Brewers can’t gain on Cubs as teams match wins and losses this week
Welcome to the 12th week of our NL Central Power Rankings! We’ll release these rankings each week to grade all five teams and place them one through five. As everyone knows with power rankings, these should be taken as gospel and they’re obviously 100% accurate. Without further ado, let’s rank some teams!
1. Chicago Cubs (42-28); 3-4 this week; 95.5% chance to make postseason (Baseball Reference)
The Cubs dropped a pair of road series in Detroit and Philadelphia this week, going 2-4 before welcoming the Pirates to Wrigley for four games beginning Thursday.
Ian Happ hit three homers this week, while the rest of the Cubs’ offense was fairly quiet outside of some homers. Seiya Suzuki’s seven hits led the team, as he hit .269/.269/.385 with a homer and a steal. Reese McGuire also went 3-for-8 in limited opportunities at catcher.
Cade Horton made a pair of solid starts, allowing four runs over 10 2⁄3 innings. Jameson Taillon picked up a win as he allowed two runs and struck out seven over 6 1⁄3 innings, while Ryan Brasier, Ryan Pressly, Chris Flexen, Caleb Thielbar, and Drew Pomeranz all had strong weeks from the bullpen.
Chicago wraps up their series with the Pirates on Sunday before continuing the homestand with the Brewers and Mariners for three games apiece this week.
2. Milwaukee Brewers (38-33); 4-3 this week; 43.1% chance to make postseason
The Brewers went 1-2 against both the Padres and Braves to begin their homestand, as the offense went stagnant. They did pick up a pair of wins to begin their series with the Cardinals, highlighted by a strong debut from Jacob Misiorowski.
Jackson Chourio slugged a pair of homers and had a triple in a solid week overall for him, while Frelick led the team with seven hits, slashing .333/.391/.333 with two steals, four runs, and two RBIs. Joey Ortiz quietly put together a good week, picking up five hits, including a pair of doubles.
Freddy Peralta had a great week, allowing just one run across 12 innings against the Padres and Cardinals, striking out nine batters. The aforementioned Misiorowski had a no-hit debut, allowing just four walks and striking out five over five-plus innings of work, and Quinn Priester also picked up a win with six strong innings against the Braves. Aaron Ashby picked up a save and worked five scoreless innings across two bullpen outings, while Jared Koenig, Nick Mears, and Abner Uribe also worked scoreless weeks from the bullpen.
After the Cardinals leave town on Sunday, the Brewers get an off day on Monday before a Midwest tour that will take them to Wrigley Field and Target Field for three-game sets with the Cubs and Twins, respectively.
3. St. Louis Cardinals (36-34); 1-6 this week; 25.3% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals had another rough week, as they dropped two of three to the Dodgers before being swept by the Blue Jays. They’re 3-9 in the month of June after a 19-8 month of May.
Willson Contreras and Alec Burleson led the St. Louis offense, as Contreras hit .368/.520/.632 with a homer, two doubles, six RBIs, and three runs. Burleson led the team with eight hits and scored four runs. Iván Herrera continues to have a breakout season, as he hit .292/.320/.458 with seven hits, including a homer and a double.
The pitching performances this week weren’t great, as Steven Matz, Phil Maton, and Andre Granillo were the only players who pitched to not allow a run. Riley O’Brien worked five innings across three bullpen outings, allowing just one run, while Andre Pallante’s six-inning outing was the best start of the week, allowing two runs and striking out three.
After finishing up in Milwaukee, they’ll head to Chicago to take on the White Sox before returning home to battle the Reds and Cubs.
4. Cincinnati Reds (35-35); 4-2 this week; 8.3% chance to make postseason
The Reds had a great week, sweeping the D-backs over the weekend before winning two of three in Cleveland against the Guardians.
TJ Friedl slugged three homers, while Elly De La Cruz led the Reds’ offense in just about every other statistical category, picking up eight hits, two homers, two doubles, three runs, and three RBIs. Tyler Stephenson played in just three games this week but collected five hits and a walk for a .429 OBP.
Andrew Abbott continues to make his Cy Young case, as he threw a complete game shutout with five strikeouts against the Guardians. Emilio Pagán and Tony Santillan both worked scoreless weeks and picked up a save apiece.
The Reds continue their road trip this weekend in Detroit against the Tigers before a quick three-game homestand against the Twins next week.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (29-42); 5-2 this week; <0.1% chance to make postseason
The Pirates had a fantastic week, sweeping the Phillies and taking two of three against the Marlins at home to wrap up a solid 6-3 homestand. They’re now in Chicago for a four-game series with the Cubs.
Andrew McCutchen looked like his former MVP self, as he hit .320/.320/.520 with a homer, two doubles, five RBIs, and three runs scored. Ke’Bryan Hayes picked up seven hits and three steals on the week, and Adam Frazier had six hits and three RBIs.
Paul Skenes allowed just an unearned run across two starts this week, spanning 12 2⁄3 innings with 12 strikeouts. Isaac Mattson worked 3 2⁄3 scoreless innings from the bullpen, while David Bednar picked up a pair of saves as he hasn’t allowed a run since May 23 against the Brewers.
After finishing up at Wrigley, the Pirates will head to Detroit to battle the Tigers in another tough road series. They’ll then return home for a weekend set with the Rangers.