MLB Heat Check, Atlanta Braves 8-2 in Their Last 10

Form is the story the standings tell slowly and the last ten games tell fast. Right now the fast version of MLB is easy to summarize: Atlanta Braves are rolling, Los Angeles Angels are reeling, and the gap between those two feelings is enormous.

The warm end of the table

Start with Atlanta Braves. They have won 8 of their last 10, and they have not been sneaking past anyone: the runs margin over that stretch is +11, which breaks down to about 4.4 scored and 3.3 allowed per game. That is the arithmetic of a team winning on merit, not on bounces.

Toronto Blue Jays are the closest thing to company at 7-3, with a +21 runs margin that says the record is no fluke.

Milwaukee Brewers (7-3) round out the warm end of the ledger.

The deep freeze

At the bottom of the temperature map sit Los Angeles Angels: 1-9 in their last 10, -11 on runs margin. That is about 1.1 a game in the wrong direction, and no lineup shuffle fixes it overnight.

Detroit Tigers are not far behind on the misery index at 3-7.

In between the extremes it gets crowded, St. Louis Cardinals at 5-5 and New York Mets at 5-5 are basically sharing a seat, and the next series either way will split them.

At a glance

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

Worth remembering

Records fib a little and runs margins fib less. When the two columns disagree about a team, trust the margin, it is the slower liar.

The schedule cooperates, too, Atlanta Braves face Philadelphia Phillies next, so this story gets its next chapter almost immediately.