Winning your first 13 games and 27 of your first 33 just doesn't earn the clout it once did.
When the Tampa Bay Rays raced out to a dominant start, evoking memories of the wire-to-wire Detroit Tigers' 35-5 burst in 1984, it seemed to be the defining hot streak of the season.
Yet as Major League Baseball breaks for the All-Star Game, just one team is poised to lap the field.
The Atlanta Braves did the Rays two better, putting together a 27-4 stretch that pushed their lead in the National League East to 8 1/2 games − the only division in which first and second place are separated by more than two games.