Milwaukee Brewers Drop In Latest MLB Power Rankings Despite Win Streak

The Milwaukee Brewers find themselves two games out of first place at the quarter mark of the season.

Despite going 4-2 during the week and continuing what ended up being a seven-game win streak, the Milwaukee Brewers (24-18) fell in Alyson Footer’s latest MLB Power Rankings.

The week started off strong with a sweep of the Washington Nationals and a win in the first game of the Cubs series, but it ended with a thud as the Crew lost the final two games of that series to the now division leading Cubs after pulling even with them atop the division.

Where Are The Milwaukee Brewers Ranked?

Footer has the Brewers dropping one spot in the rankings down to No. 8 this week, after jumping up to No. 7 last week. It’s been a wild journey around the Top 10 pretty much all season for the Brewers, never quite falling out, but they’ve been sitting in the bottom half of the Top 10 for a few weeks now.

The Dodgers continue to claim the top spot, while the Astros and Rays follow closely behind and the Yankees, despite their injuries, are also lurking.

Why Did The Brewers Fall?

After going on a seven-game winning streak, one would think the Brewers would be moving on up in the rankings. The starting pitching was looking much better and the offense was rolling. However, perhaps recency bias wins out as the Brewers dropped the final two games of the week, to the division rival Cubs.

The Brewers played well in those games on Saturday and Sunday, including a 15 inning game on Saturday and didn’t look outmatched at all during the series. While they were close games, ultimately, the Brewers lost them, and that’s all that goes in the standings.

Since the Cubs are such a good team, it didn’t lead to a giant fall in the power rankings, but winning those games against them would’ve given them a much bigger leap in the rankings than the fall they got from losing them.

How Does The NL Central Shape Up?

The Cubs (24-14) rode their series victory over the Brewers into the Top 5 this week, landing at No. 5, while the Cardinals (22-19) have jumped past the Crew, switching spots with them, going from No. 8 last week to No. 7 this week, despite being 1.5 games behind Milwaukee in the standings, but I digress.

The Pirates (20-17) have also gotten back into the Top 20, as they fall at No. 18 this week.

The Week Ahead For The Brewers

This week, the Milwaukee Brewers continue their road trip as they head to Philadelphia for four games and then to Atlanta for three more. The Phillies (23-16) are atop the NL East right now and the Braves (21-20) are only a few games behind in second place.

The NL Central and the NL East are the two deepest and most competitive divisions in baseball this season, and the Brewers are going to take on the best teams in that group on this road trip. The gauntlet of the early schedule has not been getting any easier. Luckily, it appears the pitching has turned a corner and the team has improved because of it.

If the Brewers can make a winning roadtrip out of this and if they can take both series against the Phillies and Braves, they should definitely be in consideration for jumping back into the Top 5 for next week’s power rankings.