Major League Baseball Power Ranking: Week 17 – Part 3
5. The Atlanta Braves have slipped one place from last week and are now placed at the fifth position in week 17. Their strength has been their pitching led by Jair Jurrjens and Craig Kimbrel, both of whom have impressed thus far in the season. Kimbrel has
saved a record 31 games this season with Jurrjens managing 12 wins at an ERA of 2.44.
Their slip in rankings can be attributed to their ordinary performance post All-Star break. The Braves have managed six wins and an equal number of losses in the 12 games they have played after the break.
6. San Francisco Giants are leading the National League West Division with a win-loss record of 59-44 but their performance has not been up to the mark since the season resumed after the All-Star break.
The Giants boast the best pitching staff in the Majors with a team ERA of 3.12. This is the prime reason why the Giants (371 runs) have been able to win more games than the Arizona Diamondbacks who have scored 468 runs. The Diamondbacks have conceded 444
runs against the 468 they scored while the Giants have conceded just 357 against their 371.
The Giants have had 67 quality starts this season which are unmatched by any other team on the circuit. Their batting needs to click sooner than later if they have to defend their World Championship title this season.
7. Los Angeles Angels impressed this week registering a three place jump in the ranking to finish at Number seven from Number ten.
The Angels were shaky after the All-Star break and lost 1-3 against the Oakland Athletics in the four-game series. They came back strongly to defeat their division leader Texas 2-1 after being annihilated 7-0 in the first game.
The Angels have ascended three positions owing to five wins in their previous seven outings and the team would now want to improve this record or at least maintain it when they take on the Detroit Tigers on the road.
8. The St. Louis Cardinals managed to hold on to their eighth position from last week but their pitching will be looking to really take off now if they aim at improving their standing in the League table.
Cardinals’ pitching outfit ranks amongst the weakest teams in MLB and it is their batting which has helped in holding things together.
The Cardinals made an ordinary start to the second-half of the season with two series losses against the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets including a three-game losing-streak.
However, the Cardinals showed spirit and staged a comeback to win two back-to-back series. To their joy, they have won five of their previous six games and would hope to continue this good run of form as they prepare to take on the Houston Astros in two
more games on July 27 and 28 after registering two wins in the first two games of the four-game series.
9. Detroit Tigers seem to have finally found a winning formula as they jumped four places from the 13th position last week to enter the top ten teams of the League this week. The Tigers are looking for their second consecutive series win when
they take on the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, July 27 in the final game of the three-game series. The Tigers are leading the American League Central Division and need to improve their all-round team effort to compete in the tough American League.
Continued in Part 4
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