Three Up Three Down

Three Up

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Diamondbacks Defense: Improved Arizona had the fewest errors (13) in the majors through Sunday, after committing a league-high 139 in 2004.

Orioles Rotation: Forget the hot-hitting lineup. Baltimore's maturing starters (4.16 ERA compared with 5.05 last year) were the main reason the club led the AL East.

Cliff Floyd, LF, Mets: The injury-prone veteran was carrying the Mets' offense with a .635 slugging percentage and eight home runs.

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Three Down

Home Runs: The majors' home run rate in April (1.89 per game) was down from 2.17 in '04 and is the lowest for an opening month since 1997. Hmmm....

Oliver Perez, LHP, Pirates: Struggling with his location, the young ace was 1-4 and had an 8.03 ERA.

Adrian Beltre, 3B, Mariners: After cashing in on a career year to the tune of a $64 million free-agent deal with Seattle, Beltre was hitting .242 with two homers in 124 at bats.