MLB: Teams On Fire

By: Tyler Curtiss

     The MLB season is now about a quarter of the way through and contenders are starting to separate themselves from the pack. The Astros are currently the best team in baseball and have have already won 31 games. Their recent tare has brought them back to the top of the rankings. Baseball fan Vincent Gurfolino, said that, “No one could have seen the Astros coming this year.” Pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers have been better than expected, as those two have combined for a 2.51 earned run average and the Astros are 13-3 when one of them starts. Although Keuchel has been placed on the 10-day DL, he hopes to return to his CY Young caliber season.
     The Nationals are a close second, but their schedule for the next 18 games is against the Pirates, Braves, Mariners, Padres, Giants and Athletics. All those teams have losing records as of now, and should be all wins. The Nats next game against a team that currently has a winning record is June 5 against the Dodgers. Young star, Bryce Harper will look to continue his dominance for the Nats and stay on pace for the NL MVP award.
     The Yankees hadn't lost more than two games in a row since they lost three straight in April, but they lost three in a row last week. The emergence of rookie Aaron Judge and his league leading 15 home runs has jumpstarted the yankees offense. The Yanks pitching isn't where they want it to be but it has been steadily improving
     The Dodgers have basically relied on pitching and Cody Bellinger’s home runs. The Dodgers are still doing good and young stud shortstop Corey Seager hasn’t gotten hot yet. Although the rotation should be changed with Hill coming back from the DL, Alex Wood might be tough to move after he has struck out 29 batters so far this season and looks to have earned himself a permanent spot in the rotation.
     The Orioles have slipped up a little bit this week after being swept by the Royals who look to have gotten out of a season long slump. Beau Parker explained that “The O’s have pretty stiff competition in the American League East, so they will need to step it up if they want to succeed.” Dylan Bundy has a 2.26 ERA, which puts him among the American Leagues top 10 and best on the Orioles. Surprisingly the orioles starting rotation has not been their weakness, it's been their bullpen which is normally top three in the majors.
     All of these teams hope to continue their hot starts and build on the early success that they have made.