Chi. White Sox at Chi. Cubs 4:05 PM ET
Both Windy City teams are riding hot streaks heading into this season's first installment of the Crosstown Cup on Friday at Wrigley Field. The host Cubs have won seven of their last 10 while the White Sox have claimed seven of nine heading into a three-game weekend series.
Washington at Baltimore 7:05 PM ET
The Washington Nationals limp into the Beltway Series heading in the wrong direction, with both losses and injuries beginning to pile up. The visiting Nationals look to put a halt to the former while overcoming the latter on Friday when they open a three-game set against the interleague rival Baltimore Orioles.
St. Louis at Pittsburgh 7:05 PM ET
The Pittsburgh Pirates attempt to even their four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at one victory apiece when they host their National League Central rivals on Friday. The Pirates had their five-game winning streak snapped as they managed only five hits in a 4-1 defeat in Thursday's opener.
NY Yankees at Boston 7:10 PM ET
The first-place New York Yankees attempt to pad their three-game lead in
American League East when they open a three-game series on Friday
against the host Boston Red Sox. Boston has won four consecutive games
and stands just 5 1/2 games behind the Yankees despite residing in last
place.
Oakland at Cleveland 7:10 PM ET
The Cleveland Indians have a chance to reach the All-Star break with a .500 record, but it will require a three-game sweep of the visiting Oakland Athletics in a series that gets underway on Friday. The Indians earned only their second home series win of the season by taking the final three contests of a four-game set over American League West-leading Houston.
Houston at Tampa Bay 7:10 PM ET
The Tampa Bay Rays are in a full-fledged freefall heading toward the All-Star break but hope to build some positive momentum when they host the Houston Astros on Friday in the opener of their three-game series. The Rays have dropped 11 of their last 12 contests following a four-game sweep at Kansas City in which they were outscored 33-16.
Arizona at NY Mets 7:10 PM ET
After winning consecutive road series for the first time this season, the New York Mets look to head into the All-Star break on a high note when they open a three-game set against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. Strong pitching has paved the way for New York, which has allowed just four runs en route to winning three of its last four games.
Cincinnati at Miami 7:10 PM ET
The Miami Marlins look to record their fifth consecutive home victory when they host the Cincinnati Reds in the second contest of their four-game series Friday. Miami returned from a 1-4 road trip during which it dropped the final four contests to post a 2-0 triumph in Thursday's opener.
San Diego at Texas 8:05 PM ET
Instead of making a late push on the teams leading their respective divisions heading into the All-Star break, the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers have responded with some of their worst play of the season. The Padres attempt to snap a campaign-worst five-game skid on Friday when they open a three-game interleague series in Texas against the Rangers, who will try to avoid a matching a season low with a sixth straight loss.
Detroit at Minnesota 8:10 PM ET
Looking far removed from his halcyon days with the Detroit Tigers, Justin Verlander goes for his first victory of the season Friday night in the second of a four-game series against the host Minnesota Twins. The Tigers continued their mastery of the Twins with a 4-2 victory on Thursday night to improve to 8-2 in the season series.
Toronto at Kansas City 8:10 PM ET
The Kansas City Royals hope to pad the best record in the American League when they wrap up the first half by hosting the struggling Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game set starting Friday. The Royals have won five straight to begin pulling away from the AL Central pack, while Toronto has dropped eight of its last 11 contests to drop back to .500 for the first time since June 9.
Atlanta at Colorado 8:10 PM ET
Shelby Miller has been outstanding in his first three months with the Atlanta Braves, and his team certainly can use another stellar performance Friday from their lone All-Star when the Braves play at the Colorado Rockies. Heavy rains Thursday made a mess of both team’s pitching plans in the Rockies’ 5-3 victory, a two-hour, six-minute rain delay in the first inning forcing both teams to turn the game over to their bullpens.
LA Angels at Seattle 10:10 PM ET
The Seattle Mariners racked up a season-best 19 hits in the series
opener against Los Angeles and look for another productive offensive
performance when they host the Angels in Friday's second contest of a
four-game series. Seven different players had multiple hits as Seattle
posted a 7-2 victory Thursday.
Milwaukee at LA Dodgers 10:10 PM ET
All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal tortured Milwaukee pitching earlier
this season and looks to inflict more damage when the Los Angeles
Dodgers open a three-game series against the visiting Brewers on Friday.
Grandal went 8-for-12 in a four-game set in Milwaukee, including a
4-for-4 effort in which he homered twice and had a career-best eight
RBIs.
Philadelphia at San Francisco 10:15 PM ET
Next week’s All-Star break can’t arrive soon enough for the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants, who begin a three-game series at AT&T Park on Friday. The Phillies are a season-high 30 games under .500 after being shutout in back-to-back games against the Dodgers, while the Giants are stumbling to the break with eight losses in their last nine games.
