American LeagueCentral Division
White Sox: After gnawing on soft candy in Cubs and D’backs, Sox head to Oakland, where they’re 15-39 (.278) since 2001.
Indians: Is Cleveland big enough for Johnny Football and Tony Plush, the alter ego of Nyjer Morgan?
Royals: Eric Hosmer gets off schneid with first home run. The 6-4, 225-pound first baseman hit 17 in 2013.
Tigers: Best eye in the game? Victor Martinez had his first strikeout looking in 597 plate appearances over 154 games, including 2013 postseason.
Twins: Joe Mauer’s back issues sideline him again. Sans Mauer, Twins early-season rise to mediocrity is thwarted.
East Division
Blue Jays: Sneaking up in parity-filled division. Jays had league-leading 49 home runs entering weekend.
Orioles: .563 winning percentage marks, the first time since 1990 the AL East leader had lowest total percentage of first-place teams on May 8.
Rays: Played five games in 75 hours at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, or one every 15 hours.
Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia gets Mariano Rivera’s endorsement over Robinson Cano. Could Rivera sway All-Star voting?
Yankees: Derek Jeter’s parting gifts so far — pinstriped boots (Astros), pinstriped paddle board (Angels). Cubs planning to give pinstriped goat.
West Division
Angels: Hector Santiago (0-6, 5.19 ERA) disses Mike Scioscia by walking off mound before handing off ball during pitching change.
Astros: Vying for attention this weekend with Tracy McGrady’s debut with Sugar Land Skeeters. Put your money on T-Mac.
Athletics: His family tells San Francisco Chronicle that Sonny Gray once bought a Guinness beer cap because he thought it said “Genius.”
Mariners: Addition of Cano hasn’t helped offense — 27th Friday with .230 average, just below Cubs.
Rangers: Put down that pop tart, Prince. Fielder had a -0.2 WAR after 151 at-bats, according to fangraphs.
National LeagueCentral Division
Cubs: Anthony Rizzo’s OPS rises from .742 in 2013 to .926 entering weekend; seventh among MLB first basemen behind Jose Abreu (.931).
Brewers: Aramis Ramirez in 3-for-48 slump entering weekend. With Ryan Braun on the DL, Brew Crew offense looks wobbly.
Cardinals: Outfielder Joey Butler called up from Triple-A to beef up bench, ending the brief Randal Grichuk experiment.
Pirates: Sunday’s game vs. Cardinals at PNC Park is their first home game on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” since July 28, 1996.
Reds: In first year of 10-year, $225 million deal, Joey Votto was tied for 133rd place Friday with 10 RBIs.
East Division
Braves: Upton brothers were on pace for 425 combined strikeouts. Justin had major league leading 46 strikeouts Friday, while B.J. had 38.
Marlins: Mike Redmond turning out to be one of best young managers, guiding a rebuilding Marlins team to respectability.
Mets: As Subway Series nears, former-Mr. Met’s tell-all memoir gets overshadowed by Mariano Rivera’s tell-all memoir.
Nationals: Matt Williams rear-ended by guy in police chase while doing a live interview with radio guys called the “Junkies.” Believe it or not.
Phillies: Steepest per-game home attendance decline in majors for franchise that saw a 257-game sellout streak end less than two years ago.
West Division
Diamondbacks: Josh Collmenter tells Arizona Republic it would be “fun” to run for president someday: “But we’ll see how that plays out.” Uh, OK, Josh.
Dodgers: Don Mattingly believes Yasiel Puig’s on verge of Troutness: “He is that (Mike) Trout guy. He’s showing us that he’s moving in that direction.”
Giants: Victims of first major league game that ends on a walk-off replay reversal. Losing pitcher Tim Hudson: “I’ve never been a fan of it from the beginning.”
Padres: Dubious honor of being the last team to reach the 100-run mark, with 92 runs heading into Friday night.
Rockies: Sharknado alert: Nolan Arenado’s 28-game hitting streak ended Friday, halfway to Joe DiMaggio’s unbreakable 56.
