Following the Yankees’ win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, New York manager Aaron Boone said his team can win in a number of ways, including scoring often late in games.

After opening their four-game series Thursday against the host Chicago White Sox by scoring eight times in the final two innings, the Yankees seek a fifth straight win when the teams meet again Friday night.

New York is 16-2 in its past 18 games and its 23-8 start is its best since 2003. The Yankees have scored 62 of their 150 runs in the seventh inning or beyond after scoring nine times in their final three innings of a 15-7 win over the White Sox on Thursday.

The late explosion came after Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga gave up a tying three-run homer to Yoan Moncada in the seventh.

“It’s something we’ve been doing all year,” New York right fielder Aaron Judge said. “It speaks volumes to the type of guys we have in this clubhouse. It doesn’t matter what the score is.”

Judge hit his major-league-leading 11th homer in the seventh against Ryan Burr and a two-run, tiebreaking infield single off Joe Kelly in New York’s seven-run eighth. Giancarlo Stanton, who has seven homers and 20 RBIs in his past 14 games, hit a pair of two-run homers off Dylan Cease and a two-run single off Tanner Banks in the eighth.

The Yankees scored in six innings, had nine players score runs and drew seven walks.

“It’s great,” Boone said. “We’ve talked about winning in different ways and finding ways to win, and tonight was a little bit of different. We gave up some runs and kept pouring on, so just a great job by the offense tonight.”

Chicago is 7-3 in its past 10 games overall but also 1-8 in its past nine games against the Yankees. While Moncada homered, Chicago’s other big names did little Thursday. Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu and Luis Robert were a combined 1-for-14.

Chicago is coming off its worst pitching performance of the season as it allowed season-high totals of runs and hits (15).

“I mean, you had to see it to believe it,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “I still don’t believe it.

Gerrit Cole (2-0, 2.67 ERA), who is 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA in his past three outings, will start for the Yankees on Friday. He allowed one run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings and struck out 10 in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers on Sunday. He wound up with a no-decision after allowing Kole Calhoun’s tying homer on his final pitch.

Cole is 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA in three career starts against the White Sox. He last faced them May 22, 2021, in New York, when he allowed four hits in seven scoreless innings.

Chicago will send Vince Velasquez (2-2, 3.97 ERA) to the mound. In his past two starts, Velasquez went 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA while limiting opponents to a .189 average (7-for-37). He last pitched on May 6 in Boston, where he allowed one run on three hits in five innings.

Velasquez is 0-1 with a 3.26 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against the Yankees. He last faced them on June 12, 2021, in Philadelphia, when he allowed two runs in five innings.

–Field Level Media

Finally able to solidify a plan for the road ahead, Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper just might be able to thrive now that he knows what he is up against.

When the visiting Phillies oppose the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, Harper will be in his second game since getting confirmation that his right elbow injury is a small tear in his ulnar collateral ligament and not something that will keep him completely off the field.

Harper will be reduced to designated hitter duty for at least another month, and likely more, just as he has been since April 17 when his elbow discomfort began to increase. Even so, finding out exactly what is wrong seemed to put Harper into a comfort zone.

In his first at-bat after undergoing his exam Thursday in Los Angeles, Harper hit a solo homer on the second pitch he saw. He finished the night with three RBIs and will be the DH again Friday and Saturday before getting a platelet-rich plasma injection Sunday that will keep him out for the series finale.

“I’m glad that I know and have some clarity on where it’s going to go from here,” Harper said. “That’s about it. I’ll get the shot on Sunday, see how I feel the next couple of weeks and go from there.”

Johan Camargo hit a two-run homer Thursday and wound up with three RBIs in Philadelphia’s 9-7 win. Kyle Schwarber was dropped to the No. 7 spot in the order and responded with an RBI single in his first at-bat, ending an 0-for-15 drought.

At the very least, the Phillies are showing they know how to turn the page. The victory over the Dodgers was their fourth in six games following a four-game losing streak.

The Phillies will send right-hander Kyle Gibson (3-1, 2.94 ERA) to the mound on Friday.

In three lifetime appearances (two starts) against the Dodgers, Gibson is 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA. In a home start against Los Angeles last August, Gibson gave up six runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The Dodgers fell Thursday for the third time in four games despite a valiant comeback attempt. Los Angeles tied the game 7-7 after trailing by six runs but still ended up with just its third defeat in 13 home games.

Poised to get the Dodgers out of their funk, as he has done so many times in the past, is Clayton Kershaw (4-0, 1.80 ERA). The veteran left-hander has given up one run or none in four of his five starts. He is coming off a road victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, when he gave up five hits and one walk over seven scoreless innings.

Kershaw had just two strikeouts against the Cubs, which was more a product of an aggressive Chicago offense. He got 21 outs on just 81 pitches. Now Kershaw faces another offense known for going on the attack early in counts.

“I’ve always been kind of a guy who gets some first-pitch outs when it’s going OK,” said Kershaw, who is 4-6 with a 2.76 ERA lifetime against the Phillies in 16 starts. “I do throw strikes, I think for the most part, and guys are trying to attack me early. …

“(I) might give up some first-pitch hits here and there, but overall, I think it’s better to be aggressive and sometimes they hit it at guys.”

–Field Level Media

The first matchup of the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros since Game 7 of the 2019 World Series will feature one person with a unique understanding of what that winner-take-all clash meant to both franchises.

However, only Houston manager Dusty Baker’s current team will look anything like a World Series contender Friday, when the Astros visit the Nationals. It will be Baker’s first game against Washington since his managerial tenure with the club ended following the 2017 season.

Astros left-hander Framber Valdez (1-2, 3.34 ERA) is slated to start against right-hander Josiah Gray (4-2, 3.45).

The Astros ran their winning streak to 10 games and moved into first place in the American League West by winning twice Thursday afternoon. After beating the host Minnesota Twins 11-3 in the completion of a game suspended due to thunderstorms Wednesday night, Houston earned a 5-0 win in the regularly scheduled contest.

The Nationals fell 4-1 to the visiting New York Mets on Thursday in the rubber game of a three-game series. Washington has dropped six of its past eight games.

Baker led the Nationals to back-to-back National League East crowns in 2016-17, but he wasn’t offered a new contract after consecutive failures in the NL Division Series. He acknowledged Thursday he is still unsure why Washington didn’t retain him.

“I really enjoyed my time in Washington,” Baker said. “The two years I was there was probably some of the most enjoyable times that I’ve ever had in baseball, on the field and off the field.”

After two years out of the game, Baker was hired in January 2020 by the Astros — fresh off their World Series loss to the Nationals — when A.J. Hinch was fired for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal throughout the 2017 World Series-winning season.

The Astros went 29-31 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season but pushed the Tampa Bay Rays to seven games in the AL Championship Series. Houston made the World Series again last year — Baker’s first appearance in the Fall Classic since he was with the San Francisco Giants in 2002 — before falling to the Atlanta Braves in six games.

A 6-2 win over the Astros on Oct. 30, 2019 proved to be the closing of the championship window for the Nationals, who are 102-153 since then and appear on their way to a third straight last-place finish in the NL East.

Of the 12 players who appeared in the clincher, only superstar Juan Soto, fellow outfielder Victor Robles and pitcher Patrick Corbin remain with the Nationals.

A baserunning gaffe in the fourth inning Thursday underlined just how far the Nationals are from their World Series-winning moment. Soto got caught in a rundown between second and third on a grounder to third by Josh Bell, who went to second during the rundown but was thrown out after he tried to advance to third following an errant throw into right field by Mets pitcher Taijuan Walker.

“When we make errors like that, it hurts the whole team,” Soto said.

Valdez didn’t factor into the decision on Saturday, when he gave up two runs over six innings as the Astros beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2.

Gray earned a win on Saturday after surrendering three runs over 5 1/3 innings in the Nationals’ 7-3 victory over the Angels.

Valdez has never faced the Nationals, and Gray has never opposed the Astros.

–Field Level Media

Zack Greinke may pitch in the American League, but he has a wealth of experience against the Colorado Rockies.

Greinke, who spent the first seven seasons of his 19-year career with Kansas City and returned to the Royals in the offseason, also spent plenty of time in the NL West and logged heavy innings against the Rockies.

He’ll get another shot at Colorado when the Royals open a three-game weekend series in Denver on Friday night. Greinke (0-2, 2.67 ERA) will be opposed by left-hander Kyle Freeland (1-3, 3.94).

Kansas City is coming off 3-1 road loss to the Texas Rangers on Thursday night, while Colorado had a much-needed off day.

Despite his record, Greinke has been pitching well — and efficiently. In a time when strikeouts account for nearly a third of all outs across baseball, Greinke has been throwing few pitches, striking out only 7.5 percent of the batters he has faced through his first six starts.

He has fanned just 10 batters in 33 2/3 innings, and in only two of his six starts has he struck out more than one.

“It’s brilliant, that efficiency,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said recently. “And he’s going to be able to have some really efficient outings just because he’s making quality pitches, and he’s manipulating the ball to get minor movement from one pitch to the next.

“You’re not going to see the same thing. It could be the exact same pitch, but it’ll have different movement the second time you see it. He’s just trying to miss the barrel. That’s pitching. It’s undervalued in our game.”

Greinke could see his style get tested in the thin air of Coors Field, but he boasts some success against the Rockies, mostly from his days with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers. He is 14-7 with a 3.53 ERA in 36 career games (35 starts) against Colorado, 5-1 with a 4.01 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) in Denver.

Freeland, a Denver native, has never pitched against Kansas City, but he will get a chance to help the Rockies wash away their just-completed 1-5 road trip. Colorado lost two of three in Arizona and then was swept in a three-game set by the San Francisco Giants.

Usually the Rockies’ issues on the road are lack of pitching and hitting, and they were during the latest trip. The staff allowed 24 runs in the three games against the Giants, and the Colorado offense averaged just 2.2 runs during the six-game trek.

Another unexpected problem has cropped up this season for the Rockies — defense. Colorado has consistently played good defense over the years (the 2007 team had a .989 fielding percentage, which set a major league record).

This season, however, the Rockies have committed 24 errors, and their .980 fielding percentage ranks among the bottom third of major league teams.

“We have to assess where we all are as a group, individually and as a group,” infielder Ryan McMahon, who committed his sixth error on Wednesday, told MLB.com. “But then you have to move on from it because we have another ballgame in a couple of days. As a team, we take a lot of pride in defense. I do specifically, and it’s eating at me a little bit. But I’ll be good to go and I’ll move past it in time for the next game.”

–Field Level Media

The blockbuster December 2018 trade made by the New York Mets and Seattle Mariners means the teams will be linked together for the foreseeable future.

However, there may not be much of a referendum on the swap this weekend when the Mets host the Mariners in a three-game series beginning Friday night.

New York right-hander Max Scherzer (4-1, 2.92 ERA) is slated to start Friday against left-hander Marco Gonzales (1-4, 3.91).

The Mets remained unbeaten in series play Thursday afternoon, when Taijuan Walker tossed seven scoreless innings and Mark Canha homered and finished with three RBIs in a 4-1 win over the Washington Nationals.

The Mariners last played Wednesday, when they fell to the visiting Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in the rubber game of a three-game set.

The Mets and Mariners haven’t played one another since July 28-30, 2017, when host Seattle won two of three. A little more than 16 months later — on Dec. 3, 2018 — the teams made one of the biggest trades of the 2018-19 offseason when New York sent five players, including 2018 first-round draft pick Jarred Kelenic, to rebuilding Seattle in exchange for second baseman Robinson Cano and closer Edwin Diaz.

Three-plus years later, the trade has yet to work out as either club hoped.

Kelenic, a consensus top-five prospect entering the 2021 season, is the lone player remaining from the deal still with the Mariners. However, he is hitting just .173 in 423 big league at-bats — including .140 in 86 at-bats this year as Seattle, which missed the playoffs by two games last year, has stumbled to a 14-18 start.

Kelenic started eight of the Mariners’ first 10 games this month before coming off the bench as a ninth-inning pinch hitter Wednesday, when he struck out on four pitches and didn’t swing the bat.

“I think he was a little frustrated with his at-bat (Wednesday), no question,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He’ll continue to get the opportunity to play here.”

Cano batted just .269 with the Mets — and was suspended for the entire 2021 season after he failed a PED test for the second time — before he was released Sunday with almost two years and more than $40 million remaining on his contract.

Diaz has blown 18 save opportunities since 2019, third most in the majors, but has a 2.81 ERA since the start of 2020 and is 7-for-8 in save opportunities with 24 strikeouts in 14 innings this season.

Cano’s struggles and Diaz’s volatility have been easier to absorb for the Mets, who were bought by billionaire Steve Cohen following the 2020 season and have surged into first place this year following a $250 million-plus free agent spending spree and the hiring of manager Buck Showalter.

New York is 9-0-1 in series, with the only blemish a four-game split with the Atlanta Braves last week.

“As long as we keep winning series throughout the year, we’ll be in a good spot,” Walker said.

Scherzer’s unbeaten streak ended at 24 starts on Sunday, when he took the loss after giving up three runs over six innings as the Mets fell 3-2 to the Phillies.

Gonzales took a defeat on Saturday, when he surrendered three runs (two earned) over 5 1/3 innings in the Mariners’ 8-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Scherzer is 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA in seven career starts against the Mariners. Gonzales has never opposed the Mets.

–Field Level Media

Bryce Harper hit a first-inning home run and drove in three runs as the visiting Philadelphia Phillies held off a late rally by the Los Angeles Dodgers to earn a 9-7 victory on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series.

Johan Camargo added a home run with three RBIs as the Phillies won for the fourth time in six games after a four-game losing streak to open May.

Cody Bellinger homered and Will Smith drove in three runs for the Dodgers, who fell for the third time in their past four games while giving up a season-high-tying run total.

Down 7-1, the Dodgers rallied to tie the game with two runs in the sixth inning and four in the eighth.

Smith had a two-run double for Los Angeles in the sixth and brought home the first run in the eighth with a single to cut the deficit to 7-4. Justin Turner followed with a pinch-hit, two-run double to make it a one-run game, and Chris Taylor tied it on an RBI single.

The Phillies loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning against right-hander Daniel Hudson (1-3) before Odubel Herrera scored on a wild pitch for an 8-7 lead. Harper added a sacrifice fly for the Phillies’ final run.

The Dodgers loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth but failed to score as former Los Angeles reliever Corey Knebel escaped for his seventh save.

Phillies starter Zack Wheeler returned from the COVID-19 injured list and gave up three runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Andrew Bellatti (1-0) recorded two outs in the eighth to earn the victory.

Dodgers starter Tyler Anderson was roughed up for seven runs on 10 hits over six innings. He fanned five without issuing a walk.

The Phillies led 4-0 after two innings on a first-inning home run from Harper, his seventh; an RBI single from Kyle Schwarber in the second and then a two-run home run from Camargo. Schwarber ended an 0-for-15 drought.

Bellinger went deep to right-center in the third inning, his fifth home run. Camargo, Harper and Schwarber drove in runs between the fourth and sixth innings to give the Phillies their 7-1 lead.

–Field Level Media

A stagnant Boston offense heads to Arlington, Texas, showing some signs of life. The Red Sox will take on a Texas Rangers team that also has experienced trouble scoring runs.

Considering some of the high-profile players on both rosters, it’s baffling that both clubs rank in the bottom third of major league teams in runs.

The Rangers are riding some momentum, fresh off taking two of three from the visiting Kansas City Royals. The Red Sox, losers of six of seven, managed to split a two-game set with the host Atlanta Braves.

Boston announced that Nick Pivetta (0-4, 6.08 ERA) would make the start Friday. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 5.52 ERA in three road outings this year.

Pivetta, who began his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, has faced the Rangers once previously. He didn’t get a decision an allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings on May 18, 2017.

The Rangers hadn’t officially listed a starter for the series opener, multiple media outlets reported that it would be right-hander Dane Dunning (1-1, 3.38 ERA).

Dunning lacked run support in taking a no-decision Sunday during the first game of a doubleheader against the host New York Yankees. He gave up just one run on two hits in six innings with three walks and five strikeouts winding up with a no-decision in a contest Texas lost 2-1. He made a season-high 100 pitches.

Dunning has faced the Red Sox once before, taking the loss on Aug. 20, 2021, when he gave up five runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.

In the Rangers’ series finale against the Royals on Thursday night, a 3-1 Texas victory, second baseman Marcus Semien sat out for the first time this year.

Semien played in all 162 games last season with the Toronto Blue Jays and in 2019 with the Oakland Athletics.

However, the 31-year-old veteran is struggling at the plate, batting .165 with no homers and eight RBIs. He is in an 0-for-17 slump, so manager Chris Woodward felt Thursday was a good time to give him a breather.

Woodward said Semien, who signed a seven-year, $175 million deal with Texas in the offseason, should be back in the starting lineup Friday.

“This guy prides himself on playing 162,” Woodward said on the Rangers’ pregame radio show Thursday. “Give him a breather. Decompress and come back tomorrow. …

“He feels pressure. He was brought here for a reason. He wants to win.”

Semien felt he was finding his rhythm on Texas’ last road trip, but he had little to show for it.

“Just a tough, tough stretch of game,” he said. “I’m staying positive.”

Brad Miller has provided a spark for the Rangers. In the Thursday game, Miller had two hits, including a home run, and he scored twice. He went 5-fort-8 with two homers in the Kansas City series.

Despite their sluggish results, the Red Sox enter the road series encouraged by some signs they showed on Wednesday in a 5-3 loss to the Braves.

Trevor Story hit his first home run since signing a six-year, $140 million deal with Boston, and J.D. Martinez went 2-for-4, extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

“Story is putting together good swings,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “To see him hitting the ball to straight center, that’s a good approach. Good swing.”

Story had gone 125 plate appearances between home runs, the longest drought of his career.

The lack of runs for the Red Sox is baffling, because they have some of the top hitters in the American League. Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers are tied for second in the American League with 40 hits apiece.

“I do believe that the last few days, offensively, as far as swinging and being patient, working counts, all that, has been a lot better compared to before,” Cora said. “So hopefully we can bring that to Texas and do the same thing.”

–Field Level Media