The Times’ MLB rankings

Ranking the MLB teams from 1 to 30. Last week’s ranking in parentheses, statistics are through Friday’s games:

1. ST. LOUIS: Randal Grichuk, with an injured elbow, has been playing center field while prohibited from throwing. (1)

2. TORONTO: The Blue Jays are pulling away in the division, but will hold their breaths with Troy Tulowitzki injured. (3)

3. PITTSBURGH: For the return of A.J. Burnett, Pittsburgh plastered the bat signal all over downtown buildings. (4)

4. KANSAS CITY: Johnny Cueto is 2-5 with a 4.86 earned-run average since being traded to the Royals. (2)

5. DODGERS: The Dodgers must decide what they value more: rest, or home-field advantage in the division series. (5)

6. CHICAGO CUBS: Baseball Prospectus gives the Cubs a 99.8% chance to make the postseason. (6)

7. N.Y. METS: Since Yoenis Cespedes joined the Mets, they are tied for the best record in the league. (7)

8. N.Y. YANKEES: The Yankees’ division hopes took another hit: Mark Teixeira is out for the year. (8)

9. TEXAS: The Rangers have the worst run differential of any postseason contender. (10)

10. HOUSTON: Scott Feldman had a 1.33 ERA in August. Now, he’s out for the season because of a shoulder sprain. (9)

11. MINNESOTA: With Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and Trevor May, the Twins have a bright future. (11)

12. ANGELS: If the Angels were a stock, the second half would be a bear market. (14)

13. CLEVELAND: Can the Indians somehow make up five games in three weeks? (12)

14. TAMPA BAY: The Rays are last in the American League in runs. (13)

15. SAN FRANCISCO: Giants pitchers have more home runs (seven) than their center fielders (two). (16)

16. WASHINGTON: The Nationals squandered leads of one, two and five in a sweep by the Mets. (15)

17. SEATTLE: In one of his worst seasons, Felix Hernandez may finish with more wins than ever. (19)

18. BALTIMORE: The Orioles became the seventh team ever to hit two grand slams in the same inning. (18)

19. CHICAGO WHITE SOX: The White Sox were 3-10 against the Royals, until a three-game sweep last weekend. (22)

20. BOSTON: David Ortiz hit home run Nos. 499 and 500 in the same game. He’s the 27th player to reach the milestone. (20)

21. ARIZONA: The umpires used a video review after they forgot the count in a Diamondbacks-Giants game. (21)

22. SAN DIEGO: So much for the World Series. The Padres will be lucky to reach .500. (17)

23. MILWAUKEE: Overlooked in this season of rookies: Taylor Jungmann, who has a 2.87 ERA in his first year. (23)

24. DETROIT: Manager Brad Ausmus will be dismissed after the season, the Detroit Free Press is reporting. (24)

26. MIAMI: Don’t look now, but the Marlins have won their last three series. (30)

25. CINCINNATI: It had been a year since the Reds took three games in a series against the Cardinals.(28)

27. COLORADO: Nolan Arenado has a nasty habit of diving into the stands. This week, it actually led to an injury. (26)

28. OAKLAND: The one positive for the Athletics has been Sonny Gray, who has a 2.28 ERA. (25)

29. ATLANTA: The Braves had two wins in September’s first week and a half. (27)

30. PHILADELPHIA: A first step, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has been dismissed. (29)