MLB Heat Check, San Diego Padres 9-1 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: San Diego Padres are rolling, Colorado Rockies are reeling, and the gap between those two feelings is enormous.

The warm end of the table

Nobody is playing better than San Diego Padres right now. The record says 9-1 over their last 10; the runs column says even more, a +16 margin that works out to 6.1 scored and 4.5 allowed a night.

The chase belongs to Tampa Bay Rays, who have gone 8-2 with a +31 margin of their own.

And do not sleep on Los Angeles Dodgers, quietly 7-3 across their last 10.

Some context helps: across every club in the sample, scoring sits at 4.6 runs per game right now. San Diego Padres are beating the league's own pace by 1.5 a game.

Who's cold

Then there is Colorado Rockies. A 1-9 stretch is ugly on its own; pair it with a -32 runs margin and it stops looking like bad luck. They are being outscored by about 3.2 runs a game, and no scheduling quirk explains that away.

Cincinnati Reds (2-8) share the cold row, for whatever comfort that provides.

In between the extremes it gets crowded, Arizona Diamondbacks at 5-5 and Miami Marlins at 5-5 are basically sharing a seat, and the next series either way will split them.

At a glance

The top of the ledger, at a glance:

The fine print

One reading tip before you go: runs margin travels better than record. A fat margin with a modest record usually means the wins are coming; the reverse usually means they are not.

Next up on the slate: San Diego Padres against Miami Marlins. Check back after that one goes final.