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: MILWAUKEE BREWERS (26-18)

There are few teams hotter than the Milwaukee Brewers right now in MLB. Over their last ten ballgames, the Brewers are 8-2 and feature a prominent +61 run differential. For Milwaukee, they are in arguably the most competitive division currently in baseball, as all five teams are over .500. No other division in baseball has even as many as three teams above .500. Thus, watching what the team that had the most wins a season ago continues to do without much fanfare is incredible to witness.

FIRST DOWN: LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM (16-31)

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are arguably the most confused and confusing team in Major League Baseball. No team has made as many questionable decisions in every aspect of roster construction, personnel decisions, organizational direction, and essentially every other aspect of a baseball team as the Angels. For crying out loud, the team plays in Anaheim across the street from Disneyland, and yet, they want to try and hoard in on the potential capital of Los Angeles. The problems with this organization stem from the top with owner Arte Moreno. And sadly, it seems that until Moreno is gone, the Angels will have their wings clipped.

SECOND UP: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (24-23)

The Philadelphia Phillies were a team that came into 2026 with high expectations, and they got off to a ridiculously slow start. Philadelphia played so poorly to begin the year that manager Rob Thompson was fired and replaced with his bench coach, Don Mattingly. Since Mattingly took over, the Phillies have gone 15-4 over their last 19 games. The Phillies went from ten games under .500 to now being above a .500 record with a 24-23 record. Philadelphia has also played well in its recent games, winning four straight contests. Philadelphia has climbed out of the trenches and is a team that should be watched closely as things continue to progress in the season.

SECOND DOWN: DETROIT TIGERS (20-27)

The 2026 season has not been kind to the Detroit Tigers. Losing Tarik Skubal for any length of time was always going to be a difficult blow to a team built upon his left arm. Even when the team acquired Framber Valdez via free agency, the Tigers were always going to go only as far as Skubal was going to be able to take them. For Detroit, the last ten games have been a microcosm of their season. And for the Tigers in that time, a 2-8 record with two straight losses and a -13 run differential, doesn’t lend itself to a positive feeling in Motown.

THIRD UP: CHICAGO WHITE SOX (24-22)

One of the craziest and most notable happenings of the 2026 MLB season is the downright phenomenal play by the all but counted out Chicago White Sox. After setting the modern record for the worst win/loss record in the sport, the team has slowly started improving its stock and trade. This version of the White Sox was not expected to be playing winning baseball. Let alone be one of only five teams in the American League to be over .500. For Chicago, it may still be early in the season to start counting them as a postseason team. However, if they continue to play this brand of baseball, they will be back playing meaningful games in October.

THIRD DOWN: NEW YORK YANKEES (28-19)

To say that the New York Yankees are currently not playing the best baseball would be an understatement. New York really struggled on their recent nine-game road trip, going just 2-7 for that stretch of games. And if we expand it out one more game, the numbers (3-7 over their last ten games) are only slightly less embarrassing for a team that claims to have World Series aspirations. The Yankees still maintain the best run differential in the American League and the third-best mark overall behind the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. However, runs over their recent road trip seemed difficult to come by for New York. If the team wants to turn things around, they will need to lock in their suddenly wayward bullpen. If the Yankees’ first goal is to claim the AL East division, then they are going to need to figure out a way to keep pace with the surprising division-leading Tampa Bay Rays. And that starts by not losing games that you’re winning after eight innings.

BE ON LOOKOUT FOR (BOLO): LOS ANGELES DODGERS (29-18)

The Los Angeles Dodgers just seem to operate on a different spectrum than everyone else in baseball. Recently, LA has not been the juggernaut that was expected, yet they keep winning games and series. Over their last ten games, the Dodgers are 6-4 and riding a five-game win streak. The Dodgers have dealt with a ton of injuries early, but they have also built up the level of depth that few teams can match. LA has built its team for the postseason, and the regular season games seem almost like a formality. So watching how this team functions during the season is very interesting. You would think that if Shohei Ohtani wasn’t hitting, the team would be severely struggling, yet they have been able to ride the wave and not just keep afloat, but still lead the NL West division.