There’s a new team in the top five of ESPN’s latest MLB Power Rankings — the Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers, who swept a three-game series from the Colorado Rockies, now are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball (25-13, .658), following the Dodgers’ loss to Arizona on Thursday.
The Tigers have a 2½-game lead over Cleveland and Kansas City in the AL Central as they open a three-game weekend series against Texas on Friday night at Comerica Park.
The Tigers are fifth in ESPN’s latest rankings, which were released on Thursday, following the No. 1 Dodgers, No. 2 Mets, No. 3 Padres and No. 4 Cubs. The Tigers climbed from No. 7 in the previous rankings.
“The Tigers have flourished in a number of ways during the season’s opening weeks but one thing that really stands out is the degree to which they have dominated at Comerica Park,” writes ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle. “They’ve started 13-3 at home with a net per-game differential of plus-2.81 runs, the best in baseball. To put it another way, that differential translates to an .819 expected winning percentage, or 133 wins over 162 games.”
The Tigers’ overall run differential is plus-83, which leads MLB by a large margin. The Yankees are second at plus-61, followed by the Mets (plus-59), Cubs (plus-58) and Dodgers (plus-51).
The Tigers, who opened the season being swept in a three-game series by the Dodgers, have won four in a row and seven of their last eight.
They lead the majors in hitting (.262) and are second in runs and RBIs. On the pitching side they’re third in both ERA (2.95) and WHIP (1.14).
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