Sure, the Los Angeles Dodgers are unbeaten in five games and the New York Yankees can’t stop hitting home runs, but let’s pause to consider what the San Diego Padres have pulled off.

It’s not even April, and they’ve already clinched the season series against the Atlanta Braves – and cracked the top five in USA TODAY Sports’ first power rankings installment.

Oh, it probably won’t matter, but it’s worth pondering that the most significant feat of this opening weekend was the Padres sweeping four games against Atlanta, marking six consecutive victories over them at Petco Park, dating to their wild-card steamrolling during last year’s playoffs.

Perhaps you might remember that: The Braves, New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks all had to wait until hurricane-delayed Games 161 and 162 were played to determine the final NL playoff spots. Sure, most tiebreakers don’t come into play, but with the Padres and Braves very likely slotting in wild-card spots this year, it’s not entirely meaningless.

Of greater note, San Diego’s throttling of Atlanta might at least force observers to recalibrate their expectations for both teams, with the Padres perhaps providing resistance to the Dodgers in the West, while the Braves are already a pace behind what should be an excellent three-team race in the East.

Then again, 158 games remain for both.

A look at our updated rankings:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

• You might say they, uh, torpedoed Brewers pitching.

3. Philadelphia Phillies

• Jesús Luzardo wins first start as Phillie.

• Bullpen allowed one earned run in 16 innings.

5. Baltimore Orioles

• Blasted 10 homers in four games against Toronto.

6. Texas Rangers

• Jack Leiter did enough to win first start; can Kumar Rocker follow suit?

7. Arizona Diamondbacks

• Next time, just start the guy you just gave $210 million.

8. New York Mets

• Oh, they’ll hit soon enough.

9. Houston Astros

• Spencer Arrighetti picks up where he left off after strong 2024 finish.

10. Detroit Tigers

• They’re definitely done with the Dodgers.

11. Boston Red Sox

• Rafael Devers doing anything but designated hitting: 0 for 16 with 12 strikeouts.

• Ah yes, three games at the Dodgers should wash that 0-4 start right away.

13. Cincinnati Reds

• It’d be a shame if relief woes sank an otherwise solid and charismatic roster.

14. Chicago Cubs

• Relief acquisition Eli Morgan has given up six runs in 3 ⅔ innings.

15. Seattle Mariners

• After four-run opening day explosion, they score two, zero and two runs against A’s.

16. Cleveland Guardians

• Jose Ramírez’s wrist is barking a little bit.

17. Kansas City Royals

• Tough opening series ends on grim note when pitch strikes Jonathan India in face.

18. Tampa Bay Rays

• They embrace the great outdoors with two wins over Rockies, including walk-off homer.

19. San Francisco Giants

• Maybe this Old Guys Rule rotation will work out.

20. St. Louis Cardinals

• So far, their “reset” has resulted in a perfect record.

21. Toronto Blue Jays

• The Max Scherzer thumb saga already getting painful.

22. Washington Nationals

• Dylan Crews hitless in 11 at-bats, with eight strikeouts.

23. Minnesota Twins

• Top prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez with a three-hit night in Class AAA opener.

• We feel confident in saying they will not see the New York Yankees again this year.

25. Los Angeles Angels

• Tim Anderson gets a nice welcome in return to Chicago’s Southside.

26. Athletics (Sacramento)

• Their Yolo County Era begins this week.

27. Miami Marlins

• Griff Conine hits game-tying homer on night his dad is inducted into club Hall of Fame.

28. Pittsburgh Pirates

• First three losses all walk-offs. So they’re coming close.

• Chase Dollander watch: Strikes out five in four innings of first Class AAA start.

30. Chicago White Sox

• Clip and save this for posterity: Their 1.00 ERA leads the major leagues

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ATLANTA – Atlanta police say they’re investigating a deadly shooting between a brother and sister.

What we know:

Atlanta police responded to a shooting just before 4 p.m. at 110 Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard SW Sunday afternoon.

That’s where Andrew Smith, the commander of the Atlanta Police Department’s Homicide Unit, confirmed they found a man in his mid-40s suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Not only did the victim and suspected shooter know each other, Smith says they were siblings.

The victim’s sister has been taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Police believe this was a domestic situation with no threat to the public. This is an ongoing investigation.

What we don’t know:

It’s still not clear what led to the deadly shooting.

Neither the victim nor the suspected shooter have been publicly named.

On Saturday, Atlanta Braves ace Spencer Strider began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett, tossing three innings of one run ball against the Charlotte Knights.

He allowed two hits and one walk while striking out six.

As Strider works his way back, it appears that another Braves All-Star is about to be on the mend.

Per Mark Bowman of MLB.com on social media:

Sean Murphy has caught up to five innings in Minor League games back in North Port. He’ll likely begin a rehab assignment with High-A Rome on Friday

Murphy cracked his left rib in early March. Now 30, he is headed into the seventh year of his career with the Athletics and Braves. An All-Star in 2023, he is a career .233 hitter with 77 homers and 240 RBIs. He hit a career-high 21 homers in that 2023 season. The Braves have been utilizing rookie Drake Baldwin in Murphy’s spot, so it remains to be seen how the team will handle the catching duties when he returns.

The Braves are out to an 0-3 start at the big-league level after being beaten three straight times by the San Diego Padres. They lost 1-0 on Saturday.

Despite that, the Braves are one of the most talented teams in baseball. With Strider, Murphy and Ronald Acuna Jr. coming back from injury, the group will be even stronger. They all figure to be back in the fold by mid-May or so. Strider expects to be back by mid-April.

They’ll play again on Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET.

ANOTHER REHAB START: Brayan Bello, on the shelf for the Boston Red Sox, will pitch for Triple-A Worcester. Here are the details. CLICK HERE:

FORMER ALL-STAR BACK TO SEATTLE: Drew Pomeranz, 36, didn’t make the Mariners out of spring training, but he’s back in the organization on a minor league deal. CLICK HERE:

CONTRACT TALKS: Boston Red Sox top prospect Kristian Campbell is reportedly working on a contract extension just days after his major league debut. CLICK HERE: