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A quick recap of how the local teams fared last week…

Los Angeles Dodgers

Highlights of the week: 50 runs scored on a 5-1 roadie that things are finally starting to look up for the boys in blue. James Loney continued his domination of the Colorado Rockies, driving in six runs in a 12-7 win Saturday night. And though Colorado snapped LA’s win streak at eight on Sunday, the Blue, behind a second consecutive strong outing from Chad Billingsley and a homer from Matt Kemp started a new one Monday night against the Mets.

Lowlights of the week: Andruw Jones. Lather, rinse, repeat. But in the non-Jones category, the finger has to be pointed at Derek Lowe, who struggled in both his starts, including Sunday’s loss in which he needed 51 pitches to escape the first inning.

The week ahead: The home-stand continues with two more against the Mets and a weekend series against the Houston Astros.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Highlights of the week: Another solid week for the Halos has them tied for the best record in the American League with Boston at 21-13. One reason? Try two starting pitchers sporting 6-0 records. Joe Saunders accomplished the feat on Sunday against the Oriolesand Ervin Santana followed along with a shut out of the Royals last night.

Lowlights of the week: Injuries continue to pile up, but luckily they’ve got one of the deepest systems in baseball. Forearm stiffness made Dustin Moseley the latest Angel to land on the DL, not a huge loss since he wasn’t pitching well anyway.

The Week Ahead: Two more in Kansas City before a 3-game set with the surprising Tampa Bay Rays.

This week’s MLB Power Rankings (April 29-May 6) with the team’s current standings and their rise/fall since the last rankings:

1. Arizona Diamondbacks (21-11) (+1): Max Scherzer’s first career start didn’t go exactly as planned, but they’re still the best in the bigs.

2. Boston Red Sox (21-13) (-1): They showed the Rays that they still are the team to beat in the AL East.

3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (21-13) (+2): They’ve got so many ways to beat you.

4. Chicago Cubs (18-14) (-1): Geovany Soto has been one heck of a surprise: .352/6/24.

5. New York Yankees (17-16) (-1): How long until injuries and poor pitching completely derail the Yankees?

6. Los Angeles Dodgers (18-14) (+5): Big props to Matt Kemp, the NL Player of the Week.

7. St. Louis Cardinals (21-12) (+7): The Redbirds just keep on winning. How, I’m not sure. For how long? I don’t know. But for now, they merit a lofty ranking.

8. New York Mets (16-14) (no change): Turns out Johan Santana is, indeed, as good as advertised.

9. Philadelphia Phillies (19-14) (+7): They’ll be even better once Jimmy Rollins returns from the DL.

10. Milwaukee Brewers (16-15) (-4): Losing starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo for the year to a torn ACL is a major blow to their hopes of an NL Central title.

11. Oakland A’s (20-14) (+8): Billy Beane’s boys are showing no signs of letting up.

12. Cleveland Indians (14-17) (-5): Doesn’t look like the Tribe have gotten over their playoff collapse from last October.

13. Florida Marlins (17-14) (+7): That Hanley Ramirez is one hell of a ball player… too bad no one in Florida notices.

14. Tampa Rays (16-15) (+9): They make the big jump even though they’ve lost three in a row… all to the Red Sox.

15. Minnesota Twins (16-14) (+7): Joe Nathan is proving to be the best closer in all of baseball.

16. Atlanta Braves (15-15) (-4): How long can Chipper Jones keep that average above .400?

17. Detroit Tigers (14-19) (-4): The roster shuffling has started in Motown.

18. Chicago White Sox (14-16) (-9): Ozzie Guillen is the FCC’s worst nightmare.

19. Baltimore Orioles (16-16) (+5): Luke Scott leads the team with a .283 average… yikes.

20. Toronto Blue Jays (16-17) (-10): Looks like the Big Hurt wasn’t the problem on this team.

21. Houston Astros (16-16) (+5): Maybe they aren’t so bad after all.

22. Seattle Mariners (14-19) (-7): To say they’ve been a disappointment would be a major understatement.

23. Kansas City Royals (14-17) (+2): Only 2.5 games out of first. For more information about why the AL Central sucks, consult your local library.

24. San Francisco Giants (14-18) (+5): They’ve already won 14 more games than I thought they would.

25. San Diego Padres (12-20) (-7): With the way their offense is going, Greg Maddux will never get to 350 wins.

26. Colorado Rockies (12-20) (-9): They look nothing like the team that went to the World Series last year.

27. Cincinnati Reds (13-20) (-6): Walt Jocketty has got A LOT of work to do.

28. Washington Nationals (14-18) (+2): There should be a new rule in sports: New stadiums only for teams that win.

29. Texas Rangers (13-20) (-2): If you haven’t noticed, Josh Hamilton leads the majors with 33 RBI’s. It’s the only good story on this sorry squad.

30. Pittsburgh Pirates (12-19) (-2): I feel for the Pirates fans, however many that are left.

Discuss:

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