep at the hands of the Cubs capped a third consecutive lost series for the Twins, who are now 11 games beneath .500. Sunday’s 20-hit debacle marked the second time in the year the Minnesota bullpen allowed 10 runs, while the team’s 4.46 ERA finished 12^th out of 15 AL teams in June.

Move over Ohtani? On a team with the NL’s leaders in batting (Scooter Gennett), on-base percentage (Joey Votto) and RBI (Eugenio Suarez), it is none other than Michael Lorenzen who has been the most prodigious slugger on Reds of late. In his part-time job at the plate between his duties as a relief pitcher, Lorenzen went deep in three consecutive at-bats, including a pinch-hit grand slam.

Mercifully, the tough times have come to momentary end. With a 9-1 win over the Blue Jays Sunday, the Tigers ended an 11-game losing streak, the longest of the year. Jordan Zimmermann picked up the victory in the process, improving to 3-0 and lowering his ERA to 3.91, the lowest it has been since June 24, 2016.

Shin-Soo Choo is again mounting an underrated comeback season. On Sunday he reached base for the 42 ^nd consecutive game, the longest streak of the year. With 15 home runs and a .393 on-base percentage, at age 35 Choo could be positioning himself as a first-time All-Star this summer.

A few weeks ago, the Padres were rolling along, but they have bottomed out since, winning just three games over the past two weeks. Aside of Manuel Margot’s upswing over the last month, the San Diego bats have gone largely silent. Eric Hosmer, Christian Villanueva and Jose Pirela are all struggling to get on base, and the Padres scored the second-fewest runs in the NL in June.

While they will not be buyers, it the White Sox do not appear to be aggressive sellers either. The next thing to look forward to on the South Side is likely the arrival of top prospect Eloy Jimenez, who recently reached Triple-A Charlotte.

Kudos to Kyle Barraclough, who was named NL Reliever of the Month for June after making 12 scoreless appearances and converting seven saves.  Riding this high could see him not only become one of the hottest trade chips on the market, but he could also head to Washington, D.C., as the Marlins' All-Star representative.

Once upon a time in this very poll, the Mets were a top five team in all of baseball. Now that April outcome feels as if it was decades ago. Following a five-win performance in June, they have fewest wins in the National League. Although the potential return of Noah Syndergaard should be an encouraging note, the club’s .210 average over the last month offsets any chance of excitement regarding that. Ask Jacob deGrom.

Considering that the Orioles are 31.5 games out of first place and had a month that featured two losing streaks of seven games or more, it still seems incredible that the remaining fans could muster the strength to boo Manny Machado. But that indeed did happen in the waning days of June, despite fact he is responsible for driving in or scoring a quarter of the team's runs himself. I suppose everybody is to blame, but really?

K.C. has reached some embarrassing low levels as the new month rolls in, seeing the team’s average sit south of .200 for the month of June. The Royals' five wins for the month lowered the bar from the previous low of seven in April, and K.C. entered the new month more than 20 games out of first.