Matchups

The return of a familiar face and a new addition have provided plenty of thump to the lineup for the New York Yankees, who venture onto the road for a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers starting Friday afternoon. Mark Teixeira and Starlin Castro are off to torrid starts for New York, which scored 27 runs in taking two of three from the Houston Astros.

The New York Mets return home Friday for the first time since losing Game 5 of the World Series, although their opponent hardly resembles the 2015 Kansas City Royals. The Mets will raise their National League championship banner and then kick off their home slate with the first of three games against the Philadelphia Phillies, who are 0-3 for the first time in nine years.

Off to their best start since winning the World Series in 2005, the Chicago White Sox will play their home opener against the Cleveland Indians on Friday afternoon in the first of a three-game set between AL Central Division rivals. Chicago continued its impressive start with a 6-1 victory over Oakland on Thursday to take three of four in the series.

The biggest story - literally and figuratively - in the early going of the 2016 Major League Baseball season is Colorado's Trevor Story, who became the first player in modern history (since 1900) to homer in his first three games. The rookie shortstop looks to continue the storybook start to his career Friday when the Rockies host the San Diego Padres, who have yet to score this season while allowing 25 runs during a three-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Steven Souza Jr. showed his potential at times, but struggled with injuries and making consistent contact in his first season with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015. The 26-year-old outfielder turned the page with three homers in four outings to start 2016 and looks to continue his progress when the Rays visit the unbeaten Baltimore Orioles on Friday to start a three-game series.

At least the Boston Red Sox won’t have to worry about the elements when they kick off a three-game series at the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. The Red Sox had their season opener pushed back a day due to rain and had the series finale wiped out entirely at Cleveland to begin the campaign.

The 2016 season could not have started any better for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, who begin a three-game series Friday. Pittsburgh hits the road for the first time this season after sweeping three contests from St. Louis while Cincinnati did the same to Philadelphia as Jay Bruce did most of the damage with two home runs and a career high-tying five RBIs in Thursday's 10-6 victory at Great American Ball Park.

The St. Louis Cardinals won 100 games while finishing first in baseball’s most competitive division last season, but are off to their worst start in nine years after a season-opening three-game sweep at Pittsburgh. The Cardinals look to get on track Friday as they open a weekend set at the Atlanta Braves, who also are winless after dropping two games to the Washington Nationals to begin their 2016 campaign.

The Houston Astros' pitching staff endured a pair of difficult days in New York to cap their first series of the season. They hope a change of scenery spurs a turnaround when they begin a three-game interleague set at the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.

The Minnesota Twins continue their quest for that elusive first victory of the season when they visit the reigning world champion Kansas City Royals on Friday for the opener of their three-game series. Minnesota appeared ready to get into the win column Thursday as it scored in each of the first two innings at Baltimore before squandering the lead and suffering a three-game series-sweeping 4-2 loss to the Orioles.

The Chicago Cubs look to remain undefeated as they continue their four-game set against the host Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. Anthony Rizzo fell a double shy of the cycle while recording six RBIs to raise his league-leading total to nine as Chicago pounded out 14 hits in a 14-6 triumph in Thursday's series opener to improve to 3-0 on the year.

Matt Shoemaker has won each of his major-league starts against Texas and aims to improve to 5-0 when the Los Angeles Angels host the Rangers on Friday in the second contest of a four-game set. Shoemaker has a 2.39 ERA and 1.10 WHIP against Texas and picked up three of the four victories in 2014 when he won a career-best 16 games.

Robinson Cano is hotter than lava to begin the season and looks to continue the torrid start when the Seattle Mariners host the Oakland Athletics in Friday's opener of a three-game series. Cano has four homers over the first three games to become the first second baseman to homer in each of his team's first three games since Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr in 1941.

Scoring runs shouldn’t be a problem this season for the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who continue their four-game series Friday at AT&T Park. The Dodgers have averaged nearly eight runs in their first four games but suffered their first loss Thursday as Hunter Pence belted a grand slam to lead the Giants to a 12-6 victory.