3 Up/3 Down: Here's What I Liked — and Didn't Like — in Week 2 of MLB Season
We've got our second full week of baseball in the books now, and there was a lot to like — and not like.
Here's what jumped out at me in the past week.
What I liked
1. Braves cruising despite adversity
It seemed like the Atlanta Braves were losing to player to injury every single day when the season started, but it hasn't slowed them down one bit. They swept the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals this week and are now 12-4, the best record in the National League
Even without Max Fried, Ian Anderson, Orlando Arcia, Travis d'Arnaud and Michael Harris for stretches, the Braves have looked great. Outsider of Anderson, the rest of the injuries are short-term, and Fried, who was injured on Opening Day, is already set to return, getting the start on Monday against the San Diego Padres.
I picked them to win the NL pennant, but certainly got concerned when all those injuries piled up. But the Braves have shown me to not worry.
The Braves are raking at the plate, with three players with an OPS over 1.000, Matt Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr. and new catcher Sean Murphy. This is going to be an interesting week for the Braves, with three games in San Diego before coming home to host the world-champion Houston Astros for three games.
2. Phillies' Bryson Stott remains perfect
The Philadelphia Phillies have struggled early, going just 6-10 so far. That's a big disappointment coming off a World Series appearance.
But you can't blame Bryson Stott for much. He hit a leadoff homer that sparked a nine-run first inning in a 14-3 blowout of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. He was 3-for-7 on the day and has had at least one hit in all 16 games so far.
This was his 10th multi-hit game, and his 27 hits are tied for the best in baseball along with Toronto's Bo Bichette. He's hitting. 380 so far, a huge jump from his .234 average during his rookie year in 2022.
The Phillies' lineup was already dangerous, and with Stott setting the table, they're even tougher. And don't be surprised the Phillies start to get hot. None of their next SIX opponents are over. 500 at the moment.
3. AL East dominance out of the chute
It should come as no surprise that the American League East is really competitive, but from top to bottom, they've all been thumping on people. Just two-plus weeks into the season, the division is a whopping 22 games over .500 already.
We know all about the Tampa Bay Rays tying a major-league record with 13 straight wins to open the season. They're 14-2 now and the Toronto Blue Jays — who beat the Rays twice this weekend — are 10-6, along with the New York Yankees. The Orioles are 9-7, and the Red Sox 8-8.
Even the last-place Red Sox have looked good at times. On either side of getting swept in a four-game series by the Rays in St. Petersburg, Boston swept the Detroit Tigers before it, and the Los Angeles Angels this weekend.
In non-division games, all five teams are cruising and their cumulative record is an amazing 38-16, a .704 winning percentage. Here's the deal: Rays 9-0, Blue Jays 8-5, Yankees 8-5, Orioles 7-3, Red Sox 6-3.
The new schedule this year, where division teams play each other only 13 times instead of 19, will certainly benefit the AL East the most. We're seeing that already.
What I didn't like
1. Astros continue to scuffle along
The world-champion Houston Astros are 7-9 and collapsed late on Sunday night, losing 9-1 to their cross-state rivals, the Texas Rangers. That's a slow start, for sure, and they're just not clicking on all cylinders yet.
They've only hit 16 home runs, and only nine teams are worse in all of baseball. Tampa Bay, for comparative purposes, has hit 36. All-Star Alex Bregman is hitting just .194, and new first baseman Jose Abreu still hasn't hit a homer. Throwing in a bullpen ERA (3.95) that's 11th in the American League, and there are enough issues to be concerned about.
The saving grace? Houston has started four seasons in a row at 7-9 and still won division titles, advanced to the ALCS and won a World Series. So, in other words, no need to panic yet.
2. NL West quietness
There are a lot of baseball experts who think the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are the two best teams in baseball, but they've been spinning their wheels, too. The Padres are 8-9, the Dodgers 8-8, and both are behind the Arizona Diamondbacks (9-7) in the NL West race.
This, too, might be a case of a simple slow start, but both the Padres and Dodgers have let a lot of games slip away early. They haven't been dominant, and the Dodgers just went 3-6 against the Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs, not exactly murderer's row.
I give the Padres more of a pass because they've had a really tough schedule, playing 11 straight games against the Braves, Mets and Milwaukee Brewers, who probably are the three best teams in the NL along with the Dodgers and Padres.
The Padres see the Braves again this week in San Diego. And if you're wondering, they're going to see the Dodgers soon, too. They have home-and-home series in San Diego from May 5-7, and in Los Angeles on May 12-14.
3. Sudden injury issues with Rays' pitchers
Lost in the Rays' record-setting 13-game winning streak was that their pitching staff was falling like flies. No. 2 starter Zach Eflin went to the injured list with back stiffness, and now it looks like No. 3 Jeffrey Springs, who had allowed only one run in three starts, might miss several months with an elbow injury.
Throw in Tyler Glasnow still on the IL with an oblique injury, and the Rays are suddenly down three starters. That's a lot. The Rays, the one team that uses ''openers'' on a regular basis, are going to have to be creative to get through these next several weeks.
Elfin's deal should be short-term — end of the month at the latest, which is good — and Glasnow is back throwing again, with a May return still hopeful. They'll lean on the other two starters a lot now. Shane McClanahan is 4-0 already, with a nifty 1.57 ERA, and Drew Rasmussen was great in his first two starts before struggling with his control in the Rays' first loss on Friday.
It's going to be intereresting to see how all this plays out in the next month or so.
