Matchups

The absence of Clayton Kershaw continues to be felt in its trickledown effect on the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching staff. The Dodgers will bring 19-year-old rookie Julio Urias back to fill a spot in the rotation when they visit the Washington Nationals in the rubber match of their three-game series on Thursday afternoon.

CC Sabathia turns 36 years old on Thursday and the New York Yankees hope to make it a festive occasion for the veteran left-hander when they go for a four-game sweep of the visiting Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees have won four straight overall to move two games above .500 for the first time since April 12.

The Philadelphia Phillies have been a tough matchup for National League East rival Miami and will look to earn a split of their four-game set with the visiting Marlins in Thursday's series finale. The Phillies rebounded from a pair of extra-inning defeats with a 4-1 victory on Wednesday to improve to 5-4 against Miami.

The Pittsburgh Pirates won’t get very far in the race for a playoff spot in the National League if they lose home series against sub-.500 teams. The Pirates will try to avoid such a fate when they host the Milwaukee Brewers in the rubber match of their three-game set on Thursday.

The Boston Red Sox just swept one of the best teams in the National League to jump back into first place in the American League East and will try to keep the same intensity when they face the worst team in the AL. The Red Sox will send All-Star Steven Wright to the mound when they welcome the Minnesota Twins in the opener of a four-game series on Thursday.

Adam Wainwright has re-established himself as the ace of St. Louis' pitching staff and looks to help the Cardinals complete a four-game sweep of the visiting San Diego Padres on Thursday. St. Louis has won three in a row at home for only the second time this season after taking both ends of Wednesday's doubleheader.

The Detroit Tigers are trying to remain in range of the American League Central-leading Cleveland Indians as they open a four-game series on Thursday against the host Chicago White Sox. Detroit is a distant 7 1/2 games behind the soaring Indians and the club's better option may be focusing on closing in on Toronto, Boston and Houston in the wild-card race.

Freddie Freeman was hitless in 11 at-bats when his Atlanta Braves played Colorado last weekend and the first baseman strives for a better showing when they visit the Rockies on Thursday in the opener of a four-game set. Freeman homered in Wednesday's loss to the Cincinnati Reds but is just 2-for-23 with 13 strikeouts in six games since play resumed after the All-Star break.

The Tampa Bay Rays emerged from an extended slide to score 21 runs in back-to-back victories and strive to maintain the hot hitting on Thursday when they open a four-game series against the host Oakland Athletics. The Rays dropped 13 of their previous 15 games before the eruption at Coors Field that included a career-best, five-hit game from light-hitting infielder Tim Beckham in Wednesday's 11-3 triumph over the Colorado Rockies.