The Yankees-Dodgers seesaw continues.
After falling to No. 2 in our MLB Power Rankings last week, New York battled back to yank the top spot away from Los Angeles and keep things interesting as September rolls in and the post-season looms.
The Bronx team started the week with an ominous series win at Dodger Stadium during Players’ Weekend, including a convincing 10-2 victory on Friday in a Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. James Paxton matchup that saw the Canadian strike out 11 batters.
Did fans get an electrifying World Series preview in late August? Perhaps.
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The Yankees followed that up with a sweep of the Seattle Mariners to reach four consecutive wins and help their case in the race for home-field advantage against the Houston Astros in the American League. New York now has a .652 winning percentage, just above Houston’s .644.
Star outfielder Aaron Judge hit five home runs and drove in eight runs with a .407 batting average during that six-game stretch, and Paxton closed out the week with a win over his old team on Wednesday, allowing two earned runs in five innings.
Still at the top of the rankings, the Minnesota Twins also moved up after taking advantage of an easy schedule and earning five straight wins, over the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. Outfielder Jake Cave matched Judge’s five homers over the week – he has seven on the season – posting a .389 batting average with a 1.333 slugging percentage during that time.
In the losers’ column, the New York Mets have now lost six in a row to fall five games behind in the NL wild-card race. With only a month left in the season and a 67-66 record, a scenario in which New York pulls off a post-season berth seems unlikely.
The Colorado Rockies have also fallen down the ranks this week, as their loss to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday mathematically confirmed the team will miss the playoffs after two straight trips seasons of October baseball. The Rockies have lost seven of their last eight games.
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Here are this week’s MLB Power Rankings:
1. (2) 
New York Yankees
2. (1) 
Los Angeles Dodgers
3. (3) 
Houston Astros
4. (5) 
Minnesota Twins
5. (4) 
Atlanta Braves
6. (6) 
Tampa Bay Rays
7. (8) 
Cleveland Indians
8. (7) 
Oakland Athletics
9. (9) 
Chicago Cubs
10. (10) 
Washington Nationals
11. (11) 
St. Louis Cardinals
12. (13) 
Milwaukee Brewers
13. (14) 
Boston Red Sox
14. (16) 
Philadelphia Phillies
15. (15) 
Arizona Diamondbacks
16. (12) 
New York Mets
17. (18) 
Texas Rangers
18. (17) 
San Francisco Giants
19. (19) 
Los Angeles Angels
20. (20) 
Cincinnati Reds
21. (21) 
San Diego Padres
22. (22) 
Chicago White Sox
23. (23) 
Toronto Blue Jays
24. (25) 
Pittsburgh Pirates
25. (24) 
Colorado Rockies
26. (26) 
Kansas City Royals
27. (27) 
Seattle Mariners
28. (28) 
Miami Marlins
29. (29) 
Detroit Tigers
30. (30) 
Baltimore Orioles
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