MLB power rankings: Brewers sweep Dodgers again, leave big-bucks LA in the dust
With commissioner Rob Manfred and a chorus of aggrieved billionaires insisting the game needs a salary cap and shutting down the industry to get one is inevitable, the Brewers simply went out and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers six consecutive times in a two-week span. That run was capped by a weekend sweep at Dodger Stadium, which lifted Milwaukee into a first-place tie with Chicago in the NL Central and vaulted them over the Dodgers in overall record.
And it boosted them to a season-best No. 3 position in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings.
They supplanted the Dodgers in that spot, a battle that would seem an unfair fight on paper. After all, the Brewers tote a payroll of around $120 million; that's far less than the mere tax penalty - right now, an estimated $157 million - the Dodgers will pay on top of a payroll exceeding $400 million.
It's a scenario that's not supposed to happen, at least among the ownership side of the looming 2026 labor fight that believes payroll most correlates with success. But rich teams have their problems, too - look at the Dodgers' pitcher IL list - and competence and desire have proven about as important as investment.
And now the Brewers - winners of 10 in a row - are looking like locks for their seventh playoff berth in the past eight seasons.
A look at our updated rankings:
1. Detroit Tigers (-)
2. Chicago Cubs (-)
3. Milwaukee Brewers (+3)
4. Toronto Blue Jays (+1)
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (-2)
6. Houston Astros (-2)
7. Philadelphia Phillies (-)
8. New York Mets (-)
9. New York Yankees (-)
10. San Diego Padres (+1)
11. Boston Red Sox (-1)
12. Seattle Mariners (-)
13. Tampa Bay Rays (+1)
14. San Francisco Giants (-1)
15. Cincinnati Reds (+1)
16. St. Louis Cardinals (-1)
17. Texas Rangers (-)
18. Arizona Diamondbacks (-)
19. Los Angeles Angels (-)
20. Cleveland Guardians (+2)
21. Minnesota Twins (-1)
22. Kansas City Royals (-1)
23. Miami Marlins (-)
24. Baltimore Orioles (-)
25. Atlanta Braves (-)
26. Oakland Athletics (+1)
27. Washington Nationals (+1)
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (-2)
29. Chicago White Sox (-)
30. Colorado Rockies (-)
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