The second half technically began on Thursday night, with the Cardinals and Cubs squaring off. But Friday will see every team return to action. Keep it here for the latest news, notes, and highlights.
You can check out the latest trade rumor buzz in our daily roundup of things to know, and you can also keep up with the details of every deal as they’re reported in our trade tracker.
Friday’s scores
Cardinals at Cubs, 2:20 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Padres at Phillies, 7:05 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Braves at Nationals, 7:05 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Mets at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Orioles at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Red Sox at Tigers, 7:10 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Pirates at Reds, 7:10 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Marlins at Rays, 7:10 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Indians at Rangers, 8:05 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Dodgers at Brewers, 8:10 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Twins at Royals, 8:15 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Giants at Athletics, 9:35 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Rockies at Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Astros at Angels, 10:07 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
White Sox at Mariners, 10:10 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Strasburg returns
Stephen Strasburg hasn’t pitched for the Nationals since June 8. On Friday, his 30th birthday, he’ll return to the mound after having missed more than a month due to shoulder inflammation.
Strasburg will be facing the Braves, making this a pivotal matchup for the Nationals. Washington enters with six more losses than Atlanta, albeit in four additional games. This will be the third time Strasburg has faced the Braves this season. In his two prior starts, he had one gem (eight shutout innings) and one solid start (four runs across 6 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks). What will Friday bring? We’ll find out.
Strasburg enters the night with a 3.46 ERA and 76 more strikeouts than walks in 80 2/3 innings.
Machado debuts
The Dodgers will open the second half on the road in Milwaukee. That means Manny Machado will get to don L.A.’s threads for the first time in a city where he might have otherwise landed.
Machado departed Baltimore having hit .315/.387/.575 on the season with 24 home runs. He’s on pace to set new career-bests across the board.
Machado’s Dodgers will send Rich Hill to the mound to face Wade Miley. Believe it or not, Miley has actually outpitched Hill this season, and will enter with a 2.38 ERA.
The Brewers have two more wins and exactly as many losses as the Dodgers do.
Syndergaard faces Yankees
Noah Syndergaard returned after missing nearly two months just before the break, tossing five innings of one-run ball versus the Nationals. On Friday, he’ll make his first road start since late May, as he and the Mets travel across town to take on the Yankees.
Some might call it an audition, but that’s probably a stretch. The Mets have no real incentive to rush a Syndergaard trade, given they can wait until the winter when more teams are looking to improve their rosters
Nonetheless, Syndergaard will be looking for just his third double-digit strikeout game of the season. He hasn’t fanned more than 10 batters since April 15, when he struck out 11 in 5 1/3 innings. Fair to say the Mets had a little more to play for back then.
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