NEWS » The Rays, at 12-4, have the best record in MLB.

The Orioles Chris Hatcher Jersey , at 7-10, are better than expected so far. "Through the first two-plus weeks of the baseball season, there is only one team in the American League East with a record of .500 or better. That’s the Tampa Bay Rays, who at 12-4 stand atop the entire MLB for their performance so far. Almost as surprising, the closest team chasing them, at 5.5 games back, is the Orioles, who lead the 6-9 Yankees by percentage points.With only about 10% of the season having been played so far, it’s early to proclaim anyone an unstoppable juggernaut. What can be said for certain is that the Rays have played very well so far. They’ve allowed the fewest runs of any MLB team so far, with just 40 men crossing the plate against the Rays.When you look at their statistics so far, it’s not a shock how they’ve managed to do this. There are three starting pitchers with an ERA of 2.18 or better and three relievers who have pitched in at least eight games each who have an ERA of 0.00. Their staff as a whole has struck out 169 pitchers in 144 innings while issuing just 40 walks. They have only allowed 12 home runs so far this season.The Rays offense has not been slouching either. Their hitters are batting a combined .265/.341/.435 with stellar production from six of the nine regular players in their lineup. That’s added up to 78 runs scored, third-most in the AL entering Monday’s play, and an MLB-best +38 run differential. If the Rays keep playing like this while the New York/Boston axis stumbles, they will run away with the division.Can the Orioles arrest the Rays momentum at all in this series? The team has been playing better on the road so far, with a 6-4 mark away from Baltimore and a 1-6 record at home. It’s too early to mean anything. Still, there’s enough to make you wonder if things are going to be a little better than last year. The O’s are 2-0-1 through their first three road series. In 2018, the team went 3-21-2 in road series.Game 1 - Tuesday, 7:10pmStarting pitchersDylan Bundy: 3 GS, 12.1 IP, 8.76 ERA, 8.66 FIP, 1.784 WHIP, 17 SO, 7 BBTyler Glasnow: 3 GS http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , 17 IP, 0.53 ERA, 1.97 FIP, 0.824 WHIP, 21 SO, 3 BBIn a giddy mood after the Orioles beat the Red Sox yesterday, that eternal optimist Rick Dempsey said on MASN’s post-game show, “If we can get Bundy back on track, we’ve got a legitimate chance to win almost every game.” The one thing no one can disagree with in that statement is that Bundy is not currently on track - or at least not on a good track.Bundy is walking too many people, giving up too many home runs again, and not lasting very long into games due to elevated pitch counts. He is not getting out lefties or righties. It’s bad. Maybe the new Mike Elias-era analytics program will take for him, but it hasn’t happened yet. There is not likely to be any relief for him in facing a Rays lineup that’s been great so far.Glasnow will be looking to stay in an MLB rotation for a full season for the first time in his career. The 25-year-old righty came to the Rays last July in the Chris Archer trade. The numbers through three starts are nothing short of dazzling. Maybe that’s because he’s amazing now. Maybe it’s because one of his starts was against the White Sox and another was against the Giants. The O’s offense is probably closer to those bottom-feeders than the top of the class.Game 2 - Wednesday, 7:10Starting pitchersDavid Hess: 4 G, 3 GS, 19 IP, 3.32 ERA, 5.10 FIP, 0.895 WHIP, 15 SO, 5 BBTBD, possibly the opener game (last used Friday)There’s something to be said for first impressions, and in David Hess’s first start of the year, he no-hit the Blue Jays for 6.1 innings before being pulled from the game. Even if his numbers start to turn worse, fans can remember him for that and be happy.Hess has probably been lucky up to this point in the season. Batters have put the ball on the ground just 23.1% of the time. That many fly balls leave a pitcher homer-prone, and indeed, he’s given up four so far. The overall average on balls in play (BABIP) is .167 Boog Powell Jersey , which is likely to end up stabilizing about 100 points higher than it is now. Worse luck is coming for him. Hopefully this series doesn’t mark the start of the bad luck.may still be bad, but it feels different and better so far, even when they lose. Their outfielders are generally capable of moving long distances to catch balls or cut them off from the gap. The infielders can, by and large, turn double plays. The catchers seem way more engaged and supportive of the pitchers.The reality is that the Orioles are probably headed for their first series loss right now - but then, that’s what I thought on Opening Day, too, and they came away from New York with two wins. You never really know.Stats retrieved from Baseball Reference, Fangraphs, and ESPN. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — How’s this for a mile-high milestone: The Colorado Rockies have one of baseball’s best young starting rotations.According to ace Kyle Freeland, at least.“I think our rotation can stack up against anybody,” Freeland said Wednesday when pitchers and catchers had their first workout.He has a strong case. The Rockies have made the postseason as a wild card each of the past two seasons — a first for the franchise — and the evolutions of young starters like Freeman, German Marquez and Tyler Anderson are a big reason why.The rotation had a 4.17 ERA last season, the second-lowest mark ever for the franchise. Of course, because of the hitter-friendly conditions at Coors Field, the Rockies are unlikely to ever challenge for a team ERA title.Other indicators show them right there with the National League’s best. The group made 87 quality starts — only the Dodgers (95) and Milwaukee Brewers (91) had more — while working a league-high 932 innings. Ranked by Fangraphs’ wins above replacement metric — which attempts to cancel out park effects — Colorado’s starters ranked fourth in the NL, behind the Mets, Dodgers and Phillies.The chief goal right now: catching the six-time reigning NL West champion Dodgers.“The Dodgers have a very good rotation. These are different rotations because these are different pitchers,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “We feel like on any given night, any given start, that we can match up with anybody. The Dodgers have pitched extremely well the last number of years. You look at team pitching. You look at any team that has made the playoffs, they are always at the top of team pitching. Statistically, the Dodgers are right there.“That is our goal, when you look at team pitching, to be up the ladder there. We have a little different environment Giancarlo Stanton Jersey , but there are some markers there that show we are a good pitching team.”Homegrown starters Freeland and Marquez had breakout years in 2018, the second full season for each. The 25-year-old Freeland was 17-7 with 2.85 ERA, which was fifth in the league, and Marquez, 23, was 14-11 with a 3.77 ERA and 230 strikeouts in 196 innings.Jon Gray, another product from the farm, is a three-time double-digit winner who won 12 games with a 5.12 ERA last year. After an inconsistent few years, the 27-year-old reported to camp having putting on some muscle and “is in a good spot,” Black said.“From when I got here a couple of years ago, I sensed that there was some talent, and I think we are building on that, too,” said Black, in his third season in Colorado. “The depth is starting to emerge from our system. Overall, we feel good about the group. I know that organizationally, it is something we have to stay on top of. All teams do.“Because you have to pitch.”Freeland pitched six shutout innings on three days’ rest when the Rockies beat Chicago in the NL wild-card game, and Marquez gave up two runs in five innings in his NLDS start against Milwaukee, which swept the three-game series.Now, Freeland said, it’s time to get even better.“We are all getting older, we are all getting wiser and learning this game, and learning it all the highest capacity,” Freeland said.“We are in the playoffs and we are playing extremely meaningful games that are do-or-die. We are learning how to play in that, and I think that is only going to help us in the long run.”__