Power Rankings: Dodgers remain locked in No. 1 spot
ESPN.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to show no signs of slowing down, reigning supreme in the MLB Power Rankings for the third straight week.
The Dodgers, with an 8½-game lead in the National League West, dropped two of three to the Chicago Cubs over the weekend but finished with a 5-2 record for the week and still own baseball's best record (35-17) and run differential (plus-87). Even without Manny Ramirez in the lineup until July, the Dodgers are scoring runs at nearly the same pace (5.48 runs per game without Manny, compared to 5.55 runs per game with him). Plus, they are second in the majors in ERA (3.74).
Following the Dodgers are the No. 2 New York Yankees and the No. 3 Texas Rangers, who moved up two spots this week. The Boston Red Sox, No. 2 last week, fell two spots to No. 4.
One of our panelists, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com, wrote the comments below. Meanwhile, you can rank the teams yourself.
Tune in to "Baseball Tonight" every Monday on ESPN to see the week's U.S. Army Power Rankings. The San Francisco Giants are the U.S. Army Team of the Week; the Giants won five of six games and jumped five spots to No. 14 in this week's rankings.
| 2009 Power Rankings: June 1 | |||||
| RK (LW) | TEAM | REC | COMMENT | ||
![]() | 1 (1) | Dodgers | 35-17 | The Dodgers are 14-9 since Manny Ramírez was suspended for 50 games. | |
![]() | 2 (3) | Yankees | 29-21 | The Yankees are the team of the hour, with 14 victories in 18 games. | |
![]() | 3 (5) | Rangers | 30-20 | Texas won 20 games in May, the second best start in club history, surpassed only by a 31-8 start in 1996. | |
![]() | 4 (2) | Red Sox | 29-22 | The Red Sox keep winning, although their starters' ERA is 5.24. | |
![]() | 5 (6) | Brewers | 30-20 | Trevor Hoffman is 13-for-13 in save opportunities and has not allowed a run in 15 appearances. | |
![]() | 6 (4) | Cardinals | 29-21 | Albert Pujols went 7-for-11 over the weekend to increase his average from .318 to .339. | |
![]() | 7 (7) | Phillies | 28-20 | Their starters have a major league-worst 5.86 ERA, but the Phillies have won 12 of 16 games to take over first place in the NL East. | |
![]() | 8 (8) | Tigers | 28-21 | Tigers pitchers lead the American League with a 3.87 ERA and the majors with seven shutouts. | |
![]() | 9 (11) | Mets | 28-21 | Despite their injuries, the Mets have won seven of nine games to stay near the top of the NL East. | |
![]() | 10 (9) | Blue Jays | 29-24 | Toronto has lost 10 of 12 games to fall to third place in the AL East. | |
![]() | 11 (15) | Cubs | 25-24 | Sophomore curse? Geovany Soto, the 2008 NL rookie of the year, is batting .210 with one home run and 12 RBIs. | |
![]() | 12 (14) | Reds | 26-23 | Francisco Cordero has converted 27 straight save opportunities since July 21, 2008. | |
![]() | 13 (12) | Angels | 25-24 | Ervin Santana (0-2, 9.50 ERA) has allowed 19 hits and 31 runs in his first four outings. | |
![]() | 14 (19) | Giants | 25-24 | The Giants won six of their last eight in May to finish the month with a winning record (15-14). | |
![]() | 15 (10) | Braves | 25-25 | The Braves lost five of seven games on the road before returning home for a 10-game homestand. | |
![]() | 16 (17) | Twins | 25-27 | Nick Blackburn has not lost in his past five starts and improved his ERA from 5.19 to 3.51 since May 5. | |
![]() | 17 (13) | Rays | 25-28 | So far, 17 of 27 outs recorded by David Price have been strikeouts. | |
![]() | 18 (22) | White Sox | 24-25 | The White Sox went 5-2 on their last road tour and now will have an 11-game homestand. | |
![]() | 19 (18) | Padres | 25-25 | The Padres have won 12 of their past 15 games. | |
![]() | 20 (20) | Mariners | 24-27 | Ichiro Suzuki batted .377 in May to increase his average to .354. | |
![]() | 21 (16) | Royals | 23-27 | Zack Greinke went without a decision in two of his past three outings despite having an ERA of 2.05 (5 earned runs in 22 innings pitched) during that stretch. | |
![]() | 22 (26) | Orioles | 23-28 | The Orioles are 1-9 in games decided by three runs or fewer, and the victory was against Washington, the team with the majors' worst record. | |
![]() | 23 (21) | Marlins | 23-28 | Hanley Ramirez batted .343 with 21 runs scored in May. | |
![]() | 24 (23) | Pirates | 22-28 | Starters Ian Snell and Paul Maholm have combined to go 14 consecutive outings without a victory. | |
![]() | 25 (24) | Diamondbacks | 22-29 | The Diamondbacks have not won a series over the first two months of the season. | |
![]() | 26 (27) | Indians | 22-30 | The Indians have won seven of 10 games, their best stretch of the season. | |
![]() | 27 (25) | Astros | 20-28 | Mike Hampton, who has won eight games in a row against Pittsburgh, will face the Pirates on Friday in Houston. | |
![]() | 28 (28) | Rockies | 20-29 | The Rockies won two of three games at home under their new manager, Jim Tracy, but now will play 11 road games. | |
![]() | 29 (29) | Athletics | 19-29 | Second baseman Adam Kennedy has hit .390 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 21 games with the A's. | |
![]() | 30 (30) | Nationals | 13-36 | The Nationals have lost six straight games, 15 of their past 17 and 18 of 21. | |






























