Well, it’s time for the third installment of our weekly countdown series known simply as “3 Up & 3 Down.” So if you’re new to the Baseball Banter Broadcast, 3 Up & 3 Down is our weekly examination of three teams playing well, three teams that aren’t. And we add in a team to “Be On the Look Out” for (or BOLO) just for good measure. So let’s examine “week two” of 3 Up & 3 Down.

FIRST UP: TAMPA BAY RAYS (26-13)

The Tampa Bay Rays were counted all but out before the start of the 2026. Improvement to both the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles relegated the Rays to cellar dwellers in the American League East. However, as the game isn’t played on paper or won in the offseason, the Rays have continued to pushback on that narrative. Tampa Bay currently possesses the best mark in the AL with a record of 26-13 or a .667 winning percentage. But if you drill down a little more recently, Tampa has been 8-2 over their last ten games. Winning baseball games at an .800 percent clip is not really sustainable over the course of 162. Yet having multiple stretches during the season as the Rays have had, puts them in an incredible position. And that is how they have gotten to the best mark in the AL and only trail the Atlanta Braves (28-13) and the Chicago Cubs (27-14) for the best records in the entire Major Leagues.

FIRST DOWN: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (16-24)

The San Francisco Giants continue to drive the struggle bus in the 2026 season. San Francisco has faced a ton of adversity during the season. And while some of it is self inflicted, all of it doesn’t help the team win ballgames. Over their last ten games the Giants have found themselves on the losing end far too often. San Francisco is just 3-7 over that stretch of games. Beyond that losing fact, the Giants possess baseball’s worst run differential with -48 runs. This is not a positive formula for winning ballgames. And with every passing error, miscue, media blunder, and most importantly with every loss, the reverberations of the doubt sounds begin to drown out the San Francisco Giants lifeforce for the 2026. Then you compound matters of difficulty with the trading away of arguably the best defensive catcher in baseball in Patrick Bailey, and the calls for the front office face, Buster Posey and manager Tony Vitello, start to ring louder and louder. The Giants are going to need to turn things around quickly if they want to start quieting the noise.

SECOND UP: CHICAGO CUBS (27-14)

The Chicago Cubs made serious waves in the offseason making the moves they did to bring in reinforcements to the team. Adding players like Alex Bregman and Edward Cabrera were the kind of moves that signal that the team was going after a championship in 2026, and not just the division crown. Chicago has been playing so well recently, that they had to lose two games in a row to fall to an .800 winning percentage over their last ten games. The Cubbies have the fourth best run differential in baseball at +47. When you are outscoring your opponents in this fashion it bodes well for the long haul of the season.

SECOND DOWN: CINCINNATI REDS (22-19)

By contrast, to the Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds are currently struggling. It wasn’t long ago that the Reds were at the top of the NL Central division. However, hard times have fallen in Cincy. During this fall from grace, the Reds have fallen five games behind the Cubs in the NL Central and overall have played 2-8 baseball in their last ten contest. Cincinnati finds themselves the only team in the NL Central with a negative run differential at -33. And again, in direct contrast to the run of the Cubs, the Reds have had to win their last two games just to get to the .200 winning percentage they’ve had over their last ten games. It’s been a struggle for the Reds recently, and if they have any hopes of righting the ship, they need to switch things up sooner rather than later.

THIRD UP: MILWAUKEE BREWERS (22-16)

The Milwaukee Brewers are one of the most intriguing watches in baseball. Milwaukee seemingly plays baseball in direct opposition to how the rest of MLB has decided to play the game. Actually, the Brew Crew has seemed almost excited to beat teams in different ways every single night. The Brewers are currently riding a four game win streak and have played 7-3 baseball over their last ten games. Pat Murphy has his team playing the kind of selfless baseball that places the team above the individuals. This brand of baseball helped Milwaukee claim the most wins a season ago, and it seems that they are hunt for the very same thing again in 2026.

THIRD DOWN: COLORADO ROCKIES (16-25)

Well, congrats are in order , as it has taken six installments of the 3 Up and 3 Down weekly countdown before the Colorado Rockies were featured as a member of the downtrodden list. However, that streak has now come to an end, let’s take a quick look as to why, shall we? Examining beyond the 16-25 record, which is hard to ignore, the Rockies have won just 20% of their last ten games. A .200 batting average would have a player at least benched if not relegated back to the minors to work on his craft. Colorado has needed a refresh for quite some time. And while this offseason, the team made some moves and strides in that direction, it’s going to take time to come to fruition. However, in the mean time, the Rockies are not playing good baseball as evidenced by their -35 runs differential. A rebuild takes time, but Rockies fans have given this organization over 30 years to represent itself well. And what do they have to show for it? One pennant and five postseason appearances and the last of which came in back to back season of 2017-2018. And since then the Rockies have finished no higher than fourth in the National League West division. And finishing fourth won’t get you even close enough to the postseason to even sniff it.

BE ON LOOKOUT FOR (BOLO): PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (19-22)

It’s sad that it took Rob Thompson getting fired to do it, but the Phillies are back at playing the game of baseball well. Philadelphia has been hot since bench coach, Don Mattingly took over the managerial duties. And this is oddly familiar for the Phillies as that’s how Topper got the starting manager role to begin with, taking over for a fired Joe Girardi and then the Phils went on a run. And while the Phillies are still nine games out of the National League East division lead, behind the Atlanta Braves, they’ve ascended up the ranks in the NL East from fifth to second. Good pitching always helps end losing streaks and start winning ones, and the return of Zach Wheeler. Wheels is an anchor for what was a rotation drifting off at sea. Zach’s return helped spark a turn around for the Phillies and winning seven of your last ten games, will also help a team feel better about their situation. Keep an eye out for the Philadelphia Phillies.