This week's MLB power rankings encompass just one weekend's worth of games coming out of the All-Star break http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-scott-kazmir-jersey , so there won't be as much shuffling as we've seen in past weeks.However, there was still some notable movement.The Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates continue to push their way into the National League playoff picture, while the Milwaukee Brewers and San Francisco Giants are trying their best not to fall out of the race.The American League side of things remains stacked at the top with the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros and New York Yankees once again occupying the top three spots and the Cleveland Indians maintaining their stranglehold on the AL Central lead. How aggressive will fringe contenders be at the deadline knowing they're essentially playing for one wild-card spot?As always, these rankings remain a fluid process. Teams rise and fall based on where they were ranked the previous week. If a team keeps winning, it will keep climbing鈥攊t's as simple as that.Here's an updated look at where all 30 teams stand heading into this week's action.Updated Rankings1BostonRed Sox (70-31)2HoustonAstros (66-36)3New YorkYankees (63-34)4ChicagoCubs (58-40)5OaklandAthletics (57-43)6Los AngelesDodgers (55-44)7SeattleMariners (60-40)8PhiladelphiaPhillies (55-43)9Cleveland Indians (54-44)110ColoradoRockies (53-46)211MilwaukeeBrewers (56-45)212San FranciscoGiants (51-50)113ArizonaD-backs (54-46)14AtlantaBraves (53-43)15PittsburghPirates (51-49)316Tampa BayRays (50-49)117Los AngelesAngels (50-50)118St. LouisCardinals (50-49)119WashingtonNationals (49-49)20MiamiMarlins (43-58)221TorontoBlue Jays (46-52)222CincinnatiReds (43-56)223MinnesotaTwins (44-53)224New YorkMets (40-56)25TexasRangers (42-58)26San DiegoPadres (41-61)27DetroitTigers (42-59)28ChicagoWhite Sox (34-64)29Kansas CityRoyals (30-68)130BaltimoreOrioles (28-72)1Teams That ImpressedDarryl Webb/Associated PressThePittsburgh Piratesare surging up the standings.After a 40-48 start to the season, they've gone 11-1 with a plus-39 run differential in their last 12 games, trimming the deficit to four games for the second NL wild-card spot in the process.Corey Dickerson (66 PA, 1.222 OPS, 6 HR, 10 RBI), Starling Marte (69 PA, 1.105 OPS, 6 HR, 15 RBI) and Gregory Polanco (69 PA, .877 OPS, 6 HR, 13 RBI) have all been swinging a hot bat since the start of July.Meanwhile, theColorado Rockieshave also made a notable push of late, going 15-4 in their last 19 games with a plus-45 run differential.They were eight games back in the standings at the start of that run, and they're now just two games back in the NL West and 1.5 games back in the wild-card race.Tyler Anderson (3 GS, 1-0, 1.35 ERA) and Kyle Freeland (4 GS, 1-0, 3.22 ERA) have continued to do the heavy lifting atop the rotation, and the team might need to seek out some rotation help at the deadline if it's serious about making another playoff push.Further down the rankings, theMiami Marlins(2-1),Toronto Blue Jays(3-0) andKansas City Royals(3-0) all picked up series wins to earn an up arrow. Teams That DisappointedGene J. Puskar/Associated PressTheMilwaukee Brewerslost six games in a row to close out the first half of the season. They were unable to get things rolling coming out of the break, as they dropped two of three to the Los Angeles Dodgers.The Brewers are hitting just .236/.312/.381 during the month of July Kurt Suzuki Jersey , while the pitching staff has posted a 4.39 ERA and 1.38 WHIP.TheSan Francisco GiantsandArizona Diamondbackshave gone 6-9 and 7-8, respectively, in their last 15 games, opening the door for the aforementioned Rockies to surge up the standings. The NL West is shaping up to be quite a battle, though everyone is chasing the Dodgers at this point following their acquisition of Manny Machado.On the AL side, theTampa Bay Rays(1-2) andLos Angeles Angels(1-2) both took series losses to kick off the second half, and their status as fringe playoff contenders took a hit.With theBaltimore Oriolessuffering another series sweep, they're now on pace for a staggering 116 losses. MVPs of the WeekHitter:Matt Carpenter, St. Louis CardinalsStats:9-for-17, 2 2B, 6 HR, 10 RBI, 8 RIt's easy now to forget just how bad Matt Carpenter was at the plate earlier this season.The veteran third baseman was hitting a brutal .155/.305/.274 at the end of April and found himself in danger of losing playing time as a result.How the tables have turned.The 32-year-old is the hottest hitter on the planet right now, with a .355/.481/.922 line in July that includes seven doubles and 10 home runs in 77 plate appearances.After a huge series against the Cubs that included a five-hit, three-homer game Friday, he now ranks seventh in the majors in OPS (.975). He's also tied for the NL lead with 25 home runs鈥攚ell on his way to surpassing his career high of 28鈥攁s he's quickly forcing his way into the NL MVP conversation.Pitcher:Zack Greinke, Arizona DiamondbacksStats:W, 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 KStarting pitching has not been the same strength for the Arizona Diamondbacks this season that it was a year ago.Taijuan Walker is out for the season following Tommy John surgery, and Robbie Ray has struggled since returning from an oblique strain.However, Zack Greinke has been his usual steady self atop the staff.The 34-year-old is fresh off his fifth All-Star appearances, and he's gone 11-5 with a 3.05 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 137 strikeouts in 129.2 innings.His most dominant start of the season came Sunday when he struck out 13 over eight innings against the Colorado Rockies.That was his highest single-game total since he also struck out 13 versus the Braves back on July 30, 2014, when he was a Dodger.If the D-backs are going to make a return trip to the postseason, Greinke will need to be on top of his game the rest of the way.Video Highlights of the WeekLongest Home Run:Joey Gallo http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-dansby-swanson-jersey , Texas Rangers (472 feet)Joey Gallo doesn't always make contact.The 24-year-old is hitting .187 on the season and striking out at a dizzying 35.7 percent clip.But when he does make contact, the ball tends to go a long, long way.Of his 61 hits this season, 24 have left the yard, with his longest homer coming Friday when he creamed this 472-foot bomb off Cleveland Indians closer Cody Allen.He also has 466-foot and 453-foot blasts to his credit this season, and he had the third-longest homer of the season last year in the form of a mammoth 490-foot shot off Los Angeles Angels starter Garrett Richards.There's a good chance he won't finish the season above the Mendoza Line, but another 40-homer season is well within reach.Best Defensive Play:Joey Wendle, Tampa Bay RaysWe've seen a healthy mix of diving catches, home run robberies and cannon-armed throws in our "best defensive play" section so far this year.Now, we can add a stellar glove flip to the mix.Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Joey Wendle dug deep into his bag of tricks to get an out on this play, as he had to charge hard and didn't have the time or the angle to make a normal throw to first base.Instead, he shoveled it from a good 40 feet away, and it was right on the money.Justin Bour is not the most fleet of foot, but it was an impressive play nonetheless and a deserving recipient of our top defensive honor for the week.Wendle has played an above-average second base all season with 2 DRS and 8.4 UZR/150in 488.2 innings of action at the position. Must-See Upcoming MatchupWashington Nationals vs. Milwaukee Brewers (Monday-Wednesday)Rob Carr/Getty ImagesIt's put up or shut up for two teams that are quickly slipping out of contention in the National League.The Washington Nationals have limped along at an 12-23 clip over their last 35 games, leaving them with a .500 record and a six-game deficit to overcome in the NL East standings.Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers have gone 1-8 with a minus-23 run differential over their last nine games. In the process, they've gone from a 1.5-game lead to a 3.5-game deficit in the NL Central race.With that in mind, this series could prove to be a significant momentum swing for either team.The Brewers will miss Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg in this three-game set, while the Brewers will have arguably their top trio of starters going.The pitching matchups are slated as follows:Gio Gonzalez (19 GS, 6-6, 3.72 ERA) vs. Jhoulys Chacin (21 GS, 8-3, 3.68 ERA)Jeremy Hellickson (13 GS, 4-1, 3.29 ERA) vs. Junior Guerra (18 GS, 6-6, 3.23 ERA)Tanner Roark (19 GS, 3-12, 4.87 ERA) vs. Freddy Peralta (7 GS Ozzie Albies Jersey , 4-1, 2.65 ERA)This is a make-or-break stretch for both teams with the deadline rapidly approaching.All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphsunless otherwise noted. Texas recalled prize outfield prospect Willie Calhoun from Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday at the end of the minor league season, but Calhoun’s at-bats will be limited by his limitations defensively to left field and the Rangers‘ glut of young corner outfielders and veteran designated hitters.Calhoun will be in Arlington on Tuesday when the Rangers continue a three-game series versus the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Park. The Angels took the first game 3-1 on Monday as Texas was held to six hits a day after scoring 18 runs in a win over Minnesota.The Angels will send left-hander Andrew Heaney (8-8, 4.09 ERA) to the mound for the middle game of the series and Texas will counter with left-hander Mike Minor (10-7, 4.33).Article continues below ...Calhoun, 23, has hit .275 with a .716 OPS for 69 major league at-bats this year. After a slow start at Round Rock, he finished the season hitting .294 with a .782 OPS. Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo will receive the lion’s share work in the corner outfield spots. The Rangers have too many bats for the DH spot between Adrian Beltre and Shin-Soo Choo for Calhoun to fill that spot with any regularity.“There won’t be regular at-bats for Willie as we’re constructed right now,” Texas general manager Jon Daniels told the Dallas Morning News on Monday. “We want him to come up here and continue to do the work he’s been doing. He really got after it last time.”Meanwhile, the Angels are confident that prized two-way player Shohei Ohtani came out of his first pitching performance in nearly three months in good stead despite a dip in fastball velocity from 96-97 mph in the first inning to 91-92 mph in the third. A Grade 2 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament kept the Japanese phenom off the mound since June 6.The Angels said after Sunday’s game that Ohtani was dealing with some back stiffness and a sore finger after attempting to barehand a comebacker, leading to the dip in velocity.“Naturally, a red flag goes up, especially with what happened last time,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told MLB.com. “But Shohei said he felt great. He had no apprehension about what was happening in his elbow. His delivery was a little out of whack. He wanted to make sure he could get the ball into decent zones, so he wasn’t really jumping on it.”Ohtani said his back and finger both feel fine and that he’ll “hopefully” be able to make his next scheduled start on the mound on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox.Heaney will head to hill for the 26th time this year and for his 14th start on the road. Tuesday’s game will be his second start of the year versus Texas (in which he did not get a decision). In five career starts against the Rangers, Heaney is 1-2 with a 7.88 ERA.Heaney won his most recent start on Thursday at Houston after tossing six scoreless innings and allowing five hits and one walk with six strikeouts. He is seeking first his winning decision against Texas since July 26, 2015. In three starts at Globe Life Park, Heaney is 0-3 with a 10.38 ERA, his highest ERA of any ballpark.Minor will make his 25th start of the season, and will be working on five days’ rest after suffering the loss Wednesday in the Rangers’ 3-1 defeat at home against the Dodgers. He has gone 4-1 with a 2.64 ERA in his past five outings.Minor is without a decision with a 5.68 ERA in three career games, one of them starts, against the Angels. He will make his first start against the Angels this season and has not started against the Los Angeles since June 15, 2014, when he played for Atlanta. Minor made two relief appearances versus the Angels last season with he was with Kansas City, going 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA.