MLB power rankings: A forgettable weekend

San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill reacts after striking out with the bases loaded during the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Petco Park on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

By Jeff Sanders | [email protected] | The San Diego Union-Tribune

PUBLISHED: May 19, 2025 at 5:30 AM PDT

Nothing like a bad, bad weekend to remind you how good you’ve been.

The Padres lost all three games to the Mariners and still have the fifth-best record in the majors, just one game behind the Dodgers.

They went 0-for-21 with runners in scoring position in the series with a full-strength lineup after holding things together for so long when so many guys hit the injured list.

For two weeks, Manny Machado couldn’t make an out and this weekend he couldn’t buy a hit.

Jackson Merrill got at least one hit over the weekend, but he too is in a 1-for-19 rut after a scorching first five games (1.538 OPS) off the injured list.

“I felt like we got to the spots we needed to be and we just didn’t capitalize,” Merrill said Sunday afternoon. “Which is, again, baseball. Because they got arms in the pen coming out. You know, everybody in that pen is dirty. It’s our job to get shorter and complete the goal of getting runs across the board. But we didn’t do that, and that’s baseball, and stuff happens sometimes.

“So just got to flush it, put it behind us, take this off-day (on Monday) and then go to a new series and dominate.”

1 | Detroit Tigers (31-16, Last week: 2)

The Tigers are proving their September finish to nab a wild-card spot was real. Is Javier Baez real? He’s already got as many home runs as he had all last year (six) and an OPS (.811) that’s nearly 500 points higher than last year (.515).

2 | Los Angeles Dodgers (29-18, LW: 1)

Roki Sasaki is out with a shoulder injury, ing Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow on the shelf. The Dodgers did welcome back Clayton Kershaw, but his first start (4 IP, 5 ER) was a reminder that the 37-year-old is several years removed from his peak.

3 | New York Mets (29-18, LW: 3)

Not a great start to this side of the Subway Series for Juan Soto: 1-for-10 with an RBI as the Mets lost two of three

4 | New York Yankees (27-19, LW: 5)

Then again, who needs Juan Soto when you’ve got … Trent Grisham? The outfielder that was traded with Soto to the Bronx and remains in the Bronx has 12 homers and a .959 OPS) to start his second year with the Yankees.

5 | Chicago Cubs (28-19, LW: 6)

A PSA for PCA: Pete Crow-Armstrong, with 12 homers, 14 steals and a .910 OPS, has truly arrived.

6 | San Francisco Giants (28-19, LW: 7)

Well yeah, if Wilmer Flores, who collected three homers and eight RBIs on Saturday, is going to have one more RBI than Aaron Judge all year then the Giants aren’t going away.

7 | San Diego Padres (27-18, LW: 4)

Blowing hot and cold in San Diego lately: Manny Machado hit .480/.559/.620 during a 14-game hitting streak and then went 0-for-11 as the Padres were swept over the weekend by a patchwork Mariners rotation.

8 | Philadelphia Phillies (28-18, LW: 8)

Trouble in Philly: The struggling Aaron Nola hit the injured list with an ankle injury and closer Jose Alvarado has been suspended 80 games for a PED violation.

9 | Seattle Mariners (26-19, LW: 9)

No Logan Gilbert? No George Kirby? No Bryce Miller? No problem for the Mariners, who hold the Padres to three runs over the weekend in taking a commanding lead in the inaugural Vedder Cup.

10 | Minnesota Twins (26-21, LW: 15)

A 13-game winning streak got the Twins’ season back on track and they still might be streaking if it wasn’t for the Brewers’ Jackson Chourio robbing a game-tying homer in the eighth inning Sunday.