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The Times’ baseball rankings

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OFF AND RUNNING

1. PHILADELPHIA (25-12) Broke fast, could go wire to wire.

2. TAMPA BAY (23-15) Majors’ best record since Manny Ramirez “retired.”

3. N.Y. YANKEES (20-16) Bombers have more HRs than Mariners, Twins, Astros combined.

4. ST. LOUIS (22-17) Pujols in .273 “slump” yet team tops majors in hitting, scoring, on-base percentage.

5. CLEVELAND (24-13) Majors’ best home record, worst home attendance.

6. ANGELS (21-18) Kendrys who? Angels lead AL in hitting.

7. CINCINNATI (21-17) Look what MVP Joey Votto’s is doing for an encore.

8. FLORIDA (22-15) Great rotation + better bullpen = best start in team history.

9. SAN FRAN. (21-17) Near bottom of majors in every offensive category, near the top in wins.

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TIME TO GO TO THE WHIP

10. ATLANTA (21-19) NL’s best team ERA good for third in East standings.

11. DETROIT (21-18) Majors’ best record in May.

12. COLORADO (20-16) Uh-oh. Tulowitzki is hitting .163 this month.

13. TEXAS (20-18) Twenty-nine lineups in first 37 games; leads majors in errors.

14. BOSTON (18-20) Six regulars hitting under .241.

15. MILWAUKEE (17-21) Bullpen has more losses (10) than saves (8).

WILL FADE AFTER FAST EARLY PACE

16. OAKLAND (19-19) Rotation leads majors in ERA, bullpen tops AL in losses.

17. DODGERS (19-20) Team needs blinkers to focus during maelstrom.

18. KANSAS CITY (20-18) Eric Hosmer homers twice in N.Y., future isn’t now but it’s getting closer.

ALSO RANS

19. CHI. CUBS (17-20) Soriano has 11 HRs, rest of team has 17.

20. PITTSBURGH (18-20) Topped .500 in May for first time in seven years.

21. TORONTO (18-20) Take away Bautista and scoring falls to 3.6 runs per game.

22. WASHINGTON (18-20) Lowest average (.225), second-lowest on-base percentage (.298) in majors.

HEADED FOR THE GLUE FACTORY

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23. MINNESOTA (12-24) Mauer out, Morneau hitting .216, Twins last in majors in runs (113), OBP (.294), HRs (17).

24. CHI. WHITE SOX (16-23) No hitting, no bullpen, no hope.

25. N.Y. METS (18-20) MLB’s seventh-highest payroll, 10th-worst record.

26. BALTIMORE (17-20) 11-19 after 6-1 start.

27. ARIZONA (15-22) At 5-13, worst road team in majors.

28. SEATTLE (16-23) GM Zduriencik could be put out to pasture.

29. SAN DIEGO (15-23) Team ERA (3.36) nearly matches team winning percentage (.395).

30. HOUSTON (14-24) Only staff in majors with an ERA over 5.00.

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