The Times’ MLB power rankings

Last week’s ranking in parentheses, statistics are through Friday’s games:

1. ST. LOUIS: The Cardinals are continuing to hack down the competition. (1)

2. KANSAS CITY: Raul Mondesi Jr. will play in the Futures Game — if Royals fans don’t vote him as an All Star first. (2)

3. WASHINGTON: At this point, Max Scherzer is a no-hitter threat every time he starts. (16)

4. HOUSTON: The Astros remain in first place despite an up-and-down June. (4)

5. TAMPA BAY: Chris Archer is still throwing bull’s-eyes. He’s undefeated in June. (6)

6. DODGERS: Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke better start hitting home runs if they want to win games. (5)

7. PITTSBURGH: These rankings were perfect until the Pirates ruined them. (3)

8. CHICAGO CUBS: The Cardinals are still in the way. The Cubs have lost five of the teams’ first seven games. (12)

9. SAN FRANCISCO: Fun fact: The Giants hit three triples in a game for the first time since 1960. (14)

10. TORONTO: The Blue Jays overtook the Cardinals this week for the best run differential in the majors. (10)

11. BALTIMORE: The Orioles have lost only one series in all of June. (15)

12. MINNESOTA: Twins’ wunderkind Byron Buxton is off to a shaky start, and now he’s headed to the disabled list. (9)

13. N.Y. YANKEES: Chris Young and Nathan Eovaldi, both Houston natives, were heroes in Friday win against the Astros. (8)

14. ANGELS: The Angels haven’t been more than four games from .500, in either direction, all season. (13)

15. TEXAS: This was the law of averages at work: The once red-hot Rangers lost six in a row. (7)

16. DETROIT: Justin Verlander hasn’t been the same since averaging 234 innings per year between 2009 and 2013. (18)

17. ARIZONA: Paul Goldschmidt now leads the majors in wins above replacement. (17)

18. N.Y. METS: The Mets are a few games away from holding open hitting tryouts on Central Park’s Great Lawn. (11)

19. OAKLAND: The Athletics’ five-game winning streak was their longest of the season. (26)

20. CINCINNATI: Todd Frazier has a better slugging percentage than Giancarlo Stanton. (20)

21. ATLANTA: The Braves mustered just two runs in a three-game series with the Nationals. (19)

22. SEATTLE: Manager Lloyd McClendon told fans to “relax a little bit. This team is going to be OK.” Now prove it. (23)

23. CLEVELAND: What happened to Corey Kluber? Last year’s Cy Young winner is 3-9 with a 3.66 ERA. (21)

24. SAN DIEGO: Matt Kemp is still sitting on five home runs and an average below .250. (22)

25. BOSTON: In the Boston Globe, Dan Shaughnessy wrote that the “Red Sox are a disaster.” Sounds about right. (25)

26. COLORADO: Nolan Arenado already has exceeded 20 homers and 60 RBIs with league-best defense. (27)

27. CHICAGO WHITE SOX: After playing the same number of games last year, Jose Abreu had 25 homers. This year: 13. (28)

28. MIAMI: Giancarlo Stanton’s injury extinguishes any hope this team had left. (24)

29. MILWAUKEE: Since suspension, Ryan Braun has hit 49 points below career average with 28% fewer homers per game. (29)

30. PHILADELPHIA: Outgoing manager Ryne Sandberg told reporters, “I hate to lose.” The Phillies weren’t for him. (30)