Matchups

The Philadelphia Phillies had looked downright sickly of late with losses in 13 of their previous 16 contests before returning to health with a resounding victory against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Phillies vie for their sixth win in eight interleague games this season on Tuesday afternoon when they play the second contest of a four-game, home-and-home series with the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

The Chicago Cubs might have finally found a team even hotter than themselves. The streaking Washington Nationals cooled off the visiting Cubs in the series opener and will look to do it again Tuesday in the second of three games between division leaders.

The Boston Red Sox and the visiting Baltimore Orioles will battle for three games with first place in the American League East on the line beginning on Tuesday at Fenway Park. Both clubs squandered an opportunity to enter the series with the lead when the Orioles fell at Toronto on Sunday and the Red Sox lost in Minnesota.

The Seattle Mariners just got through playing three straight series against teams currently leading their divisions and did not fare well with a 3-7 mark in those games. The Mariners will try to pick on a last-place club when they visit the Tampa Bay Rays for the opener of a three-game set on Tuesday.

Julio Teheran collected two hits and a RBI in his last start, although the right-hander would benefit from someone else providing run support when he takes the mound for the Atlanta Braves in Tuesday’s home contest against the Cincinnati Reds. Teheran started the week receiving the third-lowest run support in the majors (2.31 per start), a big reason why the Atlanta ace has lost six of his eight decisions.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have not won a game since opening last week with a doubleheader sweep of the New York Mets at home. The Pirates will try to end their five-game slide when they begin a tough six-game road trip with the first of three against the Mets on Tuesday.

The Chicago White Sox have been buried in a deep decline but may have notched the type of dramatic victory that could spur a turnaround. The White Sox recovered from a seven-run deficit in the series opener against the visiting Detroit Tigers before rallying for a 10-9 win in 12 innings and hope to ride the momentum into Tuesday's middle contest of the three-game set.

The Kansas City Royals are starting to mend the fences after a season-high eight-game losing streak threatened to send the world champions into a tailspin. The Royals look to win their fourth in a row on Tuesday when they play the second contest of a three-game series versus the visiting Cleveland Indians.

The St. Louis Cardinals appear to have found their stride, ripping off five consecutive victories as they prepare to host the Houston Astros on Tuesday in the opener of a two-game interleague series. St. Louis has won seven of eight following a three-game sweep in Pittsburgh to move a season-best seven games over the .500 mark.

A five-game winning streak nudged the New York Yankees over .500 and closer to first place in the American League East, but the momentum was stalled with consecutive losses over the weekend. The Yankees will try to get back on track when they kick off a six-game road trip with the first of two contests at the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.

The Arizona Diamondbacks aim for their fourth straight victory when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday for the middle contest of their three-game set. Arizona improved to 4-3 on its nine-game homestand with a 3-2 triumph over Los Angeles in the series opener, with Jean Segura's RBI single in the fifth inning snapping a tie.

The Minnesota Twins own the worst record in the American League, but they have found one team upon which they can beat. Minnesota rolled to a 9-4 victory over host Los Angeles in the opener of a three-game set and looks to defeat the Angels for the fifth consecutive time this season on Tuesday.

The Oakland Athletics were very happy to return home from a disastrous road trip and look to continue to take advantage of their surroundings when they continue their four-game series against the visiting Texas Rangers on Tuesday. Oakland dropped the first seven games of its trek to run its road losing streak to nine before salvaging the finale at Cincinnati on Sunday, and it picked up right where it left off at the Oakland Coliseum by posting a 14-5 victory over Texas.

Ichiro Suzuki is one hit away from matching the all-time professional hits record held by Pete Rose as the Miami Marlins visit the San Diego Padres on Tuesday for the middle contest of their three-game series. Suzuki recorded three hits in Monday's 13-4 trouncing of the Padres to raise his overall total to 4,255, counting 1,278 during time playing in Japan.

Milwaukee pitcher Matt Garza may have preferred an easier matchup for his season debut, but the veteran right-hander appears set for his matchup Tuesday against the host San Francisco Giants and ace Madison Bumgarner. Garza, who has been sidelined all season due to a right lat strain, joins a Milwaukee team that opened a nine-game, 10-day road trip with Monday’s 11-5 loss to the Giants.