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Cleveland is Guards Balling its way to the top of the American League.
The Cleveland Guardians are slowly taking command of the AL Central and quieting every foe in their path, most recently outpitching the Philadelphia Phillies in a tightly-contested three-game series in which their starting pitchers held Philly's sluggers to three runs in 18 ⅔ innings pitched.
The effort began with Gavin Williams' 11 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings Friday and finished with Patrick Messick's 5 ⅔ shutout innings Sunday as the Guardians won an entertaining series - and zoomed to No. 7 in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings.
After quieting Philadelphia, Guardians starters rank sixth in the majors with a 3.46 rotation ERA. Perhaps of greater import, they're second in innings pitched, their 307 IP trailing only Seattle. That will go a long way toward preserving a bullpen in which closer Cade Smith has nailed down 18 of 20 save chances.
Sprinkle in just a dash of timely offense, and Cleveland has won 11 of 13, establishing a 4 1/2 game lead over the Whtie Sox in the Central.
A look at our updated rankings:
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: Guardians command AL Central standings
Continue reading...
The Cleveland Guardians are slowly taking command of the AL Central and quieting every foe in their path, most recently outpitching the Philadelphia Phillies in a tightly-contested three-game series in which their starting pitchers held Philly's sluggers to three runs in 18 ⅔ innings pitched.
The effort began with Gavin Williams' 11 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings Friday and finished with Patrick Messick's 5 ⅔ shutout innings Sunday as the Guardians won an entertaining series - and zoomed to No. 7 in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings.
After quieting Philadelphia, Guardians starters rank sixth in the majors with a 3.46 rotation ERA. Perhaps of greater import, they're second in innings pitched, their 307 IP trailing only Seattle. That will go a long way toward preserving a bullpen in which closer Cade Smith has nailed down 18 of 20 save chances.
Sprinkle in just a dash of timely offense, and Cleveland has won 11 of 13, establishing a 4 1/2 game lead over the Whtie Sox in the Central.
A look at our updated rankings:
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1. Atlanta Braves (-)
- Unstoppable for five weeks, Matt Olson in a .161/.224/.226 rut with one homer in 67 plate appearances.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)
- A 38-inning scoreless streak from the bullpen - all without Edwin Diaz.
3. Tampa Bay Rays (-)
- A split in the Bronx is just fine.
4. New York Yankees (-)
- Ending an 11-game homerless streak amid a 4-for-35 slide is so very Aaron Judge.
5. Milwaukee Brewers (+1)
- The Miz leads the NL with 88 strikeouts.
6. San Diego Padres (+1)
- They were 28th in homers last season, but can win with the longball this year.
7. Cleveland Guardians (+1)
- Travis Bazzana surging in leadoff spot: .294, .824 OPS,
8. Chicago Cubs (-3)
- ***** Imanaga didn't even wait until June to swoon, giving up 15 earned runs his past two starts.
9. St. Louis Cardinals (+2)
- After waiting 11 years, Bryan Torres homers in big league debut.
10. Pittsburgh Pirates (-1)
- Prospect Esmerlyn Valdez hits first big league homer in third game.
11. Cincinnati Reds (-1)
- Geno Suárez finally back after oblique forces him to miss 25 of first 50 games.
12. Arizona Diamondbacks (+3)
- Corbin Carroll already has eight triples. That's crazy.
13. Athletics (-)
- Nick Kurtz, Yolo County legend, surpasses Rickey Henderson, matches Jimmie Foxx with 47th consecutive game reaching base.
14. Philadelphia Phillies (-2)
- Gamble $1.2 million in signing Korean right-hander Chan-min Park.
15. Toronto Blue Jays (-1)
- Patrick Corbin beats Paul Skenes. Can't say they don't get any breaks.
16. Chicago White Sox (+2)
- Davis Martin, 20-game winner? Might not be the unlikeliest thing about their season.
17. Texas Rangers (-1)
- After eight solid starts, Jacob de Grom gives up 10 earned runs in his last two.
18. Seattle Mariners (+1)
- In his seventh career game, Colt Emerson bangs out four hits.
19. Miami Marlins (+1)
- Max Meyer lowers ERA to 2.52 with seven-inning gem against Mets.
20. Washington Nationals
- Jacob Young's six home runs already doubled his previous career high.
21. Baltimore Orioles (+2)
- Now 3-10 against AL East foes.
22. Minnesota Twins (+2)
- Record first three-game sweep at Fenway Park since 1994.
23. Detroit Tigers (-6)
- Kenley Jansen has 5.02 ERA after yielding third walk-off home run.
24. Kansas City Royals (+2)
- Stephen Kolek tosses a shutout, may just establish himself in rotation.
25. New York Mets (-3)
- Getting swept at Miami undoes a nice streak of 12 wins in 19 games.
26. San Francisco Giants (-1)
- Rafael Devers pushes OPS to .700, a 100-point gain in three weeks.
27. Boston Red Sox (-)
- Sour Caroline? Now 8-17 at Fenway Park.
28. Houston Astros (-)
- Two things can be true: They are 23-31, and also four games out of first in the AL West.
29. Los Angeles Angels (-)
- Sign Taijuan Walker to a minor league deal. Hey, the Phillies are payin'.
30. Colorado Rockies (-)
- Jack O'Dowd, son of former GM Dan O'Dowd, hits two homers in high Class A debut..
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: Guardians command AL Central standings
Continue reading...
