MLB power rankings: O's, Royals looking ready to rebuild

After an undefeated road trip, the Astros continued their winning ways at home in the new week, running their MLB-best winning streak to 12 games. Part of the recent upturn is due to the supporting cast taking on a much bigger role. Evan Gattis became the first player with consecutive five-RBI games over the week, while Marwin Gonzalez, Yuli Gurriel and Tony Kemp are hitting at a near .400 clip combined in June.

It took 61 games for the Yankees to be shut out for the first time, making them the final team to be blanked on the year. Considering the makeup of this lineup, that should not come as anything close to a surprise. What may come as a surprise is how much the starting pitching has carried the weight of late. It has been over two weeks since the Yanks allowed more than four runs in a game.

The Red Sox continue to top the MLB in victories (along with Houston) despite the all-out blitz from the Astros and the Yankees keeping pace. Surges from David Price and Eduardo Rodriguez have fueled the run of late, as Rodriguez has picked up the decision in his last six outings while allowing no more than two runs in any of them. Meanwhile, Price has not lost since May 3 and lowered his ERA by nearly a run and a half.

The Cubs pulled through a nine-game stint against their closest opposition in the NL Central, winning five of nine and briefly taking over first place in the division as well. However, it was a hot and cold run for the notoriously all-or-nothing club, as their five victories were offset by managing a total of one run over all four losses.

Without a doubt, the Mariners are providing more bang for the buck from an entertainment standpoint than any other team. Their 23 one-run victories this year are by far the most in the game, and they have also gone 6-0 in extra innings. The week ahead will continue to test the nerve of Scott Servais’ club, as trips to the Bronx and Boston await.

The Brewers have been bobbing and weaving so far in June but have been able to hold their footing atop the NL Central so far despite a full-fledged assault from the Cubs. Before dropping two of three to the Phillies over the weekend, they posted consecutive shutouts over their rivals from Wrigley for the first time in 12 years.

The youthful breakouts of the Braves have made many of the headlines, but Freddie Freeman remains the straw that stirs the proverbial drink. His 10-game hitting streak ended on Sunday, but Freeman’s MVP-caliber 2018 résumé finds him leading all MLB first basemen with 49 RBI and sitting among the NL top three in batting average, home runs, slugging percentage and OPS.

Halfway through June, the Nats are still struggling to get all of their horses running together. The recent returns of Adam Eaton and Daniel Murphy were offset by Stephen Strasburg heading to the DL due to a shoulder issue. Meanwhile, the early surge by Juan Soto saw him equal feats that only Ken Griiffey Jr. and Andruw Jones have accomplished. Yet the club's former prodigy Bryce Harper has seen his average dip down to .212, invoking questions about how he is handling the pressure of carrying the weight for the uneven Nats in his much-hyped walk year.

The past few weeks have told two completely different tales about where the Indians are. A week ago, it looked as if the Tribe was ready to run away with the lackluster AL Central after taking five of six from the Brewers and Tigers. What followed was a letdown week in which they picked up only four victories over the White Sox and Twins and lost Carlos Carrasco to the disabled list after he was struck by a line drive on Sunday.

The return of Andrelton Simmons and continued brilliance of Mike Trout have not been enough to quell the concern over the status of Shohei Ohtani. The indefinite loss of the two-way star has impacted every part of the Angels’ attack, specifically the starting staff, which also lost Garrett Richards and Nick Tropeano to injury recently. The Angels now count nine pitchers on their DL as they fight to stay in the picture with the Astros and Mariners.

If it's possible to win Comeback Player of the Year in the middle of a season, Paul Goldschmidt already is the runaway winner. After spending over a month on the brink of a total collapse, the Diamondbacks have sprung back to life over the last few weeks. This is due in no small part to the revival of Goldy, who has waged a one-man war on all baseballs thrown his way of late. He has raised his average more than 50 points since June 1 and is carrying a .426/.506/.897 slash line on the month, and as a result, the D-backs have already won more games in June than in all of May.

It took a while, but the Dodgers are finally joining the party here in the summer of ’18. Despite their usual spread of injuries (which recently claimed rookie sensation Walker Buehler), the Dodgers have roared back to relevance behind the bats of Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Justin Turner. Cody Bellinger’s four June home runs have cost the red-hot Max Muncy — who leads the team with 13 homers — at-bats, but that is a good problem to have considering where things stood a month ago.

The young Phils are going through some expected growing pains recently, picking up one win over nine games with the Giants, Cubs and Brewers. The return of Rhys Hoskins from a broken jaw provided a spark, as he connected for four home runs upon his return, and the Phillies won back-to-back series for the first time since April entering the week.

The Cardinals' success has been by and large due to their starting staff carrying the load, as they have gotten away with a smoke and mirrors performance from their everyday lineup. That load has been eased of late by the breakout of Jose Martinez (.400, five home runs in June) and Marcell Ozuna rounding into shape. The headline acquisition of the Cards this winter, Ozuna has his average up to .288 after hovering around .270 in April and May.

The AL’s scrappiest, semi-good squad continues to fight its way along in the ultra-tough AL West. While the A's continue to struggle with the very best of the division (1-8 versus Houston, 3-6 versus Seattle), they have shown they can mix it up well with the Angels, whom they took two of three from over the weekend. With no clear need for a fire sale this year, there could be some spoiler potential in Oakland.

June has not been kind the Rockies, who have just four victories in the month thus far. In the process, they failed to take advantage of the NL West while it was open for the taking, as the Diamondbacks have revived themselves and the Dodgers have woken up. The oddest part of their continued struggles is the inability to win at home, where they have not won since May 29.

The Evan Longoria experiment is a near disaster at this point. Before a fractured left hand sent him to the disabled list last week, Longo was producing a .246/.278/.434 split line along with only 10 walks over 256 at-bats, making him by far the least productive everyday third baseman in the NL. At least while Longoria was taking a seat, his opposite on the diamond in Brandon Belt returned to the lineup from an appendectomy.

There is very little to get excited about on the Tigers this year, and there is even less that carries much name recognition. The only member of the roster who checked both boxes, Miguel Cabrera, saw his season come to an end due to a ruptured biceps tendon last week. It is an instant blow and one that could carry ramifications well into the future, as it is the latest in an increasing string of maladies for the 35-year-old slugger. Cabrera is guaranteed another $154 million over the next five years, which could make things very difficult for the Tigers.

It appears that the best days for the for the 2018 Pirates may be behind them. Save for a series win over the Reds last weekend (a team that is gaining on them from behind), Pittsburgh has not won a series since a two-game sweep of the White Sox on May 15-16. Again, nothing to write home about.

The best last-place team in baseball is easily the Padres, who would be closing in on second place in the AL Central and third in the AL East with their recent performances. With Wil Myers, Franchy Cordero and Austin Hedges all nearing returns, they could prove to be a regularly annoying thorn in the side of the NL West pennant race participants — if not potentially becoming party crashers.

The Blue Jays' recent trip to Tampa was akin to Thanksgiving in June for the Rays, offering a reprieve from a free fall the team has undergone in recent weeks. Before sweeping Toronto last week, Tampa managed just a single win over the first 10 days of the month. It proved to be the calm before the storm, as the rest of the month will be spent against the Yankees, Astros and Nationals.

Although they have struggled against most all other comers, the Twins can at least hang their hats on being a plague for the Indians. Minnesota has taken five of the last seven against the AL Central leaders and beat Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco on consecutive days over the weekend.

The DMV area has been quite hospitable to baseball’s Canadian outlet. The Jays' last seven wins have come via the Orioles and Nationals. Otherwise, things have been bleak as the Jays are inching closer and closer to a full-fledged sell-off. J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada, Yangervis Solarte and Josh Donaldson (if he can stay healthy for 15 minutes) all stand as attractive trade chips.

Could another dismal year in Queens have Mets management thinking about doing the previously unthinkable: trading Jacob deGrom at the deadline? The talented righty’s 1.51 ERA leads the National League, but his best efforts continue to mean little for the fortunes of the Mets. Perhaps he could be more valuable by bringing back what would no doubt be a haul of prospects from an opportunistic contender.

The legend of Billy Hamilton continued on Sunday when he took off on a sprint that only he could make possible. The Cincy speedster turned a surefire Francisco Cervelli double into a highlight grab, transforming a hit that had only a 2 percent chance of being caught into an irreplaceable catch of the year candidate.

There’s a chance that Jose Trevino had the best day of all time on Sunday. Not only did he make his MLB debut, but he also became a father for the first time … on Father’s Day no less. If that wasn't enough, he also hit a walk-off homer to give the Rangers a much-needed 13-12 win. It is unlikely that even Monday’s demotion back to Double-A to make way for Elvis Andrus’ return could do much to dampen that, even if it has little impact on the lowly Rangers' fortunes.

Proving to be a slump buster for the Orioles aside, the Marlins have actually been fairly productive of late. After taking two of three from the Cardinals a few weeks ago, the Fish have won five of their last seven against the Giants and Orioles. If nothing else, it appears as if their previous destiny with the top pick in next year’s draft seems more unlikely now.

The purgatory of this White Sox season is a tough one to endure. Less than halfway through the club’s worst season in nearly 70 years, it's unlikely Chicago strays from that path. With a disabled list full of veterans and a young roster forced to learn on the run, this is a process that will simply have to play out.

Already 27.5 games out, the Orioles have not beat a team with a winning record in over a month. A season-worst nine-game losing streak came to an end in the final game of a weekend stint with the Marlins — another team on pace for 100 losses. The Orioles are on pace for 117 losses, which would be the worst season since the 111-loss 2013 Astros.

Three weeks into June, the Royals have won only twice in the month. In 16 games, K.C. has been shut out four times and scored two or fewer runs on six other occasions. The club owns both the American League’s worst team ERA and lowest batting average for the month.