MLB Heat Check, San Diego Padres 7-3 in Their Last 10

Ten games is not a season, but it is a mood, and moods decide a lot of games. The current mood around MLB: San Diego Padres keep winning, Oakland Athletics keep losing, and everybody else lives somewhere in the weather between.

Who's hot

Start with San Diego Padres. They have won 7 of their last 10, and they have not been sneaking past anyone: the runs margin over that stretch is +15, which breaks down to about 4.5 scored and 3.0 allowed per game. That is the arithmetic of a team winning on merit, not on bounces.

Right behind them sit Tampa Bay Rays, 7-3 over the same kind of stretch and +12 on runs margin, quieter, but pointed the same direction.

Keep New York Mets in the conversation too, at 7-3 over their last 10.

Some context helps: across every club in the sample, scoring sits at 4.3 runs per game right now. San Diego Padres are beating the league's own pace by 0.2 a game.

Who's cold

Then there is Oakland Athletics. A 1-9 stretch is ugly on its own; pair it with a -42 runs margin and it stops looking like bad luck. They are being outscored by about 4.2 runs a game, and no scheduling quirk explains that away.

Seattle Mariners are not far behind on the misery index at 3-7.

Do not ignore the middle class, either: Milwaukee Brewers (5-5) and Los Angeles Angels (5-5) sit close enough that a single hot or cold series flips their order.

At a glance

For the fuller picture, the five best recent records in the league:

The fine print

As always, watch where record and runs margin tell different stories about the same club. The margin tends to know first.

One to circle: San Diego Padres meet New York Mets in their next game, and we will find out quickly whether this stretch travels.