Matchups

The New York Yankees have endured difficulty in solving the pesky Tampa Bay Rays, as they have dropped seven of their last nine encounters heading into the rubber match of their three-game series in the Bronx on Thursday afternoon. The Yankees (75-45) fell for the third time in their last 10 contests overall with a decisive 6-1 setback to the Rays (61-59) on Wednesday.

Wilson Ramos provided the Philadelphia Phillies' ailing offense with a much-needed shot in the arm against the best team in the majors. The Phillies (66-53) aim to ride that momentum into Thursday's doubleheader versus one of the worst in the majors in the visiting New York Mets (51-67), against whom they have dropped five of eight encounters this season with two shutout losses.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are beginning the fade from the National League playoff race, and the next week could do further damage to their postseason hopes. The Pirates begin a seven-game homestand against a pair of division leaders when they play the first of four contests against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

The red-hot St. Louis Cardinals take aim at their ninth straight victory when they attempt to complete a four-game sweep of the visiting Washington Nationals on Thursday. St. Louis posted a 4-2 victory on Wednesday and has scored 17 runs while winning the first three contests of the series.

Wilson Ramos provided the Philadelphia Phillies' ailing offense with a much-needed shot in the arm against the best team in the majors. The Phillies (66-53) aim to ride that momentum into Thursday's doubleheader versus one of the worst in the majors in the visiting New York Mets (51-67), against whom they have dropped five of eight encounters this season with two shutout losses.

Charlie Culberson has proven to be the perfect role player for the Atlanta Braves, who enter the opener of a four-game home series Thursday at the Colorado Rockies having won 14 of their past 18 games. Culberson, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in an offseason trade, collected three hits in Wednesday’s 5-2 home victory over Miami and is 6-for-12 with four runs in his past three contests to help Atlanta cap a four-game sweep of the Marlins and remain two games up in first place.

The Los Angeles Angels won't have star Mike Trout in the lineup for Thursday's opener, and he could miss the entire four-game series against the host Texas Rangers. The team was hoping Trout (wrist) could be activated from the 10-day disabled list on Thursday, but it isn't known when he will return after his brother-in-law, Aaron Cox, passed away on Wednesday.

The Minnesota Twins were under .500 at home as late as the final week of June, but they have turned things around at Target Field over the past 7 1/2 weeks. Minnesota has won five in row and 16 of their last 20 at home as they prepare to host the Detroit Tigers on Thursday in the first of four games between American League Central rivals.

Kevin Pillar and the Toronto Blue Jays have enjoyed their matchups with the host Kansas City Royals and get one more crack at the American League Central doormats when the teams complete their four-game series on Thursday. The Blue Jays have taken two of the first three contests in the set, riding Curtis Granderson's grand slam and Pillar's two RBIs to a 6-5 triumph in Wednesday's matchup to improve to 5-1 versus the Royals this year.

The Arizona Diamondbacks still sit atop the National League West despite having lost three of the first five contests on their nine-game road trip. Arizona hopes to expand its division lead when it visits the San Diego Padres on Thursday for the opener of their four-game series.