MLB Roundup: Week 5

Five weeks of the 2016 MLB season are in the books, and it’s still impossible to say if I — or anyone else, for that matter — knows much more than I did just mere days ago. That’s the beauty of baseball. A look now at some of the compelling storylines from the fifth week and overall thoughts on what’s been a wild ride thus far:

There’s no place like the road

This is one of the most fascinating and complex stats I’ve seen in a while, but there are currently 18 teams – that’s 60% of the league — with better winning percentages on the road than at home. What does it mean? Well, maybe not much since we’re only in early May, but it could also be a precursor that things are due to flip around. Historically, home teams are somewhere in the ballpark of a 55%-60% proposition. While a number of teams seem more comfortable away from their home ballpark, we’re also seeing some major aberrations for teams at home. The Seattle Mariners are 5-7 at Safeco Field at 13-6 on the road; the Los Angeles Dodgers are just 5-8 at Chavez Ravine but 11-7 away from home; and somehow, the Colorado Rockies are only 4-8 at Coors Field but 11-8 on the road. It doesn’t quite add up, and figures to even itself out in the coming weeks.

There’s really no place like the road

The Atlanta Braves could not be having a sorrier final season at Turner Field. The Bravos are 1-15 at home in this their swan song season at the 20-year-old ballpark, and the most amazing thing is that they currently have the seventh-most wins at Turner Field in 2016. Yes, that’s right, there are six visiting teams that actually have won more games in Atlanta than the Braves have this season. No wonder there are about 40,000 people disguised at empty seats there every game.

Robinson’s rebound

What a “comeback” season for Mariners’ second baseman Robinson Cano. I use the term very loosely, because Cano was fighting some personal and health problems last year when his production declined somewhat. But it’s been a different story in 2016, as Cano is leading the AL in home runs (12) and RBIs (33) while batting .305 with a .988 OPS for the first-place Mariners. Cano is starting to look every bit like the $240 million man that he is, and it’s sorely needed for a team that finished 21st in the Majors in runs scored last year.

Royal offensive woes

I don’t think anyone would have predicted that when they met in early May, the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees would be the two lowest-scoring teams in the American League. But that’s precisely where they stand (the Royals are technically tied for second-worst with Tampa Bay) and, hence, both teams are looking up in the standings. It hasn’t been as pronounced for the Royals, who are still a .500 team at 15-15. Kansas City has gone above four runs just once in its last 12 games, hurting its ability to utilize the formula that was so successful in 2014-15. That would be getting enough from the starting pitching to turn things over to one of the game’s best bullpens. But due to a lack of offense, that hasn’t quite been the case in 2016.

Pirates overcoming Cardinal demons

There was a time last year — May 3 to be exact — where the Pittsburgh Pirates had not only lost 16 of their last 19 games to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, but had lost half (eight) of those games in walk-off fashion. But after a 3-18 stretch at Busch, the Pirates have suddenly turned their fortunes around in St. Louis, winning five of their last seven games there. Most impressive this weekend was not just that Pittsburgh won a series in St. Louis to improve to 5-1 against the Cards this season, but that it bounced back from a bad case of deja vu all over again to win in convincing fashion yesterday. Manager Clint Hurdle’s questionable use of his bullpen yesterday cost the Buccos in what turned into a 6-4 St. Louis win on a Matt Carpenter walk-off homer. But rather than fold in a “here we go again” moment, the Pirates hung 10 on the Cards yesterday to claim a series win. They are getting big, productive seasons from their young stars and are winning despite another slow start from Andrew McCutchen.