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: MIAMI MARLINS (36-36)

A team that has surprised people and have been playing very well over the past couple of weeks is the Miami Marlins. Miami has played 8-2 baseball over their last ten games and have closed the gap in their run differential. Being able to be a team that has a run differential of 0 and having an equal win-loss record, makes one believe that this team is playing as close to their average as they can be right now. It’s a nice stretch for a team that wasn’t expected to be much during this 2026 campaign.

FIRST DOWN: CINCINNATI REDS (33-37)

To say that the Cincinnati Reds have struggled recently, would be an understatement. It wasn’t long ago that every team in the National League Central was above a .500 record. However, for the Reds things have gone very poorly. And when breaking down their record over the last ten ballgames, Cincinnati is facing a 2-8 record, and have a -58 run differential. Such a deficit in run differential puts a great strain on both the offense and the pitching staff to have to try and do too much. Having this level of pressure, makes things much more difficult for a team that was already looking at a tough stretch of baseball to begin with for Cincinnati.

SECOND UP: NEW YORK YANKEES (43-27)

When Aaron Judge went down with an injury, it was expected that the Yankees would begin to struggle. However, this cast and crew behind Judge is arugably the best supporting cast that’s ever played behind Judge. (And there’s very little argument about this crew being the best one since Judge has joined the big league roster.) Watching what the Yankees were able to do against the American League East thus far this season, leaves Yankee fans feeling much better about the team’s chances this season. New York has struggles over the last several years against their division rivals, and this season the team has been much better. Looking at the last ten games for the Bronx Bombers, they’ve played 7-3 baseball and have an American League best +107 run differential. New York is tied with the Atlanta Braves for the third best run differential mark in MLB behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers (+141) and the Milwaukee Brewers (+112). If the Yankees can maintain their current winning ways against the AL East, then it won’t be difficult to imagine the Bronx playing host to some World Series games.

SECOND DOWN: PITTSBURGH PIRATES (36-36)

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been an interest team to watch in the 2026 season. From the offseason “spending spree” to the (mostly) early call of Konnor Griffin, the Buccos haven’t operated in the same way as previous seasons. That was until now, the Pirates have recently began to struggle after their early season success. What becomes a concerning statistic for the Pirates and their front office as the trade deadline approaches, is the fact that the team is eight games under .500 against over .500 teams. The teams recent skid also coincided with the lost to the injured list of their prospect phenom, Konnor Griffin. Griffin seemed to I just life and excitement not just to the fanbase but also to the team. And thus far his lack of presence in the lineup has shown. For the Pirates, the last ten games has not gone their way as they’ve been 3-7 over that time frame and they also dropped by 16 runs in run differential to now only being +14 as opposed to being up +30 in last week’s countdown. If Pittsburgh wants to end the postseason drought, then a quick turnaround will be needed to make that happen.

THIRD UP: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (38-31)

The St. Louis Cardinals are surprising even the most optimistic of Redbird fans. There’s no one who could have told you that it was possible that on June 14th that the Cardinals would be not just seven games over .500. But also that the Cardinals would be the fourth best team in the entire National League. For St. Louis the last ten games have also played out quite nicely with a 7-3 record over that time. The Cardinals have also increased their run differential from -2 in last week’s countdown (as they were the team to be on the lookout for or BOLO) to now being +12. To have a net +14 run differential in a week’s time is a remarkable run for the Redbirds. If St. Louis can continue playing baseball like this all season, they will go on to surprise some people in a potential postseason run.

THIRD DOWN: COLORADO ROCKIES (27-45)

Rebuild after rebuild after rebuild. The one thing that Colorado Rockies fans can always seem to count on is that the team is “rebuilding” or “retooling” for the future. Well, the future is not looking so hot based on the present run that the team is facing. Colorado is dealing with another seeming lost season, despite the offseason changes to improve the direction and focus of the team. And yes, the cliche line of “trust the process” can be uttered about the Colorado Rockies as much as it can be said about any other team in any other sport. But for Rockies’ fans, they’ve been trusting the process for so long with no success, they no longer believe that there even is a process in place. Over their last ten games, the Rockies are 3-7, but more importantly, Colorado has an MLB worst run differential of -90. The next worst team in terms of run differential is the aforementioned Reds at -58. That makes for a run differential of an additional -32 runs in the negative for the Rockies. It makes winning ballgames seem nearly impossible when you’re being outscored by so many runs.

BE ON LOOKOUT FOR (BOLO): WASHINGTON NATIONALS (37-35)

Like the Cardinals mentioned a moment ago, the Washington Nationals are also a team that is currently punching above their perceived weight class. The Nationals success thus far this season has been built upon the strength and length of their lineup. And that’s what has allowed the Nats to get to +13 in run differential, and that’s saying a lot because their pitching staff has struggled across the board. The Nationals are surprising people but won’t for long as they have a superstar being built up in front of our very eyes in James Wood. Washington has gone 6-4 over their last ten games. Should this offense continue to deliver and outpace their shoddy pitching staff then the Nationals could find themselves closing in on a postseason berth that was believed to be at least two more seasons away. Not to say that this team compares to their 2019 counterparts, however, that team was also not expected to be a World Series caliber winning team either, yet they did achieve the ultimate goal. So if there’s a team that currently epitomizes this particular section, it is the Washington Nationals, they are a team to “Be On the Lookout” for in 2026.