Brice Turang's homer in the ninth inning gave Milwaukee a three-game sweep of the New Yankees and was the latest example of an early-season trend.
The American League has been taking it on the chin.
By the end of the night Sunday, only three AL teams had a winning record, and one of them was the Athletics, who were only two games above .500. The Rays (26-13) and Yankees (26-15) are the only junior circuit teams that have been really impressive, and the latter ran into quite a roadblock against the NL Central's Brewers.
If the season ended now, the last two AL wild cards would be the White Sox and Rangers, who are both 19-21.
Eleven AL teams are under .500. That's the most through May 10 of any league in the divisional play era, according to Sportradar. The 2019 AL and the 2012 and 2010 NL each had nine teams under .500 at this point in the year.
Part of what makes this scenario possible is the proliferation of interleague play. The NL is 107-82 against the AL this season for a .566 winning percentage. The best interleague season was when the AL had a .611 winning percentage against the NL in 2006. But there were only 252 interleague games that whole year. There have already been 189 this season.
The more interleague games, the further one league can move ahead of the other. And even at the top of the AL East, the Rays are 8-10 against the NL and 18-3 against the AL.
Crucial stretch
Despite the soft AL playoff race, Orioles fans have become increasingly ornery as their team sputters at the start of a second straight season. Baltimore is 18-23, just 1 1/2 games out of a postseason spot, but May has already included a four-game sweep in the Bronx in which the Orioles were outscored 39-10.
Now the Yankees come to Baltimore for a three-game set, and the Orioles host the Rays in a series that starts Memorial Day. The big question in Baltimore is whether the Orioles can simply stay afloat for the rest of the month and avoid digging too big a hole.
Motown mess
It was a rough week for the starting rotation that was supposed to be such a strength in Detroit. Tarik Skubal was scratched from his start Monday and could be out a while because of loose bodies in his elbow. Then Framber Valdez was shelled by Boston on Tuesday and hit Trevor Story with a pitch, drawing a five-game suspension.
Jack Flaherty hasn't been good either and Justin Verlander has made only one start.
The Tigers are 19-22, although that means they're only a half-game out of a wild card and 1 1/2 out of first place in the AL Central.
