MLB power rankings: Yankees' nine-game winning streak vaults them toward the top  —  The New York Yankees have shaken their early-season doldrums, sweeping the Los Angeles Angels for their ninth consecutive win.  —  Now 18-9, the Yankees have outscored opponents 64-18 during that streak …

Gonzalez leads Mets' hit parade in 14-2 drubbing of Padres  —  SAN DIEGO — Adrian Gonzalez had a spectacular homecoming at Petco Park.  —  Facing the hometown team he once played for, Gonzalez homered, doubled and drove in five runs on Sunday to help the New York Mets overwhelm the San Diego Padres 14-2.

Surging Yankees sweep Angels  —  The Angels aren't hitting, aren't scoring, aren't winning.  —  There's one other thing they aren't doing, not even after another low-octane loss that gave the New York Yankees a three-game sweep at Angel Stadium.  —  “I'm not panicking,” infielder Zack Cozart said after Sunday's 2-1 loss.

The Dodgers are favored to win the NL West.  Or they're not  —  The Dodgers remain the favorites to win the National League West.  Or not.  Depends where you look.  —  On the last day of April, the Dodgers awoke in fourth place in the NL West, four games under .500 and seven games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Nobody is grouchy when Blue Jays' Teoscar is on  —  When the Blue Jays start getting guys back from the disabled list (Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki), there will be some tough decisions that will have to be made.  —  But it's becoming pretty clear that one of those decisions …

Cardinals Notes: A curve in Memphis brings Gomber to Cardinals bullpen  —  PITTSBURGH  • If asked to describe the “ideal pitcher” he could be, lefty Austin Gomber said he would be able to provide a description, maybe a list.  —  Now, though, he just has to point to a box score.

Surging Pittsburgh Pirates begin series with Washington Nationals  —  The visiting Pittsburgh Pirates will be looking for their sixth straight win when they open a four-game series against the Washington Nationals on Monday.  —  Pittsburgh (17-11) completed a sweep of St. Louis on Sunday as Nick Kingham …

Phillies in need of a lefthander |  Extra Innings  —  One of the reasons the Atlanta Braves have dominated the season series against the Phillies so far is quite simple to figure out.  They have a lineup loaded with dangerous lefthanded hitters whenever the opposition sends a righthander to the mound.

Observations from the first month of the Iowa Cubs season  —  Chicago Cubs pitching prospect makes Triple-A debut Friday  —  That went by fast.  —  The first month of the Iowa Cubs season is complete.  And boy was it an interesting.  —  Fans are Principal Park got to see the Chicago …

Roache's homer leads Springfield to 8-4 win over Arkansas  —  SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Victor Roache hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning, leading the Springfield Cardinals to an 8-4 win over the Arkansas Travelers on Monday.  —  Hector Mendoza got Chuck Taylor to hit into a triple play …

Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez: Likely to return during Chicago series … Gonzalez (hamstring) is expected to be activated from the 10-day disabled list at some point during the Rockies' three-game series in Chicago against the Cubs that begins Monday, Nick Groke of The Denver Post reports.

Dave Eiland: Matt Harvey has come out of the darkness and ‘seen the light’  —  SAN DIEGO — Is the storm over?  The Mets seem to think so.  When they decided to remove Matt Harvey from the rotation last week, they anticipated the storm ahead.  They expected his anger and the comments.

Which players' slow starts should scare you, and why  —  “It's still early!” is the motto of April baseball.  Everyone knows in their hearts that the guy on pace for 324 home runs after Opening Day and the slugger hitting .090 are not going to finish the season anywhere near those figures.

Franco, Vasquez and Watts shut out Jackson, Mississippi wins 4-0  —  PEARL, Miss. (AP) — Enderson Franco, Kelvin Vasquez and Devan Watts combined for a shutout as the Mississippi Braves topped the Jackson Generals 4-0 on Monday.  —  Franco (1-2) went five scoreless innings …

Power Rankings: How long can the Red Sox hold on to No. 1?  —  This week's rankings featured some major moves within the top 10.  Welcome the Cubs and the Phillies back to MLB's top tier, as the Cubs made an expected return thanks to some strong starting pitching, while the hard-charging …

Martin Perez Placed On DL, Headed For Exam Of Non-Pitching Elbow  —  The Rangers announced Monday that left-hander Martin Perez has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to “continued discomfort in his right elbow” and has left the team to travel back to Texas for a more in-depth exam with Dr. Keith Meister.

For starters: Rays at Tigers, looking to start another streak  —  After having their eight-game winning streak come to an end Sunday in a 4-3 loss at Boston, the Rays are in Detroit tonight looking to start another when they take on the Tigers.Their lineup will hav

Cubs' Albert Almora Jr., Javier Baez look to start new hitting streaks vs. Colorado  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez will try to start new hitting streaks Monday night when the Cubs host the Rockies at Wrigley Field.  —  Almora and Baez each had their 11-game hitting streaks snapped Sunday.