Matchups

The Texas Rangers were on their way to clinching a series win before the New York Yankees finally decided to put together a late rally on Wednesday. That ninth-inning push left the Yankees with the possibility of a four-game split when they host the Rangers in the series finale on Thursday.

The Chicago White Sox haven't won a series against an American League Central rival since a three-game sweep against the Minnesota Twins from May 6-8. The White Sox have a chance to end that drought and post their third straight series victory when they host the Twins on Thursday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game set.

Ryan Braun has driven in six runs in the series and aims to stretch his hitting streak to 11 games when the Milwaukee Brewers conclude their three-game set against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday afternoon. Braun, who homered and recorded four RBIs in Wednesday's 7-0 shellacking, is batting .415 during his current tear.

The Washington Nationals seized control of the National League East and have a chance to fatten their division lead with a soft upcoming schedule. Winners of four in a row following a seven-game skid, Washington continues its 10-game homestand on Thursday night with the first of four against the reeling Cincinnati Reds.

The Toronto Blue Jays salvaged a 3-3 road trip with back-to-back wins at Colorado and seem to be pulling out of their funk just in time to face the hottest team in baseball. The Cleveland Indians will be looking for their 13th consecutive victory when they visit the Blue Jays in the opener of a four-game series on Thursday.

Miguel Cabrera is heating up again, and the slugger looks to continue his power surge as the Detroit Tigers spend the final 11 games before the All-Star break on the road. The two-time American League MVP homered in each of his last two games and the Tigers will try to extend their winning streak to three Thursday, when they visit the Tampa Bay Rays for the first of four contests.

The Atlanta Braves own the worst record in the National League but they have had their way against the Miami Marlins this season. The Braves have won six of the eight matchups between the NL East rivals as they prepare to host the Marlins in a four-game series beginning Thursday night.

A rematch of last year’s National League Championship Series is on tap starting Thursday, as the New York Mets host the Chicago Cubs for a four-game set. The first-place Cubs are coming off a three-game road sweep of Cincinnati, while the Mets have dropped four straight to fall six games back of Washington in the National League East.

The St. Louis Cardinals are having a ton of trouble winning games in their ballpark and look to end a six-game losing streak at Busch Stadium when they host the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. The Cardinals lost 3-2 in 12 innings to the Royals on Wednesday to continue their skid and are just 15-22 at home this season.

The Oakland Athletics attempt to complete a sweep of their four-game, home-and-home series against one of the top clubs in the National League when they host the San Francisco Giants on Thursday for the finale of their interleague set. Oakland, which sits in fourth place in the American League West, won a pair of contests in San Francisco to conclude a 5-1 road trip before rolling to a 7-1 home victory over the Giants on Wednesday.

The Baltimore Orioles need one home run to set an all-time record for the month of June when they visit the Seattle Mariners on Thursday for the opener of a four-game series. Baltimore has tied the major-league mark of 55 homers set by the 1996 Oakland Athletics and also is just three shy of the record for any month, shared by the Orioles (May 1987) and Mariners (May 1999).