MLB power rankings: Atlanta Braves cut NL East deficit in half with 11-game winning streak
The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves have won 11 in a row and enter Monday 5 ½ games behind the New York Mets in the National League East, having shaved five games off their deficit in less than two weeks.
Atlanta has a 2.47 ERA during the 11-game stretch, scoring 74 runs with 22 home runs. Ronald Acuña Jr., Adam Duvall and Austin Riley each had four home runs, while starter Kyle Wright won three of the 11 games.
The Mets went 5-5 on a West Coast trip against the Dodgers, Padres and Angels, and now return home for 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:
Rank (movement from last week)
1. New York Yankees (–)
Matt Carpenter's first 10 games with the Yankees: 6 HR, 13 RBI, 1.592 OPS.
2. New York Mets (+1)
Four-game set vs. Marlins will be teams' first meeting of 2022.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (-1)
Walker Buehler is shut down for 6-8 weeks with an elbow injury.
4. San Diego Padres (+1)
Chance to take the NL West lead this week with four vs. Cubs, three vs. Rockies.
5. Houston Astros (-1)
Yordan Alvarez hit .500 (19-for-38) with 3 homers and 13 RBI in his first 10 games of June.
6. Toronto Blue Jays (+1)
Alejandro Kirk's last 22 games: .391 average, .481 OBP, .667 slugging.
7. Atlanta Braves (+5)
11-game winning streak gets the Braves right back into the NL East race.
8. Tampa Bay Rays (+1)
Wander Franco heads to the injured list with a strained quad.
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 Dodgers, San Francisco enters Monday just 3.5 games back in the NL West.
11. Minnesota Twins (–)
Top prospect Royce Lewis tears his ACL for the second season in a row.
12. Milwaukee Brewers (-6)
Milwaukee lost 10 of 11 games to start June and seven in a row before beating the Nationals on Sunday.
13. Philadelphia Phillies (+3)
Phillies won their first eight games under interim manager Rob Thomson.
14. Boston Red Sox (-1)
In his first start of 2022, Kutter Crawford struck out seven in five scoreless innings against Seattle.
15. Cleveland Guardians (+3)
Jose Ramirez is on pace to break Manny Ramirez's single-season franchise record of 165 RBI.
16. Los Angeles Angels (-2)
After 14-game losing streak, it's looking like the Angels and Mike Trout will miss playoffs for the eighth straight year.
17. Miami Marlins (+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 in Chicago's dugout?
19. Texas Rangers (-2)
Marcus Semien is heating up with six homers in 14 games after none in his first 43.
20. Seattle Mariners (–)
Hosting the Angels for a five-game series at T-Mobile Park this weekend.
21. Arizona Diamondbacks (-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 coming around 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 big-league games: 12-for-67 (.179) and 0-for-12 with RISP.
25. Detroit Tigers (+1)
Casey Mize set to undergo Tommy John surgery.
26. Chicago Cubs (-1)
Cubs went 0-for-18 with RISP in 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 coming on strong with 19 RBI 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 started June hitting .407 with four homers in 27 at-bats.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: Braves' winning streak tightens NL East for Mets
