ESPN Power Rankings: Rays Bump Rangers For Top Spot

Well, it couldn’t last forever, we suppose.

The Texas Rangers are no longer in the top spot of ESPN’s MLB power rankings, overtaken in this week’s edition by the Tampa Bay Rays. A little over a week ago, the Rays handed Texas their first series loss of the year. The Rangers followed that up by losing two more series, to the Blue Jays and the Indians, on the road.

They took the series opener with Baltimore last night, but as of now, Texas’ struggles over the past week--spurred on by suddenly inconsistent starting pitching and the noticeable absence of Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton (both of whom are back, for now)--have them at the no. 2 spot.

The division rival Angels jumped six spots to no. 18, which ties them with those aforementioned Orioles for the biggest jump up the rankings made in the past week. Oakland sits at no. 21 while the Mariners slid down to no. 26.

You can see the full rankings here.