Barely a week after a five-game series in New York, the Mets and Atlanta Braves face off for another four starting Monday, a crucial set that will help decide who wins the National League East.
The Mets have a 5 ½-game lead entering Monday and won four of the five at Citi Field. The Braves haven’t lost a game since, winning six in a row last week to pick up 1 ½ games.
New York took two of three over the weekend from the Philadelphia Phillies, who had won seven of eight to establish a firm hold on the NL’s third wild-card spot. They’ll meet again this upcoming weekend for four more in Philadelphia.
Here’s how USA TODAY Sports’ eight-person panel voted this week:
Rank (movement from last week)
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (–)
2. Houston Astros (–)
3. New York Mets (–)
4. New York Yankees (–)
5. Atlanta Braves (–)
6. Philadelphia Phillies (+3)
7. San Diego Padres (-1)
8. St. Louis Cardinals (–)
9. Toronto Blue Jays (-2)
10. Seattle Mariners (–)
11. Milwaukee Brewers (+1)
12. Tampa Bay Rays (+1)
13. Cleveland Guardians (+2)
14. Baltimore Orioles (–)
15. Minnesota Twins (-4)
16. Chicago White Sox (–)
17. San Francisco Giants (+1)
18. Boston Red Sox (-1)
19. Texas Rangers (–)
20. Arizona Diamondbacks (+1)
21. Miami Marlins (-1)
22. Los Angeles Angels (+1)
23. Colorado Rockies (-1)
24. Chicago Cubs (–)
25. Cincinnati Reds (–)
26. Pittsburgh Pirates (+1)
27. Detroit Tigers (-1)
28. Kansas City Royals (–)
29. Oakland Athletics (–)
30. Washington Nationals (–)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: Mets-Braves showdown, Phillies surge in NL East