BASEBALL MLB ARTICLES

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will square off in the middle game of a three-game series on Wednesday with the game broadcast live on ESPN. While the Sox are seemingly running away with the AL East, the Yankees have plenty to play for as they try to stay ahead of the Oakland A’s for the top AL Wild Card spot. Boston, meanwhile, would like nothing more than to deprive them of homefield advantage in that game as they look to extend their recent dominance over the Bronx Bombers. ... 

The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals will wrap up a four-game weekend series on Sunday Night as they square off in ESPN. The Cardinals have been a difficult opponent for the Dodgers in postseason play in the past, but both teams are now fighting to even make it to October. For the Cardinals a red-hot August put them in Wild Card position, but they’ll have to fight to stay there with teams like the Dodgers breathing down their necks. ... 

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros wrap up a three-game series on Sunday afternoon with a nationally televised showdown. Both teams are still battling it out for their respective divisions as the West presents some of the most intriguing storylines in both leagues. The series finale will feature an elite pitching matchup as each team’s ace takes the mound with Justin Verlander toeing the rubber for the Astros opposite the D-Backs’ Zack Greinke. ... 

The Washington Nationals are slated to travel south to take on the Atlanta Braves this weekend for a three-game series, including the middle game on Saturday afternoon. Injuries, ineffectiveness and disappointment have plagued the Nationals’ season this year. Now, they can add a potential hurricane to the mix as Hurricane Florence threatens this game and this series. If the game is played, however, it should be a good one with the Braves’ newest starter slated to make the start for Atlanta.... 

If in the NL, the Seattle Mariners would be just a half a game back of the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot, but in a top-heavy AL, Seattle finds itself not yet eliminated, but also almost certainly out of a the playoff picture as it gets set to kick off a four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. These divisional foes will battle with little other than a prayer on the line as the Mariners send James Paxton to the hill for the series opener opposite a finally-healthy Matt Shoemaker. ... 

The Philadelphia Phillies will host the Washington Nationals for the final game of a three-game series on Wednesday. The Phillies are in desperate needs of wins as they try to stay relevant in their push for the postseason, but they’ve been slipping closer to the Nationals in the standings. This is an important game for Philadelphia and there is an epic pitching matchup in this series finale as the Phillies send their NL Cy Young hopeful, Aaron Nola, to the hill against the Nationals’ Stephen St... 

Heading into September, the Chicago Cubs had a seemingly stable lead in the NL Central, up 4.5-games. Now, the head into a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers up by just a pair. It’s the final showdown between these two divisional foes and the best chance for the Brew Crew to close the gap on the Cubbies. On Tuesday, these two teams will face off in the swing game of the series with Jhoulys Chacin and Jose Quintana scheduled to take the mound.... 

Expected to a battle of the best of the NL at the beginning of the year, the Washington Nationals have been a major disappointment and will, instead, be trying to play spoilers on Sunday afternoon when they host the Chicago Cubs in a series finale in the Nation’s Capital. While Washington has faltered, Chicago holds the best record in the NL and look poised to make some noise in October. Erick Fedde and Mike Montgomery will get the start in this game as the two teams wrap up a four-game weekend ... 

The Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros will wrap up a three-game series at historic Fenway Park on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball as the division leaders square off in a potential postseason preview. This will be the last meeting between these two teams in the 2018 regular season as they each send a former AL Cy Young Award winner to the hill with Dallas Keuchel getting the start for the Astros against the Sox’s Rick Porcello. ... 

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ hitters are rejoicing and the pitchers lamenting as they get set for a weekend series against the Colorado Rockies in the altitude at Coors Field. These two teams are both battling for the top spot in the NL West and the head-to-head play in this three-game set could have a major impact on how the race shapes up. When facing off this year, it’s the Dodgers who hold the slight edge, winning seven of their first 13 meetings. ... 

Trying to keep their ever so slim playoff hopes alive, the Seattle Mariners kickoff a tough series at home against the AL Wild Card leading New York Yankees on Friday night. Seattle’s been slowly falling out of the postseason picture over the last couple months and need to make a statement with a big series win. The Mariners are set to put their best foot forward to start this series as they send James Paxton to the mound for this series opener. The Yankees are expected to counter with Masahiro Tanaka. ... 

In a potential postseason preview, the Arizona Diamondbacks will host the NL East leading Atlanta Braves in the first of four on Thursday night. Atlanta’s in a firmer position for October than the Diamondbacks as Arizona is currently third in a three-team race for the NL West. With so much for both teams to play for, this should be an interesting series kickoff as a couple grizzled veterans are lined up to take the mound. ... 

The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers wrap up a crucial three-game series in Milwaukee on Wednesday as the Cubs look to create some distance in the NL Central and the Brew Crew do their best to stay in the race as regular season schedule hits the stretch run. Milwaukee will put its best foot forward in this game, sending Jhoulys Chacin to the mound against the Cubs’ Jose Quintana who has pitched very well against the Brewers in four previous starts this season. ... 

Two non-playoff teams will get a nationally televised showing on Tuesday night as the Texas Rangers play host to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the middle game of a three-game series. These division rivals are pulling up the rear in the AL West while the rest of the division push for a spot in October. The Angels and Rangers are now both looking forward to 2019 and beyond as two southpaws get set to face-off with Andrew Heaney and Mike Minor expected to take the ball in this one. ... 

A battle for the east kicks off on Monday when the NL East leading Atlanta Braves host the AL East leading Boston Red Sox in the first game of a three-game series. The Sox have the far superior record of the two teams, leading baseball in wins, but both teams look destined for October, leaving this as a possible World Series preview. In this series opener, the Sox have David Price lined up to take the mound against Sean Newcomb for the Braves. Neither team have officially announced their rotatio... 

There’s still a month of baseball to play, but the AL postseason seems all but decided and if everything stays the way it is, this series opener between the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics could be a preview of the AL Wild Card matchup though that is likely played in the Bronx rather than out by the bay in Oakland. Even so, this will be an intriguing matchup and one worth following between the league’s biggest Cinderella Story and its favorite villain on Labor Day. ... 

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball this week will take us out to the NL West where the division leading Houston Astros will host the also-ran Los Angeles Angels in the finale of a four-game weekend series. Injuries to the pitching staff took away any chance the Angels had at competing this year and as we embark on the season’s final month, the Angels will have to take solace in the role of spoiler as they shoot for the upset against Gerrit Cole and the Astros on Sunday. ... 

Two of National League contenders square off in a series finale on Sunday and TBS has the coverage as the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs close out a series in the City of Brotherly Love. The Phillies have been struggling a bit and need this win. Fortunately, they’ll have Aaron Nola on the mound, but the Cubs won’t make it easy as they have Jon Lester lined up to make the start, setting things up for a great pitching duel. ... 

The Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians will meet in Cleveland on Saturday in the middle game of a three game series. This game, and series, is between two teams that are much closer in talent and performance than it may appear on first glance with Saturday figuring to be an especially tough one for the home team. A day after the Rays see the Indians’ Cy Young contender, the Rays will use theirs, sending Blake Snell to the mound on Saturday against the Indians’ and their rookie hurler, Shane Bieber. ... 

The New York Yankees are seemingly out of the AL East. Even with the Red Sox having some issues over the last week, the Bronx Bombers are 7.5-back, but they’re first in the AL Wild Card picture and appear destined for the postseason. They’re competition on Saturday, on the other hand, are firmly focused on the future as the Detroit Tigers are in complete free fall right now. The Yankees have a good opportunity to pad their record on Saturday against the Tigers as they send their ace, Luis Severino, to the mound opposite the Tigers’ beleaguered veteran, Jordan Zimmermann. ... 

It’s an important weekend series coming up for the Los Angeles Dodgers who will play host to the Arizona Diamondbacks, hoping to make up some ground against the division leaders. The Dodgers are still the divisional Goliath, but time is running out for them to make their move back to the top of the division standings after winning the NL West in each of the last five seasons. Can the Dodgers make up ground over the weekend or will time continue to run without any progress by the men in blue?

The Philadelphia Phillies are falling behind the Braves in the NL East but remain in much better position than the Washington Nationals when the two teams meet on Tuesday night for the middle game of a three-game series. Five games back of Philly, the Nationals have seemingly given up on their season, but Tuesday’s rematch of Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola offers us a head-to-head in one interesting race: a race for the NL Cy Young Award. ... 

While the races in the AL West and all across the NL are heating up, the Boston Red Sox remain well in control of the AL East as they get set to welcome in the division rival Tampa Bay Rays for the final game of a three-game series. Nathan Eovaldi returns to Tropicana Field for the first time since being traded to Boston prior to the deadline. He’ll get the start against his former team, looking to keep the Red Sox rolling.... 

A David versus Goliath series wraps up on Sunday when the Baltimore Orioles host the New York Yankees in the final game of an extended four-game series. The Bronx Bombers are the clearly superior team, but in baseball, you never know, particularly in divisional rivalries. The Orioles have played the Yankees tough. We’ll see if that continues as the two teams battle it out in ESPN’s Sunday Night matchup featuring two young, talented—but struggling—starters in Luis Severino and Dylan Bundy. ... 

Kicking off—perhaps—the weeks’ biggest series, the Houston Astros will hosting the Oakland Athletics in the first of three between two teams battling it out for the AL West crown. The series features the reigning World Series champions and the season’s biggest Cinderella story. Nothing embodies the difference between these teams as well as the pitching matchup which features journeyman Edwin Jackson for the A’s and spare starter Brad Peacock for the Astros. ...