Matchups

If the New York Yankees are going to make a real run at a playoff spot in Derek Jeter’s final season, this weekend is going to be key. The Yankees will attempt to gain some ground in the wild card race when they visit the American League East-leading Baltimore Orioles for a day-night doubleheader and the start of a four-game series on Friday. The Orioles are running away with the East in part because they have gone 8-3 against New York this season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates hope to solidify a spot in the playoffs over the course of their final homestand of the season as they begin a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Friday. Pittsburgh returns home for a string of nine contests after going 6-4 on its 10-game road trip. The trek got off to a rough start as the Pirates were swept of a three-game set in St. Louis before sweeping the Cubs in Chicago and taking three of four at Philadelphia.

The Miami Marlins lost their top pitcher early in the season and will likely to be without MVP candidate Giancarlo Stanton as they try to hang in the playoff race the final few weeks. Stanton, who leads the majors in RBIs (105) and the National League in homers (37), suffered multiple facial fractures when he was hit by a pitch in Thursday’s 4-2 loss at Milwaukee. The Marlins will try to recover when they visit the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday for the opener of a three-game series.

The Toronto Blue Jays thrust themselves back into the race for the wild card in the American League with a good week but are still facing an uphill battle. The Blue Jays will aim for their fifth straight win when they open a three-game series against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are out of the race but are still playing a role down the stretch and battled the New York Yankees tough while dropping two of three in the Bronx this week.

Following a strong finish to their last series, the Cleveland Indians hope they are beginning another September surge. The Indians get a chance to make up some ground on a division rival and a team they are chasing in the American League wild-card race at the same time Friday when they begin a three-game set in Detroit against the Tigers. Cleveland entered last September with a 71-64 mark before going 21-6 in the final month of the regular season to claim a wild-card berth.

The Washington Nationals haven't just made themselves at home at Citi Field - they may as well collect their mail, meet the neighbors and build a white picket fence to boot. Washington vies for its 13th consecutive victory and 27th in 31 visits to Queens when it plays the second contest of its four-game series versus the New York Mets on Friday.

The Atlanta Braves visit the Texas Rangers for the first time in six years when the clubs open a three-game interleague series on Friday. The rare visit may prove to be an opportune one for the Braves, who remain in the hunt for the National League's second wild card despite having dropped six of their last nine contests. Atlanta resides just two games behind Pittsburgh for a postseason berth and could make up ground against the reeling Rangers, who have lost 11 of 12.

The Kansas City Royals would be in much better shape in their American League Central race if they could figure out a way to beat the Boston Red Sox. The Royals attempt to even the four-game set at one victory apiece when they host the Red Sox again on Friday. Kansas City had its lead trimmed to a half-game over the Detroit Tigers in the division after a 6-3 loss in the series opener on Thursday - its fourth loss to Boston since the All-Star break.

Although the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota have little left to play for this season, there is at least one player with a lot at stake. Jose Abreu continues his quest for his 100th RBI on Friday when the White Sox host the opener of a three-game set with the Twins. Abreu, who is on pace to become the first rookie in major-league history to finish in the top five of all three Triple Crown categories, is batting .317 with 33 homers and 99 RBI through 130 games.

The Milwaukee Brewers look to build off their first set of back-to-back victories in more than two weeks when they host the Cincinnati Reds on Friday for the opener of a three-game series. The Brewers allowed three runs combined in beating Miami the last two days and leadoff hitter Carlos Gomez returned from a wrist injury to go 6-for-14 in the series with three doubles. The Reds present a challenge after winning the last three games against National League Central-leading St. Louis.

The St. Louis Cardinals turn to ace Adam Wainwright to try to stop the bleeding in the opener of a nine-game homestand Friday night against the Colorado Rockies. Wainwright, who is 6-1 with a 1.50 ERA in his career against Colorado, is coming off his 20th career complete game in a 9-1 rout of Milwaukee on Sunday, part of an impressive recent surge for the Cardinals. That surge reached an end with three straight losses to end a four-game set at Cincinnati, capped by Thursday's 1-0 setback.

With their wild-card chances all but wiped away, the San Diego Padres continue a nine-game road trip Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Following a 6-1 surge, the Padres woke up Sept. 3 trailing the second wild-card spot in the National League by six games in the loss column and talking of getting into the mix by the end of the month. A subsequent six-game losing streak and a 1-7 mark overall since has virtually eliminated that opportunity.

The surging Los Angeles Angels are streaking toward their first American League West title since 2009. The Angels look to inch closer to division glory and vie for their season-high ninth straight victory when they open a three-game series versus the visiting Houston Astros on Friday. Erick Aybar belted a two-run homer in Los Angeles' 7-3 triumph over tumbling Texas on Thursday and is 37-for-97 since Aug. 16.

The Seattle Mariners appeared to be facing an impossible deficit to the Oakland Athletics in early August, but an unexpected reversal of fortune has the American League West rivals neck-and-neck in the wild-card chase. The Mariners look to close their 1½-game deficit on the Athletics at home on Friday when the teams open a three-game set in Seattle. Oakland owned an 11-game lead on the third-place Mariners on Aug. 9, but a 9-21 stretch gave Seattle ample opportunity to make up ground.

The race for the National League West title will be front and center when the Los Angeles Dodgers open a three-game series at the San Francisco Giants on Friday. The first-place Dodgers were idle Thursday, watching the Giants pull to within two games with a 6-2 win over Arizona at home. Buster Posey was 3-for-5 with an RBI and Jake Peavy had a solid start as San Francisco won its ninth in a row at home, matching the club's second-longest run at AT&T Park.