Manny Machado is locked in.

The Padres third baseman produced the 31st multi-home run game of his career Thursday night to account for both runs in San Diego’s 2-1 win over the visiting Miami Marlins during the opener of a four-game series.

Machado has hit safely in nine of his past 10 games, going 17-for-40 (.425) with two doubles, four home runs, 10 RBIs and 13 runs. He has also drawn five walks while striking out six times in that span, raising his season average to .374 (second in the major leagues) and his OPS to 1.104 (tops in the majors).

“He’s just a great all-around player,” Padres substitute manager Ryan Christenson said Thursday night after Machado took Jesus Luzardo deep twice to give San Diego a win. Christenson, San Diego’s bench coach, filled in the past two days with manager Bob Melvin sidelined due to a non-COVID illness.

While Thursday ended up being a good night for San Diego, Wednesday was a rough day for both the Padres and Marlins, who flew from the east to the west after blowing leads in losses.

The Padres, however, have won seven of their past nine games. The Marlins have lost five in a row going into the Friday night game, which matches Miami right-hander Sandy Alcantara (2-1, 2.90 ERA) against San Diego right-hander Yu Darvish (2-1, 4.44).

The Marlins dropped the series opener to the Padres despite getting a strong six innings from Luzardo. The lefty allowed just three hits, but two of them were Machado’s long balls.

“Luzardo deserved better tonight,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said postgame. “Two swings shouldn’t beat you. We’ve lost four straight one-run games. You have to find ways to win close games.”

The Padres did on a night when their bullpen was depleted after playing 19 innings while splitting a doubleheader at Cleveland on Wednesday.

“We really needed Nick (Martinez) to give us seven innings tonight and he did,” said Christenson, who added that Melvin should be well enough to return as the manager Friday, when much of the bullpen will be set to return to action, too.

The Friday game will see each team’s Opening Day starter make his sixth start of the year.

Alcantara is coming off his worst outing of the season. The 6-foot-5, 26-year-old give up five runs on six hits, four walks and a hit batter on Sunday in a 7-3 loss to the visiting Seattle Mariners. He also yielded his second and third homers of the season.

Alcantara has faced the Padres only once before. Last Aug. 11, he held San Diego scoreless over seven innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out seven in a 7-0 victory.

The Padres have won Darvish’s past three starts since he gave up nine runs on eight hits and two walks in just 1 2/3 innings against the San Francisco Giants on April 12. Over his three most recent starts, Darvish is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 0.911 WHIP. He last pitched on April 29, when he held the Pittsburgh Pirates to three runs in six innings during a 73 win.

Darvish is 2-2 lifetime against the Marlins with a 6.25 ERA in six starts, including a shutout in 2014. He faced Miami once last year, and he gave up four runs in five innings during a 9-3 loss on July 25.

–Field Level Media

Two of the hottest teams in the National League, the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks, are set to face off in a three-game series starting Friday night at Phoenix.

The Rockies won five of six games in their just-concluded homestand against the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals.

The Diamondbacks are riding a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins, capping a 5-2 trip that included a four-game split against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Colorado pitching staff enters the series ranked 26th in the majors with a 4.56 ERA and 29th with an average of 6.96 strikeouts per nine innings, with the latter figure ahead of just Arizona’s 6.61.

Six Rockies pitchers combined to strike out just two on Thursday, but Colorado still emerged with a 9-7 win over the Nationals.

What is saving the Rockies’ pitchers are double plays. They have induced 36 ground-ball double plays, the best figure in the majors.

Colorado turned two key double plays Thursday, one behind reliever Jhoulys Chacin to quell a rally in the fifth inning and another behind reliever Robert Stephenson to limit Washington to two runs in the seventh.

“It’s a function of us having ground-ball pitchers, especially in the rotation,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “We know that we have to keep the ball down in this park (in Denver). Here, it’s a little dangerous to pitch up, unless you have a guy who consistently throws it in the right spot, where they will swing at it.

“We stress keeping the ball down in the zone, and defensively we have always stressed, even prior to me, the importance of defense in this ballpark.”

The Diamondbacks enter the weekend series still buzzing about the events of their sweep-clinching, 8-7 win over the Marlins on Wednesday. Arizona starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner was ejected after one inning following a hand check by umpire Dan Bellino for banned substances.

Bumgarner took exception that Bellino took a few seconds rubbing his hand and looking at his face instead of the hand. A comment by the left-hander prompted the ump to send him to the showers.

“I don’t know if I could say anything that would make the situation better,” Bumgarner said. “What I am going to say is I’m extremely proud of our team, coming back. Obviously, I didn’t go into the game with the intention of throwing one inning. Everyone picked me up today.”

The Diamondbacks, who relied on their bullpen for the win, have one of the best rotations in baseball with Bumgarner (1-1, 1.50 ERA), Zac Gallen (1-0, 1.27) and Merrill Kelly (2-1, 1.27) with ERAs under 2.00 in a combined 73 1/3 innings pitched.

Friday’s matchup between Kelly and fellow right-hander Chad Kuhl (3-0, 1.90) has the makings of a pitchers’ duel.

Kelly, making his sixth start of the season, is limiting opponents to a .208 batting average. However, he is just 1-3 with a 6.49 ERA in six career starts against the Rockies.

Kuhl’s lifetime numbers against the Diamondbacks are ugly, too: 0-1 with an 11.25 ERA in three appearances (two starts).

Kuhl has won his past three starts, most recently limiting the Cincinnati Reds to three runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings during a 4-3 victory on Saturday.

–Field Level Media

A recent surge has propelled the Los Angeles Angels to the top of the American League West, while a swoon has banished the Washington Nationals to the basement in the National League East.

On Friday night, when Washington’s Joan Adon (1-4, 7.33 ERA) opposes an undecided Los Angeles starter in the opener of a three-game series at Anaheim, Calif., it will be a meeting of teams with different mindsets.

Coming off two wins in Boston in a span of 15 hours and with nine victories in their past 12 games, the Angels arrive home on a high.

Meanwhile, the Nationals have lost 11 of their past 14, a stretch that began with an eight-game losing streak.

One plus for Washington is missing Shohei Ohtani’s turn in the rotation. On Thursday afternoon in an 8-0 win, the right-hander dazzled the Red Sox with seven shutout innings, scattering six hits and fanning 11.

Ohtani didn’t walk a batter and threw 81 strikes on 99 pitches. He also went 2-for-4 at the plate, inspiring comparison to Babe Ruth, who played in Fenway Park a century ago.

“He’s the best player in the league,” losing pitcher Rich Hill said. “Everybody should be really appreciating what we’re seeing because it’s something we haven’t seen in 100 years and we may never see it again for another 100 years.”

Angels manager Joe Maddon echoed Hill’s comments.

“I hope you don’t start taking that for granted, like it’s old hat,” Maddon said. “It’s just so unusual. It’s otherworldly on this level of the game.”

The Angles have thrived with an offense that ranks among the top three in the majors in runs (128), home runs (34), steals (17), slugging percentage (.416) and OPS (.737).

In the two wins at Boston, Jared Walsh hit home runs in each and totaled eight RBIs, giving him a team-high 18 for the season.

Taylor Ward, a 28-year-old career reserve, has been a revelation, leading the Angels with a .368 batting average and six home runs. Mike Trout also has six homers and a .316 average.

Despite their recent woes, the Nationals have come alive on offense during their current road trip, averaging 7.8 runs per game but only winning three of six games.

Yadiel Hernandez has led the offensive surge, leading the team with a .373 average. Josh Bell, who is hitting .356 with 19 RBIs, has been a constant.

Juan Soto hit his sixth home run Thursday afternoon in a 9-7 road loss to the Colorado Rockies, but he has only seven RBIs this year.

Soto made an uncharacteristic mental blunder in the latest defeat, venturing too far off third base and getting thrown out on a fifth-inning play that derailed a potentially big rally.

“That could have made the tying run in the game and I just made myself out,” Soto said. “I won’t blame anybody. It was me.”

After earning his first major league win by pitching six-plus shutout innings in a 1-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 19, Adon has endured back-to-back rough outings. Both of his latest two starts came against the San Francisco Giants, and Adon surrendered a total of nine runs on 10 hits in eight innings.

Adon, 23, will face the Angels for the first time in his career.

–Field Level Media

Right-hander Jose Urquidy continued a stellar stretch by Houston starters, delivering six shutout innings on Thursday in the Astros’ 3-2 win over the visiting Detroit Tigers.

The teams continue their four-game series in Houston on Friday.

While the Astros won the opener in walk-off fashion on Thursday, Urquidy set the tone by posting Houston’s eighth start of at least six innings over the past 11 games.

Houston starters are 7-3 with a 2.05 ERA over the past 11 games.

The Astros will conclude a stretch of playing games on 17 consecutive games with the finale against the Tigers on Sunday. Houston manager Dusty Baker said his starting staff has been integral in getting through the challenging stretch without forcing him to overburden the bullpen.

“This is getting to the point where guys are getting in shape, getting to the point where guys are showing the ability to go 100 pitches, go close to seven innings,” Baker said. “Starting pitching is the key. Starting pitching sets the tone for everything, sets the tone for your offense where you don’t have to have nearly as much, sets the tone for your bullpen where you don’t have to go to the same guys every day.”

Right-hander Luis Garcia (1-1, 4.15 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Astros in the second game of the series. He recorded his first quality start of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts over six innings in the Astros’ 2-1 loss.

Garcia is 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA over two career games (one start) against the Tigers. He worked six innings in a 12-3 road win over Detroit on June 24, 2021, and allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Rookie right-hander Beau Brieske (0-1, 3.60 ERA) has the starting assignment for Detroit on Friday. He made his major league debut on April 23, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts over five innings in a 3-2 home loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Brieske did not factor into the decision in his latest start, the Tigers’ 5-1 road win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. He allowed one run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts over five innings.

Brieske was a 27th-round selection by Detroit in the 2019 draft.

Detroit entered the series ranked last in the American League in slugging, making the two-run, two-out, game-tying home run from Jeimer Candelario in the top of the ninth inning on Thursday one of the more timely extra-base hits the Tigers have enjoyed this season.

“We’ve been having a hard time getting the big hit,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I thought our at-bats were better. We get the big hit, Candy comes up and ties the game with two outs. Their closer (Ryan Pressly) is in the game and so that’s obviously a great job by our guys hanging in there and fighting and doing their part to keep the game alive.

“Hopefully the energy at the top half of the ninth inning will carry over into (Friday).”

–Field Level Media

The Minnesota Twins will open a nine-game homestand when they host the Oakland Athletics on Friday night in Minneapolis.

The Twins are back home after going 4-3 on a road trip to Tampa Bay and Baltimore. Minnesota started the season with eight losses in 12 games but has gone 11-3 since then to grab an early lead in the American League Central.

Meanwhile, Oakland is headed in the opposite direction as it remains in search of its first win this month. The Athletics have lost six games in a row and nine of 11.

“There’s some anger in (the clubhouse),” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. “They know we had opportunities to win games this homestand, and we didn’t get it done. Every team goes through these situations. My whole focus with the group is to continue to keep the mindset of winning the day.”

Kotsay said he did not see the need for a closed-door meeting or a personnel shakeup.

“If it was lack of effort or lack of fight, then there’d be a message that needs to be sent,” Kotsay said. “These guys are battling. They’re grinding. This is part of the grind through the season. You try to weather the storm.”

Twins right-hander Josh Winder (1-0, 2.20 ERA) will make the fifth appearance and second start of his rookie campaign.

The 25-year-old from Virginia Military Institute made his starting debut Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays and earned his first career victory by allowing no runs on two hits in six innings. He has walked four and struck out 12 in 16 1/3 innings this season.

“I feel like I got most of the nerves out after the first time, after the debut,” Winder said following his first start. “So, it was kind of nice to ease my way into having more control of the game and it being my game. So (I’m) definitely easing into the starting role. Definitely made me feel very confident out there and really comfortable.”

Friday would have been left-hander Cole Irvin’s turn in the Athletics’ rotation, but he was placed on the injured list Thursday because of shoulder soreness. Irvin (2-1, 2.93 ERA) is expected to be sidelined until at least late May.

Oakland had not announced a starter in Irvin’s place, but rookie left-hander Zach Logue is a possible choice. If Logue gets the call, it would be his second game overall and the first start of his career.

Logue, 26, was the Toronto Blue Jays’ ninth-round draft pick in 2017 after pitching for Kentucky. Oakland acquired him before the start of the season as part of a package of prospects in exchange for Matt Chapman.

In his debut on April 19, Logue pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles. He allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one while throwing 16 of 27 pitches for strikes.

This series will mark the first three games out of six meetings this season between the teams. The A’s and Twins are scheduled to square off in Oakland from May 16-18.

–Field Level Media

After one of their most improbable victories in franchise history, the New York Mets will look to build on the positive momentum of an 8-7 comeback victory over the host Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.

The Mets scored seven runs in the ninth inning. Over the past 25 seasons, they had been 0-330 when trailing by at least six runs entering the ninth.

New York will now attempt to win again in the second game of a four-game series on Friday.

“You can never give up on us,” Brandon Nimmo, who tied the game with a two-run single in the ninth, said in a postgame interview on SNY. “This team doesn’t give up.”

Despite going hitless in his first four at-bats, Nimmo refused to wilt.

“I’m an optimist and I just keep going until they blow the whistle,” he said. “When it’s my turn, I give everything I’ve got. It seems every guy on this team has the same mentality.”

The Mets will send ace Max Scherzer (4-0, 2.61 ERA) to the mound on Friday. Scherzer is 16-4 with a 2.60 ERA in 27 career starts against the Phillies.

Scherzer has won 15 straight decisions. In his latest outing, Sunday against the Phillies, he wasn’t as sharp, giving up five hits and four runs in six innings. However, he emerged with a 10-6 victory.

“That’s what it’s about: coming here and having your ballclub win,” Scherzer said after that outing. “It’s not about me. It’s not about my stuff. It’s about going out there and doing everything you can for the team to come out with a win. That’s why tonight’s a great night. Everybody had a hand in it.”

The Phillies will attempt to erase the memory of the maddening loss and snap a four-game losing streak.

Philadelphia lost on the road to the Mets last Sunday and were swept in a two-game series by the Texas Rangers before the latest stunning defeat.

“You’ve gotta bounce back,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “This is as tough as it gets. You’re going to have these during the course of the year, and you’ve got to find a way to turn it around.”

After rallying to reach .500, the four consecutive losses have dropped the Phillies to 11-15 with three games remaining in the series against the first-place Mets.

“There’s a lot of fight in that room,” Girardi said. “They’ll come out fighting.”

Bryce Harper — who had a home run, a double and two RBIs on Thursday — said the Phillies must respond immediately. There’s no time to pout.

“We just weren’t able to close it out,” Harper said. “That’s not a pitcher reference. It’s a team reference. They battled and beat us. We can’t sulk. We’ve got to move on and get ready to go (Friday).”

The Phillies will send Kyle Gibson (2-1, 2.93 ERA) to the mound. Gibson is 1-3 with a 4.15 ERA in six career starts against the Mets.

It’s unclear whether Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos will be in the lineup Friday after being hit by Adonis Medina on the right wrist in the sixth inning and exiting for a pinch runner. X-rays were negative, and Girardi labeled the right fielder as day-to-day.

Castellanos homered and knocked in three runs before leaving the Thursday game.

–Field Level Media

Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte homered and the New York Mets scored seven runs in the ninth inning to rally past the host Philadelphia Phillies 8-7 on Thursday.

Brandon Nimmo ripped a two-run single with two outs in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 7 before Marte delivered the winning RBI double one batter later.

Marte drove in two runs, Lindor added a two-run homer and Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil had two hits apiece for New York, which had been 0-330 over the past 25 seasons in games in which it trailed by at least six runs in the ninth inning.

Bryce Harper hit a home run and double, knocked in two runs and scored twice for the slumping Phillies, who have lost four in a row. Nick Castellanos homered and drove in three runs and Jean Segura contributed three hits for the Phillies.

Angels 8, Red Sox 0

Jared Walsh’s two-run home run broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning and preceded a five-run eighth that lifted Los Angeles over host Boston.

Walsh went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a run scored for the Angels, who claimed the three-game series with back-to-back wins in which they outscored the Red Sox 18-5. Shohei Ohtani (3-2) pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up six hits with 11 strikeouts without a walk. He also went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.

The game started as a classic duel between Ohtani and Boston’s Rich Hill, with the latter allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out six over five scoreless frames. It was the 42-year-old lefty’s longest start of the season — the 200th of his career.

Guardians 6, Blue Jays 5

Cleveland rode a three-run fifth inning and a solid performance from starter Aaron Civale to nip visiting Toronto.

Civale (1-2) pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed four runs, six hits and no walks. He struck out a season-high eight batters in the opener of a four-game set. Emmanuel Clase earned his fifth save with a perfect ninth. Rookie Steven Kwan hit his first career home run.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk blasted homers for the Blue Jays.

Astros 3, Tigers 2

Kyle Tucker delivered a walk-off single in the ninth inning and Houston Astros claimed the opener of a four-game series with visiting Detroit. The Astros have won four consecutive games while the Tigers fell for the third time in four games.

Trailing 2-0 with two outs in the top of the ninth, the Tigers rallied behind Miguel Cabrera’s single and Jeimer Candelario’s home run. The tying blast came off Astros closer Ryan Pressly, who had missed the previous 19 games due to right knee inflammation.

Pressly (1-1) emerged as the winner despite allowing the two runs in his lone inning. Gregory Soto (1-2) took the loss.

Brewers 10, Reds 5

Willy Adames homered twice and drove in four runs as host Milwaukee completed a three-game sweep of woeful Cincinnati.

It was the eighth win in nine games for the Brewers, who clubbed five home runs off Cincinnati rookie starter Hunter Greene. Christian Yelich homered as part of a three-hit game for the National League Central leaders, who outscored the Reds 34-12 in the series.

Tyler Stephenson homered and singled for the Reds, who lost their ninth straight and were swept in an entire road trip for a second consecutive time. The Reds have dropped 20 of their past 21 games. The loss was Cincinnati’s 13th straight on the road, its longest such skid since dropping 19 straight between July 5-Aug. 24, 1933.

Orioles 5, Twins 3

Ryan Mountcastle hit two of Baltimore’s five solo home runs as the Orioles beat visiting Minnesota to salvage a split of the four-game series.

Austin Hays broke a tie with a one-out homer in the eighth inning, and Mountcastle followed with his second blast of the game. Cedric Mullins and Jorge Mateo also homered for the Orioles. Mountcastle doubled his home run total for the season as he now has four.

Jorge Lopez (3-1) earned the win by logging the last 1 1/3 innings. Byron Buxton homered and knocked in three runs for the Twins, who had won 11 of 12 games before losing to the Orioles on consecutive nights.

Rockies 9, Nationals 7

Garrett Hampson and Brendan Rodgers each blasted three-run home runs and Randal Grichuk added a solo shot to power host Colorado over Washington in Denver.

Behind the three long balls, the Rockies took two of three games in the series. The ball was carrying to all fields at Coors Field, with the teams combining for five home runs and 25 hits. The difference was that two of Colorado’s homers came with runners on base, compared to solo shots by Juan Soto and Keibert Ruiz for Washington.

Grichuk’s opposite-field home run in the seventh inning gave the Rockies some insurance. Cesar Hernandez, who extended his hit streak to 11 games, had an RBI groundout in the eighth for the Nationals.

Padres 2, Marlins 1

Manny Machado hit two solo homers and Nick Martinez fired seven effective innings as host San Diego won for the third time in four games and handed Miami a fifth straight loss.

Martinez (2-2) delivered his best start of the season to outduel Miami’s Jesus Luzardo in the opener of a four-game series. The San Diego right-hander allowed one run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

Machado hit his sixth homer of the season into the Padres’ bullpen with two outs in the first inning. No. 7 came with one out in the fourth and sailed into the second deck at Petco Park in left-center. Machado produced his ninth multi-homer game at Petco Park, a record at the 18-year-old venue.

Cardinals 7, Giants 1

Tommy Edman and Tyler O’Neill combined for five hits and five RBIs, Miles Mikolas pitched 5 2/3 effective innings and St. Louis ran away from host San Francisco.

Yadier Molina socked his first home run of the season for the Cardinals, who won for the fourth time in five games. Mikolas (2-1) allowed one run on seven hits while walking three and striking out three.

Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores and Luis Gonzalez had two hits each for the Giants, who dropped their fourth straight. Yastrzemski knocked in San Francisco’s only run.

Rays 4, Mariners 3

Mike Zunino’s three-run homer against his former club highlighted Tampa Bay’s four-run fourth inning as the visiting Rays edged Seattle for their fourth consecutive win.

Tampa Bay’s Harold Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a run, an RBI and a stolen base, and Yandy Diaz had a single and a walk to extend his on-base streak to 16 games. Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan (2-2) yielded two runs on three hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Jesse Winker and Adam Frazier homered for the first time and Eugenio Suarez had an RBI single for the Mariners, who lost their fourth straight. Robbie Ray (2-3) gave up four runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

The bats are livening up for the Baltimore Orioles, and the goal will be to keep that trend going.

The Orioles haven’t shown much consistency on offense, so they will be tested in that regard when the visiting Kansas City Royals arrive to begin a three-game series on Friday night.

The Royals, who were off on Thursday, are embarking on a nine-game road trip after losing five of their past six contests.

The Orioles again are in position to pick up their first three-game winning streak of the season after splitting four games with the Minnesota Twins by winning the last two.

Baltimore emerged with a 5-3 victory on Thursday by hitting five solo home runs.

“We’re really talented,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “Some of these guys are starting to figure it out this year.”

The Orioles have belted seven homers in their past two games. They also struck out 12 times on Thursday without drawing a walk, so there are pros and cons to the latest batch of performances on offense.

Baltimore still sends out a lineup that has most of the players sporting sub.-250 batting averages.

“I think they’ve done a great job of staying positive,” Hyde said. “They know they’re better hitters than their numbers have shown offensively. … I think our guys are starting to get in the fight a little bit more with two strikes.”

Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins has homered in back-to-back games. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle homered twice Thursday night, and left fielder Austin Hays had the go-ahead blast.

“Putting good swings on the ball and hitting line drives,” Hays said of the objective.

Getting positive results could be the key.

“Guys were a little frustrated,” Baltimore catcher Robinson Chirinos said, noting the importance of withstanding hard-luck situations at the plate. “We want to keep it going heading into this next series.”

Baltimore’s bullpen has turned out to be clutch as well. The team’s relievers haven’t given up a run in the past two games.

If the Orioles think they’re having struggles at times offensively, those might look tame compared to Kansas City’s issues. The Royals have been shutout victims in three of their past five games.

Royals manager Mike Matheny said he has made decisions regarding the pitching staff knowing that the team was experiencing difficulty generating runs.

“We have an urgency,” Matheny said.

Kansas City’s bullpen has been scrutinized, but Matheny said it’s important to get work for right-handed reliever Dylan Coleman and others. Coleman threw two perfect innings on Wednesday in a 10-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the wake of consecutive poor outings.

“We needed to get him back on the mound,” Matheny said of Coleman. “He made some nice mechanical adjustments.”

Left-hander Amir Garrett should get more looks out of the bullpen, though Matheny has been hampered in that regard because Kansas City has faced several lineups dominated by right-handed batters.

“The more he throws, the better he’s going to be,” Matheny said.

Kansas City will go with Carlos Hernandez (0-1, 6.00 ERA) as its starting pitcher to open the series in Baltimore. The Orioles send Jordan Lyles (2-2, 4.50) to the mound.

“We need our starting pitching (to set the tone),” Matheny said.

Hernandez has allowed just two home runs in 18 innings this season. He owns an impressive career 1.80 ERA against the Orioles, having won once and lost once in two starts vs. Baltimore, both last year.

Lyles is 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA in five career starts against Kansas City. Royals catcher Salvador Perez has two home runs in eight career at-bats vs. the veteran right-hander, but Perez is hitless in his past 23 at-bats overall.

–Field Level Media

The Toronto Blue Jays have a scary lineup, but the Cleveland Guardians were the ones delivering timely hits in the opener of the current four-game series.

The Guardians outhit the visiting Blue Jays 11-9 en route to a 6-5 victory on Thursday, and they will look to author another solid effort when they oppose Toronto again on Friday.

“That’s a tough lineup to get through,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk bashed a home run for the Blue Jays, who now have 34 on the season, tied for third in the majors.

Guerrero is batting .313 (26-for-83) against right-handers this year with all seven of his homers and 18 of his 19 RBIs. He is just 1-for-10 against lefties.

The Blue Jays’ right-handed slugger is also batting .378 (14-for-37) on the road this season.

Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said earlier in the week his team isn’t hitting the way it can.

“We’re cold,” he said. “I’m not going to come in here and say we’re swinging the bats. We’re not.”

Montoyo believes the Blue Jays will break out soon, but the Guardians hope it’s not this weekend.

Cleveland ace Shane Bieber (1-1, 2.45 ERA) will oppose right-hander Kevin Gausman (2-1, 2.27) in the Friday game.

Bieber is 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA in three career starts vs. Toronto. He threw a season-high 105 pitches in his last outing against the Oakland A’s, allowing a run on seven hits in seven innings during a no-decision on Saturday.

Gausman is 2-3 with a 2.45 ERA in five career appearances (four starts) against Cleveland. He is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA in two games (one start) at Progressive Field.

Guardians DH Franmil Reyes, who got off to an extremely slow start to 2022, has been showing some signs of life. He is 6-for-13 with three RBIs in his past three games after going 0-for-23 in the previous six games.

“It’s nice to see him smiling,” Francona said. “It’s been wearing on him. Hopefully he can relax and be who he is.”

Reyes recorded his first three-hit game of the season on Thursday against Toronto, helping the Guardians earn their fifth win in the past six games.

“It feels great,” Reyes told Bally Sports Great Lakes. “I’m trying to be happy and smile more and have fun out there.”

Cleveland rookie outfielder Steven Kwan continued his hot streak with his first home run on Thursday, a two-run shot that tied the game at 2-2 in the third inning. He had a walk-off hit to beat the San Diego Padres in Game 2 of the doubleheader on Wednesday and is batting .328 on the season.

“I was happy for my boy (Kwan),” Reyes said. “It’s fun to watch.”

Kwan has a five-game hitting streak (6-for-20, four RBIs).

Meanwhile, Blue Jays All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette was 3-for-5 with two runs on Thursday. He is batting .458 (11-for-24) during his current six-game hitting streak. Since the start of the 2021 season, he leads the majors in hits (220) and multi-hit games (66).

Thursday’s game was cold and rainy. More rain is forecasted Friday.

“The weather this year has already been a physical grind and a mental grind,” Montoyo said.

–Field Level Media

Tommy Edman and Tyler O’Neill combined for five hits and five RBIs, Miles Mikolas pitched 5 2/3 effective innings and the St. Louis Cardinals ran away from the host San Francisco Giants late for a 7-1 victory in the opener of a four-game series Thursday night.

Yadier Molina chipped in with his first home run of the season for the Cardinals, who won for the fourth time in five games. The homer was the 172nd of Molina’s career. The solo shot produced his 999th career RBI.

After Molina’s blast off Giants reliever Zack Littell (0-1) in the third, the Cardinals increased their margin to 3-0 in the fifth on a two-run single by Edman.

Activated from the COVID list before the game, Littell had taken over for opener Mauricio Llovera, who threw a 1-2-3 first inning.

Mike Yastrzemski got San Francisco back within 3-1 with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, but St. Louis broke the game open with a four-run seventh.

All of the scoring in the inning came with two outs, with Edman and Juan Yepez smacking RBI hits and O’Neill a two-run single.

Mikolas (2-1) allowed one run on seven hits while walking three and striking out three.

In a 3-1 game, he was replaced by Andre Pallante, who got Jason Vosler to ground out with the bases loaded to preserve the lead.

Edman finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and O’Neill 2-for-5 with two RBIs for the Cardinals, who out-hit the Giants 12-10.

Molina, who had the game’s only homer, and Dylan Carlson each collected two hits and scored twice for St. Louis. Yepez also had two hits.

Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores and Luis Gonzalez had two hits each for the Giants, who dropped their fourth straight. Gonzalez’s second-inning double was San Francisco’s only extra-base hit of the contest.

–Field Level Media