Winning your first 13 games and 27 of your first 33 just doesn’t earn the clout it once did.
When the Tampa Bay Rays raced out to a dominant start, evoking memories of the wire-to-wire Detroit Tigers’ 35-5 burst in 1984, it seemed to be the defining hot streak of the season.
Yet as Major League Baseball breaks for the All-Star Game, just one team is poised to lap the field.
The Atlanta Braves did the Rays two better, putting together a 27-4 stretch that pushed their lead in the National League East to 8 1/2 games − the only division in which first and second place are separated by more than two games.
They will send eight players to Seattle for the All-Star Game, and open the second half at home against the Chicago White Sox. Good luck catching them.
A look at this week’s rankings:
1. Atlanta Braves (+1)
2. Tampa Bay Rays (-1)
13. New York Yankees (-4)
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Time for a run? A’s, Royals, White Sox among those on early second-half schedule.
25. Chicago White Sox (-1)
26. Detroit Tigers (-)
30. Oakland Athletics (-)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: Atlanta Braves do Tampa Bay Rays two better