MLB power rankings: Renewing a rivalry

The Vedder Cup is a tongue-in-cheek attempt to pair the Padres and Mariners as rivals despite the two teams not having much reason to get all hot and bothered about a series. They share a spring training complex. They share Eddie Vedder’s through route to Pearl Jam (Yeah, we knew he was a Cubs fan well before he showed up at Wrigley Field for last year’s wild-card matchup). The victor now gets possession of a Vedder guitar, which the Padres will bring back to Petco Park after taking all six games against the Mariners.

Great.

Perhaps MLB’s best rivalry going starts when the Dodgers — who just outscored their “rival” Angels 31-3 in Anaheim — show up at Petco Park on Monday for the first meeting of the year.

The Dodgers have a half-game lead in the NL West to start the week. They’ve also won the last two World Series, took nine of 13 meetings last year with San Diego and ousted the Padres in their last postseason meeting in the 2024 NLDS.

The Padres looked like they began to break out of their offensive woes over the weekend, but the first true measuring stick of the season arrives Monday.

“Yeah, it’s always exciting to play the Dodgers,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “It’s a good rivalry. They’re a great team. They won the World Series the last two years, so it’s always fun going up against the best, and we’ll see where we’re at.”

1 | Atlanta Braves (32-15; Last week: 1)

A recipe for success: Leading the majors with a plus-98 run differential and 16 wins on the road.

2 | Tampa Bay Rays (30-15; LW: 3)

The Rays had won 11 straight games at the Trop until losing there in 10 innings on Saturday. Tampa is 16-5 so far at home.

3 | Chicago Cubs (29-18; LW: 2)

Nothing like losing two in a row to the South-Siders to put a wet blanket on a fast start to the season.

4 | Los Angeles Dodgers (29-18; LW: 5)

For more than $55 million for 2025 and 2026, the Dodgers have gotten 64⅓ innings and yet another IL stint for Blake Snell, who is dealing with loose bodies in his elbow now.

5 | Milwaukee Brewers (26-18; LW: 6)

Are we sure he’s back? Christian Yelich missed a month with a groin strain, returned to the lineup Tuesday and then didn’t play a game again until Sunday due to his balky back.

6 | New York Yankees (28-19; LW: 4)

Gerrit Cole is up to 99 mph and will need only one more rehab assignment before joining the rotation.

7 | San Diego Padres (28-18; LW: 7)

Player of the week watch: Gavin Sheets hit .625, slugged four homers and drove in eight runs while amassing a baseball-best 2.177 OPS since May 11.

8 | St. Louis Cardinals (27-19; LW: 8)

The Cardinals were sniffing a Missouri sweep before former Padre Stephen Kolek started a 2-0 win for the rival Royals on Sunday.

9 | Cleveland Guardians (26-22; LW: 12)

So much for Guards ball: Kyle Manzardo hit two of Cleveland’s six homers in a rout over Ohio rival Cincinnati on Sunday. The Guardians’ hadn’t had a six-homer game since August 2019.

10 | Pittsburgh Pirates (24-23; LW: 9)

Ryan O’Hearn, with seven homers, 29 RBIs and an .827 OPS, had been a real find for Pittsburgh, but he’ll miss some time with a quad strain.

The rest

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