The Mariners lead the Royals, 11-1, in the top of the seventh and seem likely to go on and collect their third consecutive victory. Another good sign is the big games Richie Sexson, Adrian Beltre and Joel Pineiro are having.

Sexson has hit two homers and is the first Mariners to do that in one game this season. Beltre has also homered, marking the first time he and Sexson have done that this year in the same game.

Pineiro is well on his way to breaking a four-start streak of no wins. He's scattered seven singles so far and has been in total control.

The Mariners lead the Royals, 11-1, in the top of the seventh and seem likely to go on and collect their third consecutive victory. Another good sign is the big games Richie Sexson, Adrian Beltre and Joel Pineiro are having.

Sexson has hit two homers and is the first Mariners to do that in one game this season. Beltre has also homered, marking the first time he and Sexson have done that this year in the same game.

Pineiro is well on his way to breaking a four-start streak of no wins. He's scattered seven singles so far and has been in total control.

Here are the weekly rankings. As always, last week's ranking is in parenthesis.

1. St. Louis (2) – No surprises here: Cardinals pulling away from pack, Edmonds is on the DL.
2. Detroit (1) – Paper Tigers? Bulk of record (22-5) built on beating up Royals, Indians, Twins.
3. New York Mets (5) – Weird stat: Pedro gave up two runs or less four times in May and did not get a win.
4. Boston (6) – Should be concerned that they have not distanced themselves from troubled Yanks by now.
5. New York Yankees (9) – The more players they lose, the more games they seem to win.
6. Chicago White Sox (3) – Jim Thome’s got comeback player of the year wrapped up already.
7. Arizona (7) – Brandon Webb’s gems: 8-0 record, 25 consecutive scoreless innings.
8. Los Angeles Dodgers (8) – Good news, bad news: Gagne comes off DL, Kent goes on DL.
9. Toronto (10) – In one five-game stretch used five different shortstops.
10. Cincinnati (6) – Fading so badly they’ll have to change their name to the Pinks by the end of the season.
11. Texas (18) – For the first time in almost two years, have had back-to-back winning months.
12. Atlanta (14) – A (Kenny) Ray of hope for the beleaguered bullpen?
13. San Diego (15) – Schedule cuts them a break with a 10-game stretch vs. Pirates, Brewers, Marlins.
14. Cleveland (19) – Avoided early burial by taking 3-of-4 from White Sox.
15. San Francisco (16) – Team’s so old that bingo is official clubhouse game.
16. Philadelphia (12) – Juicy rumor has Yankees pursuing outfielders Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell.
17. Colorado (11) – Experienced a return of road woes on last trip, going 2-7 vs. Dodgers, Giants, Padres.
18. Houston (13) – Roger Clemens’ ranking among the all-time leaders in wins (9th), strikeouts (2nd) and retirements (1st).
19. Oakland (20) – Closer Huston Street suffering through sophomore slump (3 blown saves, 4.74 ERA).
20. Milwaukee (17) – Soared in April, skidded in May, flopping in June?
21. Minnesota (22) – So good at so young: 23-year-old Joe Mauer hitting .362 entering the weekend.
22. Baltimore (24) – Four-gone conclusion? Since winning division in ’97 have finished fourth 7 times in 8 years.
23. Los Angeles Angels (26) – Thanks to lousy division this injured, underachieving team still has a prayer.
24. Washington (25) – Alfonso Soriano is a first-rate leadoff hitter (.346, 12 HRs, 9 steals).
25. Seattle (21) – Stick a trident in them if they can’t get it going soon.
26. Pittsburgh (29) – Hot Pirates hitters making opponents say argh.
27. Tampa Bay (23) – Lineup soon to get boost with return of Jorge Cantu, Rocco Baldelli. Sadly, neither can pitch.
28. Chicago Cubs (27) – Stars aligning again as Cubs take their natural spot in universe.
29. Florida (28) – A good fish tale: There once was this good team called the Marlins…
30. Kansas City (30) – GM Allard Baird was the first to go in what could be a Royals flush.

Here's a teaser to my Sunday column, which examines the sorry state of the AL West division. A few quick facts:

• The Angels and A's, who won 183 games between them last season, were a combined 11 games under .500.
• The only team in the division with a winning record is the perennially pitching challenged Rangers. Texas' 29-25 mark would not lead any other division.
• The team with the best home record is the Mariners and they don't have much to brag about. The Mariners are 15-15 at Safeco Field.

A little research (looking at the standings, using a calculator) gave me this little chart:

AL WEST IS NOT THE BEST
A look at the combined winning percentages of the six divisions. Records are through Friday.
DIVISION W-L PCT.
1. NL West 146-124 .541
2. AL East 141-127 .526
3. AL Central 134-135 .498
4. NL Central 158-169 .483
4. NL East 129-138 .483
6. AL West 102-117 .466