The best (Phillies!), wildest and everything in between from May

May is when the season starts finding its shape, when the hot starts of April are either built upon or fade into history, just a blip before things start getting serious. It was a wild month, full of historic performances, incredible debuts, riveting games and superstars doing superstar things. It was also a month of frustration, including a season-ending injury to one of the game’s best players.

As May comes to a close, here's a look at the month that we just experienced, a month that’s now in the books.

Team That Doesn’t Want This Month to End: Phillies

At the start of play on April 30, the Phillies were 1 1/2 games behind the Braves in the National League East at 19-11 and looked like they were going to be neck-and-neck with Atlanta all season. A win over the Angels that day began a seven-game winning streak for the Phillies, who had an absolute scorcher of a month. They would ultimately win 18 of 21 games through May 23 and open up as much as a seven-game lead on those Braves. Is there anyone on Earth who thought on May 1 that the Phillies would have a seven-game lead at any point this season, let alone that month? Oh, and the Braves’ best player just went down for the year as well. The Phillies are in the driver's seat in the division for the foreseeable future.

Team That Is Eager For the Calendar to Turn: Rangers

Even with all the injuries they’ve dealt with, there is still something about the Rangers -- perhaps it is those championship rings on their fingers -- that makes you think they’re about to turn it on and go on a run. That sensation lasted the entire month of May. A four-game win streak at the beginning got you excited … and then they lost six of seven. They then won two out of three to get back on track … and then they lost six in a row. They followed that losing streak with three wins in a row, through Wednesday. But while that was all happening, the Mariners got hot and built a 3 1/2-game lead in the American League West. And with the loss of Jon Gray, their best starter this year, now Texas has a six-man rotation on the injured list. Maybe June will be when they turn it on and go on a run.

Play of the Month: Matt Chapman’s walk-off gem

In the midst of a four-game stretch in which the Giants came from behind to win each time -- including three straight in which they were down by four runs or more -- the most exciting play might have been Chapman’s game-saving, walk-off barehanded play to throw out Mark Vientos to beat the Mets, 8-7, on May 24. Chapman’s manager Bob Melvin, who has been around the third baseman for a long time, said it was perhaps the best play of his career, and we can’t really argue.

Best Single-Game Performance: Juan Soto goes off

In his previous eight games coming into a Saturday night game against the White Sox on May 18, Soto had endured his only slump as a Yankee, going 4-for-31. But manager Aaron Boone saw something different in batting practice that day, saying Soto was “locked in.” He was definitely right: Soto went 4-for-4 with two homers (and a walk, of course), sending him on a tear that put that slump in the rearview mirror. Soto may well be your leader for the AL Most Valuable Player right now.

Wildest Game: Orioles 7, Nationals 6 (May 8)

Bottom of the ninth, two outs, nobody on, Orioles up 3-1, Craig Kimbrel on the mound. No sweat, right? Wrong. Eddie Rosario homered, Kimbrel walked two batters, manager Brandon Hyde pulled him (for the second time in a week), and lefty Keegan Akin gave up a game-tying single to CJ Abrams. To the 10th!

Despite the runner on second base to start the inning, neither team could score. To the 11th!

Ryan Mountcastle hit a two-run homer off Hunter Harvey (who is also his best friend), but the Nats came right back to tie it up in the bottom half. To the 12th!

Jorge Mateo hit an RBI single and then came around to score on an error and wild pitch, giving the Orioles yet another two-run lead. The first batter for Washington in the 12th, Luis García Jr., hit an RBI double and stood as, yet again, the tying run. But then Jacob Webb got the next three batters, and at last, the game was over.

“I’m not sure how I’m feeling right now,” Hyde said afterwards. “I’m happy we won. But that was quite a game.”

Best Player to Make His MLB Debut: Paul Skenes, Pirates

The much-heralded flamethrower was obviously a big deal in his MLB debut on May 11, striking out seven Cubs in four innings in a 10-9 victory. He looked ready. But just how ready he truly was became apparent in his next three May starts, in which he gave up just three earned runs in 18 innings, striking out 23 batters and walking just three. Skenes may be the most anticipated pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg. And he’s off to a similarly dominant start.

Player of the Game Winner: José Ramírez, Guardians (6)

The Guardians had a terrific April (16-9), but they were even better in May as they established themselves as wholly different than they were in 2023 (even though they have a very similar roster). When you win as many games as the Guardians did, their best player is going to shine regularly. Ramírez is going to have to boost his numbers a bit in order to finally capture that elusive MVP Award, but his team is putting him in the best position to do so.

With his six Player of the Game honors in May, Ramírez vaulted past Soto for the overall lead this season.

• MLB Player of the Game FAQ

All-Star Squad of the Month

C: William Contreras, Brewers -- .301 AVG, .837 OPS, 21 RBIs
1B: Bryce Harper, Phillies -- .990 OPS, 7 HR, 24 RBIs
2B: Bryson Stott, Phillies -- .379 OBP, 9 SB, 16 RBIs
SS: Corey Seager, Rangers -- 1.047 OPS, 11 HR, 21 RBIs
3B: José Ramírez, Guardians -- 1.061 OPS, 11 HR, 33 RBIs
OF: Aaron Judge, Yankees -- 1.415 OPS, 14 HR, 27 RBIs
OF: Kyle Tucker, Astros -- .962 OPS, 11 HR, 19 RBIs
OF: Juan Soto, Yankees -- .958 OPS, 7 HR, 24 RBIs
DH: Brent Rooker, A’s -- .997 OPS, 6 HR, 22 RBIs
Utility: Rafael Devers, Red Sox -- .919 OPS, 7 HR, 19 RBIs

SP: Chris Sale, Braves -- 5-0, 0.56 ERA, 45 K's in 32 IP
SP: Garrett Crochet, White Sox -- 4-1, 0.93 ERA, 38 K's in 29 IP
SP: Seth Lugo, Royals -- 5-0, 1.79 ERA, 0.92 WHIP
SP: Luis Gil, Yankees -- 6-0, 0.70 ERA, .109 AVG
SP: Cal Quantrill, Rockies -- 4-0, 1.71 ERA, 0.92 WHIP

RP: Emmanuel Clase, Guardians -- 0.00 ERA, 0.38 WHIP, 9 SV
RP: Jeremiah Estrada, Padres -- 0.77 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 23 K's in 11 2/3 IP

Three Storylines For Next Month

1. Can the Braves keep up without Ronald Acuña Jr.?

It’s tough to come up with a more devastating loss than having the reigning NL MVP Award winner out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, but, as you may remember, the last time this happened, the Braves went out and won the 2021 World Series. That might be expecting a bit much this time around, but it’s fair to say the Braves won’t be ceding anything to the Phillies or anyone else. They’re still way up in the NL Wild Card race despite a difficult month. They still have championship aspirations. Can they steady the ship?

2. Who pulls ahead in the AL MVP race: Soto or Judge?

It is starting to look like the Yankees sluggers are going to be battling each other all season for MVP honors. While Soto took a big lead in April, Judge caught up in a hurry with a historic May surge. No matter who pulls ahead in this one, Yankees fans win.

3. Can the Mariners take control of the AL West?

The slow starts for both the Astros and the defending champion Rangers left an opening for the Mariners, and for most of the month, they didn’t take much advantage. But then a winning streak in the waning days of May, including three wins over the Astros, finally bought the Mariners (and the finally-warming-up Julio Rodríguez) some breathing room. Can they pull far ahead before the Astros and Rangers wake up?