The first weekend of the 2024 MLB season saw some history being made and dominant individual performances.
But I’m not going to overreact too much to one series, even if a team got swept or did the sweeping. Here are my top 10 teams in baseball after Week 1.
1. Atlanta Braves (2-1; last week 1)
The Braves fell a hit short of sweeping the rival Phillies in their own ballpark. Chris Sale had an encouraging first start with his new team nonetheless, giving up two runs on two hits, with two walks and seven strikeouts over 5.1 innings. Atlanta’s offense looked like its usual self, tallying 26 runs and combining for a .339/.387/.574 slash line through three games.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2, LW 2)
Shohei Ohtani had a modest first series at Chavez Ravine. That’s OK when one of your other MVP teammates goes on a four-game home run streak. Mookie Betts was baseball’s biggest star through the first weekend of the season and has an absurd 1.757 OPS through six games. The Dodgers were on the verge of splitting their four-game set with the Cardinals on Sunday when Teoscar Hernández and Max Muncy homered in the eighth to complete a dramatic comeback. This lineup is unreal.
3. New York Yankees (4-0, LW 7)
What a start to the season for the Yankees. Without Gerrit Cole at their disposal, they got solid starting pitching and rallied to win each of the first three games before more Juan Soto heroics sealed the four-game sweep Sunday. The newest Bronx Bomber had a scintillating opening series at the plate (.529/.600/.765) and also came up clutch in the field. It’s this type of stuff that had me predicting he’d win AL MVP this year.
[RELATED: Juan Soto, Astros slayer: Three takeaways from Yankees’ season-opening sweep]
4. Baltimore Orioles (2-1, LW 4)
Corbin Burnes looked the part of a Cy Young favorite in his first start with the Orioles, striking out 11 and allowing just one hit — a solo home run to Mike Trout — over six innings. Baltimore won the first two games of its series versus the Angels by a combined score of 24-7.
5. Philadelphia Phillies (1-2, LW 3)
The Phillies narrowly avoided a sweep Sunday, with Alec Bohm capping off a strong weekend with a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh. Zack Wheeler had a brilliant Opening Day start, pitching six shutout innings. But Philadelphia’s bullpen was hit hard Friday and Saturday, as was Aaron Nola (7 ER, 12 hits).
Verlander breaks down his Power Rankings, 1-10
6. Texas Rangers (2-1, LW 5)
The defending champs took two of three from the Chicago Cubs. Wyatt Langford looked comfortable in his first big-league series, hitting .333 with three RBIs, while Corey Seager (5-for-10) and Adolis García (two home runs) picked up where they left off in the World Series.
7. Arizona Diamondbacks (3-1, LW 8)
No team had a better Opening Day than the Diamondbacks. Their 14-run third inning against the Colorado Rockies was the most runs scored in an inning on Opening Day since 1900. If it weren’t for Betts’ scorching start, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. would have been the star of the week, hitting .471 with a 1.644 OPS plus three homers and 10 RBIs.
8. Seattle Mariners (2-2, LW 9)
The Mariners split a four-game set with the Boston Red Sox, winning a pair of low-scoring affairs. George Kirby pitched 6.2 innings of scoreless ball on Friday while striking out eight. Julio Rodríguez didn’t have the best weekend at the plate, but his game-winning single Saturday was the first walk-off hit of his career.
9. Houston Astros (0-4, LW 6)
Everything went downhill for the Astros after taking a 4-0 lead on Opening Day. They allowed five unanswered to the Yankees and then blew leads the next two days en route to suffering a four-game sweep at home. Cristian Javier was a bright spot for houston, pitching six shutout innings Friday. But it’s tough to win games if you only hit one home run in a series.
Juan Soto crushes first HR with Yankees to go ahead of Astros
10. Milwaukee Brewers (3-0; LW unranked)
Rhys Hoskins might already be a fan favorite in Milwaukee, beginning his Brewers career by getting testy with Jeff McNeil on Opening Day before a four-RBI performance on Saturday. But the Brewers’ rotation was the strongest part of their three-game sweep of the Mets, as New York recorded only one hit on Opening Day and scored just four runs off Milwaukee starters.
Out: Cincinnati Reds (10)
Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the “Flippin’ Bats” podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him at @BenVerlander.
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