The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves have won 11 straight and enter 5 1/2 games behind the New York Mets in the NL East on Monday after shaving five games off their deficit. in less than two weeks.
Atlanta has a 2.47 ERA during the 11-game streak, scoring 74 runs with 22 home runs. Ronald Acuña Jr., Adam Duvall and Austin Riley each hit four home runs, while starter Kyle Wright won three of 11 games.
The Mets went 5-5 on a West Coast road trip against the Dodgers, Padres and Angels, and now head home for the series against the Brewers, who have lost 10 of 12. Atlanta heads to Washington (23- 39) and Chicago (23-36) this week.
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Here’s how USA TODAY Sports’ eight-person panel voted this week:
Range (movement from last week)
1. New York Yankees (–)
2. New York Mets (+1)
- The four-game set against the Marlins will be the teams’ first meeting in 2022.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (-1)
4. San Diego Padres (+1)
- Chance to take the lead in the NL West this week with four against the Cubs, three against the Rockies.
5. Houston Astros (-1)
- Yordan Alvarez hit .500 (19-for-38) with 3 home runs and 13 RBIs in his first 10 games in June.
6. Toronto Blue Jays (+1)
- Alejandro Kirk’s last 22 games: .391 average, .481 OBP, .667 slugging percentage.
7. Atlanta Braves (+5)
- The 11-game win streak brings the Braves back into the race for the NL East.
8. Tampa Bay Rays (+1)
- Wander Franco goes on the disabled list with a quadriceps strain.
9. St. Louis Cardinals (-2)
- Tommy Edman’s 3.6 bWAR was the best of any position player in baseball through Saturday.
10. San Francisco Giants (–)
- After sweeping the Dodgers, San Francisco enters just 3.5 games into the NL West on Monday.
11. Minnesota Twins (–)
- Top prospect Royce Lewis tears his ACL for the second straight season.
12. Milwaukee Brewers (-6)
- Milwaukee lost 10 of 11 games at the start of June and seven in a row before beating the Nationals on Sunday.
13. Philadelphia Phillies (+3)
- The Phillies won their first eight games under interim manager Rob Thomson.
14. Boston Red Sox (-1)
15. Cleveland Guardians (+3)
- José Ramírez is on pace to break Manny Ramírez’s single-season franchise record of 165 RBIs.
16. Los Angeles Angels (-2)
- After a 14-game losing streak, it looks like the Angels and Mike Trout will miss the playoffs for the eighth straight year.
17. Miami Billfish (+4)
- Garrett Cooper is hitting .378 (31-for-82) with a .997 OPS in his last 22 games.
18. Chicago White Sox (-3)
- How much longer does Tony La Russa have on the Chicago bench?
19. Texas Rangers (-2)
- Marcus Semien is heating up with six home runs in 14 games after none in his first 43.
20. Seattle Mariners (–)
- Host the Angels for a five-game series at T-Mobile Park this weekend.
21. Arizona Diamonds (-2)
- Ace Zac Gallen has a 4.85 ERA in his last six starts.
22. Pittsburgh Pirates (–)
- An All-Star last year, Bryan Reynolds is rebounding with an .866 OPS in his last 25 games.
23. Colorado Rockies (+1)
- Outfielder Yonathan Daza is hitting .331 (47-for-142) in 28 games.
24. Baltimore Orioles (-1)
- Adley Rutschman’s first 18 major league games: 12-for-67 (.179) and 0-for-12 with RISP.
25. Detroit Tigers (+1)
26. Chicago Cubs (-1)
- The Cubs went 0-for-18 on RISP in a 13-inning loss to the Yankees on Friday.
27. Washington Nationals (–)
- Infielder Luis Garcia is hitting .372 (16-for-43) since making his 2022 debut on June 1.
28. Cincinnati Reds (+1)
- Joey Votto is coming on strong with 19 RBIs and a 1,051 OPS in his last 22 games.
29. Kansas City Royals (+1)
- Brady Singer has 29 strikeouts with just three walks in his last five starts.
30. Oakland Athletics (-2)
- Christian Bethancourt began June hitting .407 with four home runs in 27 at-bats.
