The Times’ baseball rankings

Kevin Baxter ranks the 30 teams. Last week’s ranking in parentheses, statistics are through Friday:

1. DETROIT: Tigers starters have given up more than three runs in a game only twice since April 18 (1)

2. OAKLAND: Athletics have outscored opponents by 81 runs, or two runs per game, best in the majors. (7)

3. MILWAUKEE: Ryan Braun returns but Aramis Ramirez (hamstring), Carlos Gomez (back, suspension) are out. (4)

4. SAN FRANCISCO: At 10-5, the Giants have the best record in the National League in May. (2)

5. COLORADO: Troy Tulowitzki leads NL in hitting and home runs, is No. 2 in runs batted in, to make early triple-crown run. (5)

6. BALTIMORE: Tommy Hunter can’t close deals, gives up six runs, blows two save chances in last 11/3 innings. (3)

7. ANGELS: Mike Trout is hitting .154 in May with five more strikeouts (18) than hits and runs combined. (13)

8. WASHINGTON: Reliever Tyler Clippard leads staff in wins because club has league’s best offense after seventh inning. (10)

9. ATLANTA: First-place Braves scored just six runs in 14 May games and the worst average (.218) in majors during the month. (9)

10. DODGERS: Outfielders Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford hitting .365 combined in May (15)

11. ST. LOUIS: Rotation leads the majors with 20 wins and the bullpen has an MLB-low two victories. (16)

12. N.Y. YANKEES: CC Sabathia goes to DL with one of highest salaries ($23 million) and one of highest ERAs (5.28) in AL. (8)

13. MIAMI: Marlins lose ace Jose Fernandez for the season, then lose five of their next seven games (6)

14. CHI. WHITE SOX: Cubans Alexi Ramirez, Jose Abreu, Dayan Viciedo combine to hit .291 with 23 HRs, 82 RBIs. (14)

15. TORONTO: Bullpen has given up MLB-high 88 runs and Blue Jays are 0-17 when trailing in the seventh inning. (17)

16. TEXAS: Rangers catchers are hitting a combined .180 with more errors (4) than home runs (3). (11)

17. MINNESOTA: Kurt Suzuki leads AL catchers with .322 average, .390 on-base percentage. (24)

18. CINCINNATI: Johnny Cueto tops majors in ERA (1.25), strikeouts (76), but gets only three runs of support per start. (20)

19. KANSAS CITY: Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas lead club with four HRs, one fewer than David Ortiz hit last week. (18)

20. BOSTON: Former Twin Ortiz hitting .509/.563/1.053 with nine HRs, 22 RBIs in 14 career games at Target Field. (21)

21. SEATTLE: Bullpen is tied for fewest wins (four) and most losses (10, nearly half the team’s total) in the AL. (12)

22. TAMPA BAY: Ben Zobrist takes team-leading 24 runs with him to the team’s crowded disabled list. (26)

23. SAN DIEGO: Padres are 7-7 in May despite having a league-leading 2.47 ERA for the month. (27)

24. CLEVELAND: Indians cleanup hitters are batting a big-league-low .163. (19)

25. PITTSBURGH: Pirates rotation is a major league-worst 4-17. (25)

26. N.Y. METS: Bartolo Colon has given up 28 hits and an MLB-high 17 runs in 17 1/3 innings this month. (22)

27. PHILADELPHIA: Aging Phillies have been shut out four times in last 10 games. (23)

28. ARIZONA: Team ERA is down 1.33 to 3.78 in May, helping team to a winning record for the month. (29)

29. HOUSTON: Dallas Keuchel’s shutout of Rangers last week was only the sixth in five seasons for the Astros. (30)

30. CHICAGO CUBS: Anthony Rizzo hitting 109 points higher vs. left-handers this year over last; OBP is way up too. (28)