David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Wednesday's power rankings

1. Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland Indians. He took a perfect game into the seventh inning and lost his no-hitter with two outs and two strikes in the ninth when Joey Butler lined a base hit to right-center. The Indians remain without a no-hitter since Len Barker's perfect game in 1981 and the past 11 no-hitters have all been thrown by National League pitchers in NL parks. Still, it was one of the most dominant performances of the season as Carrasco became just the second pitcher since 2009 to induce 30 swings-and-misses in a game. And what a series for the Indians rotation as they swept the Rays:

2. Houston Astros. The first-place Astros completed an impressive three-game sweep of the first-place Royals, rallying from a 3-0 deficit after two innings to win 6-5. Rookie starter Vincent Velasquez served up a two-run homer to Kendrys Morales in the first inning and allowed another run in the second but settled down to pitch into the seventh inning, allowing five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. The Astros became the first team to reach the halfway point in the season and own a 47-34 record. The last time they had 47 wins through 81 games was 1999 (also 47-34).

3. Justin Smoak, Toronto Blue Jays. Happy Canada Day! Smoak made Blue Jays fans happy with two home runs in an 11-2 pounding of Rick Porcello and the Red Sox. Both homers went 430-plus feet, leading Mariners fans to ask, "Did he ever hit a ball 430 feet with Seattle?"

4. Justin Bour, Miami Marlins. Trailing the Giants 5-3 in the ninth, Bour did this.

5. Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins. He makes his season debut on Thursday afternoon, but I'm so excited for his return that he makes Wednesday's power rankings! Even if our pal Jonah Keri wants to dampen our enthusiasm:

^ Back to Top ^