The best home team in baseball will reacquaint itself with familiar surroundings Thursday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers host the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a four-game series.

No team can top the Dodgers’ .833 home winning percentage, but Los Angeles has played just 12 games at home, the least of any National League team and tied for the lowest in the major leagues with the Cleveland Guardians.

The issue for Los Angeles is a 10-7 road record. The Dodgers enter the Philadelphia series after losing two of three at Pittsburgh this week.

“I mean, I think every team is going to bring their ‘A’ game against us and we’re gonna have a target on our backs because of what in the last five or 10 years this organization has done,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said after his team’s 5-3 loss to the Pirates on Wednesday. “So yeah, guys are always going to want a shot at us, and it’s our job to come in and bring our ‘A’ game, too.”

Thursday’s game will be the opener of an eight-game homestand for the Dodgers. It also will be the first of seven games the teams will play against each other in an 11-day stretch, with three coming at Philadelphia from May 20-22.

Dodgers left-hander Tyler Anderson (3-0, 2.78 ERA) will enter his Thursday start coming off consecutive victories. In his first season with the club, Anderson has been in the rotation since lefty Andrew Heaney went on the injured list due to shoulder discomfort on April 20.

In his most recent outing, Anderson gave up two runs over five innings in the Dodgers’ 6-2 road victory over the Chicago Cubs during the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday.

Over four lifetime starts against the Phillies, Anderson is 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA, but he hasn’t faced them since 2018. He has struggled against Philadelphia’s Jean Segura, giving up six hits in 11 at-bats (.545) with a double and an RBI.

The Phillies remain on the West Coast after opening their two-city road trip by taking two of three games from the Mariners in Seattle. Rhys Hoskins gave the Phillies all the runs they needed with a fourth-inning grand slam Wednesday en route to a 4-2 win.

Hoskins was batting just .189 with a .638 OPS before facing the Mariners, then went 6-for-13 in the series with a home run in each game and seven RBIs.

The rainouts the Phillies had last Friday and Saturday, wiping out scheduled home games against the New York Mets, helped revitalize Hoskins.

“It’s not often you either get a couple days to rest and regain some energy or work,” he said. “It’s hard to take more swings than normal during the year, because you’ve got to go play.”

Manager Joe Girardi added of Hoskins, “We need him to continue to swing well and do what he is capable of doing.”

Former Dodgers reliever Corey Knebel got the final four outs for the Phillies on Wednesday to register his sixth save of the season.

Philadelphia will send right-hander Zack Wheeler (1-3, 4.10 ERA) to the mound on Thursday in his return from the COVID-19 injured list.

Wheeler came into spring training behind schedule due to an illness, but he has logged consecutive scoreless outings in his past two starts. He threw six innings of one-hit ball in a win over the Colorado Rockies on April 28, then tossed 7 2/3 sharp innings during a no-decision against the Texas Rangers on May 4. He fanned seven in each outing.

In five career starts against the Dodgers, Wheeler is 2-2 with a 4.66 ERA. He earned a victory with six scoreless innings at Dodger Stadium last June 16.

–Field Level Media

Tyler Stephenson doubled twice in the first two innings and drove in four runs to power the Cincinnati Reds past the visiting Milwaukee Brewers 14-11 Wednesday afternoon.

Christian Yelich became the fifth player since 1900 with three career cycles when he tripled in Milwaukee’s six-run ninth. All three have been at the expense of the Reds. Hunter Renfroe also homered twice for the Brewers, who fell to 2-4 on their current nine-game road trip.

Trailing 14-5 entering the ninth, the NL Central-leading Brewers fell short of the biggest comeback in franchise history. The rubber-game win gave Cincinnati its second straight series win after going winless in its first eight of the season.

Colin Moran homered for the fourth time in four games and drove in three while Tyler Naquin went 2-for-4 and also had three RBIs for the Reds, who received a much-needed cushion with a six-run eighth.

Brewers starter and loser Adrian Houser (3-3) was victimized by shoddy fielding in the first inning as the Reds raced out to a 3-0 lead.

Pirates 5, Dodgers 3

Daniel Vogelbach’s tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning helped Pittsburgh to a win over visiting Los Angeles and a series win.

Josh VanMeter added a two-run homer and tripled and scored, and Jack Suwinski hit a solo homer for the Pirates.

Pittsburgh starter Dillon Peters, making his 10th appearance and third start, was essentially used as an opener. He cruised through three scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out two with no walks. David Bednar struck out three during a six-out save, his fifth.

Phillies 4, Mariners 2

Rhys Hoskins hit a grand slam as Philadelphia won at Seattle.

Hoskins homered in all three games of the series. He hit solo shots in a 9-0 victory Monday and a 5-4 loss Tuesday. The Phillies won for just the third time in their past nine games. Seattle took its 12th loss in the past 15 contests.

Seranthony Dominguez (2-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief for the win. Corey Knebel got the final four outs for his sixth save. Ty France had two hits and an RBI for the Mariners.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3

Gleyber Torres hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs as host New York beat Toronto for the sixth time in nine meetings this season.

Torres’ homer landed in the front row of the right field seats just over right fielder Teoscar Hernandez’s leaping try in the fourth off Jose Berrios (2-2). Torres added a two-run single to center in the sixth off Trevor Richards as the Yankees won for the 15th time in 17 games.

Bo Bichette had three hits, but the Blue Jays scored their runs on outs and lost for the fourth consecutive game and ninth time in 14 games.

Marlins 11, Diamondbacks 3

Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Avisail Garcia each hit three-run home runs during an eight-run ninth inning as visiting Miami avoided a three-game sweep with a victory over Arizona at Phoenix.

The Diamondbacks tied the game at 3-3 on pinch hitter Jordan Luplow’s two-run homer in the eighth inning before the Marlins sent 12 batters to the plate and pounded out eight runs on eight hits in the ninth.

Joey Wendle also hit a home run for Miami, which snapped a three-game losing skid and won for just the second time in its last 11 games. Alek Thomas hit his first career home run for Arizona, which was outhit 15-4 and saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.

Giants 7, Rockies 1

Brandon Crawford drove in three runs, two with a fifth-inning home run, Alex Cobb combined with four relievers on a four-hitter, and San Francisco completed a three-game home sweep of Colorado.

In a duel of teams that were tied in the standings at the beginning of the week, the Giants used 8-5, 9-2 and 7-1 wins to run their winning streak to five games, effectively soothing the sting of a five-game losing streak that immediately preceded the run of success.

For the third straight day, the Giants never trailed, taking the lead for good with a three-run fourth inning off Rockies starter Chad Kuhl (3-1). Crawford had his first RBI in the inning with an infield out, before Joey Bart added an RBI single and Brandon Belt made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly.

Cardinals 10, Orioles 1

Paul Goldschmidt drove in three runs as St. Louis rolled to a victory over visiting Baltimore to snap a three-game losing streak.

Goldschmidt went 2-for-3 with double and a walk to extend his on-base streak to 18 games. Brendan Donovan had two doubles, two walks, two RBIs and three runs. Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (3-1) worked seven innings and allowed one run on four hits and a walk.

Orioles starting pitcher Spenser Watkins (0-1) allowed seven runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. He walked two and fanned three.

Royals 8, Rangers 2

For his father’s birthday, Bobby Witt Jr. delivered a two-run double and three RBIs for Kansas City in a win against Texas in Arlington, Texas.

Whit Merrifield added a home run, three hits and four runs as the Royals snapped a three-game slide. In the ninth inning, pinch hitter Emmanuel Rivera iced the game with a three-run triple. Kansas City reliever Joel Payamps (1-1) threw three shutout innings, striking out five, to pick up the win.

Kolby Allard (0-2), called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Round Rock, took the loss in relief, allowing one run in three innings.

Cubs 7, Padres 5

Alfonso Rivas hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the eighth inning, leading visiting Chicago to a victory over San Diego in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Mychal Givens (2-0) was credited with the win despite allowing solo homers to Eric Hosmer and Luke Voit in his lone inning. Rowan Wick worked two scoreless innings to earn his second save as the Cubs won only their second series of the season.

Voit homered twice, and he and Hosmer finished with three hits apiece.

Rays 4, Angels 2 (10 innings)

Vidal Brujan doubled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as Tampa Bay salvaged the finale of its three-game series against host Los Angeles.

The Rays scored two runs in the 10th off Aaron Loup (0-2). Brujan’s leadoff double scored automatic runner Kevin Kiermaier from second base. Brujan then stole third base and came home on Harold Ramirez’s single to center.

Los Angeles trailed 2-0 with one out in the eighth before tying the game on pinch hitter Taylor Ward’s two-run homer off Andrew Kittredge. J.P. Feyereisen (3-0) pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the win. The Angels had runners on the corners with two outs in the 10th before Brooks Raley struck out Brandon Marsh for his third save.

Athletics 9, Tigers 0

Zach Logue tossed seven scoreless innings, Sean Murphy and Kevin Smith drove in two runs apiece, and visiting Oakland thumped slumping Detroit.

Logue (1-0) held the Tigers to five hits and no walks while striking out six. He earned his first major league victory in his second career start and third appearance. Oakland’s Christian Bethancourt had three hits, two runs and two RBIs, while Ramon Laureano walked twice, doubled, scored twice and drove in a run.

Sam Moll and Justin Grimm each pitched a scoreless inning to complete the shutout for the A’s, who have won three of the first four games in the five-game series that wraps up Thursday. The Tigers have lost eight of their past nine games, and have not scored more than two runs in any of those defeats.

Nationals 8, Mets 3

Juan Soto and Nelson Cruz homered to provide the bookends in an eight-run outburst over the first two innings against Tylor Megill as host Washington beat New York.

The win was the second in the last seven games for the Nationals. The Mets need a win in Thursday’s series finale to remain unbeaten in series this season (8-0-1).

The eight runs allowed were a career high for Megill, whose ERA rose to 4.41. He is the 11th pitcher this season to allow at least eight runs in a start.

Braves 5, Red Sox 3

Orlando Arcia hit a two-run walk-off homer to give Atlanta a win over visiting Boston to earn a split of their two-game series.

Ozzie Albies led off the ninth against Red Sox reliever Ryan Brasier by poking a single to left field. After Adam Duvall flied out, Arcia delivered his first homer of the season into the left-field stands. It was his first homer since June 22, 2021 against Philadelphia and the first walk-off homer of his career.

The winning pitcher was Kenley Jansen (1-0), who worked around a walk to pitch a scoreless ninth inning. It was his first win as a Brave. Brasier (0-1) took the loss.

Astros, Twins (suspended)

A wave of heavy thunderstorms in Minneapolis forced the game between Houston and Minnesota to be suspended.

The teams will pick up where they left off, with the Astros leading 5-1 entering the top of the fourth inning, as part of a doubleheader Thursday afternoon. They will play the second game approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

Before storms arrived, prompting tornado sirens to go off near Target Field and across the Twin Cities region, the Astros built a comfortable lead.

–Field Level Media

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager is an established star, and Kansas City Royals rookie Bobby Witt Jr. projects to be a star.

The two have had their moments in the first two games of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers won the opener 6-4 on Tuesday, and the Royals bounced back for an 8-2 victory on Wednesday.

The rubber match will be Thursday night, with the Royals going with right-hander Jon Heasley in his first appearance of the season, and the Rangers turning to left-hander Taylor Hearn (1-2, 6.53 ERA).

Seager has three homers in the series. Witt had his first big-league three-RBI game on Wednesday.

Witt, who grew up a Rangers fan after his father, Bobby Witt Sr., played for Texas from 1986-92 and 1995-98, has about 100 family members and friends attending the series.

“Pretty much every Opening Day, I was able to go,” Witt Jr. said on the Royals’ pregame radio show.

Witt also attended the Rangers’ World Series games in 2010 and ’11.

“Good to see him do something for his family and friends,” said Royals infielder Whit Merrifield, who had three hits and four runs on Wednesday.

Witt made a memory with his two-run double on his father’s 58th birthday.

In Texas’ Tuesday win, Seager enjoyed his first multi-homer game with the Rangers, the 11th of his career.

“He’s Mr. Dependable,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said Wednesday in a pregame radio interview. “You know he’s going up there with a plan.”

In his two-homer game, Seager launched an opposite-field home run in the first inning. In his next at-bat, he pulled a homer to right.

Seager, who signed a 10-year, $325 million deal in the offseason, is starting to live up to the hype after hitting just .243 with one homer through his first 17 games.

“You know he’s going to come out of it,” Woodward said.

A lack of run production has plagued the Royals, who rank next-to-last in the major in runs and homers.

On Wednesday night, Merrifield ended a homerless drought of 255 at-bats that dated to Aug. 28, 2021.

“We got some guys pressing,” Merrifield said. “Guys are struggling.”

For the Thursday series finale, Kansas City is calling up Heasley from Triple-A Omaha for the start. In six minor-league starts this season, he is 1-0 with a 4.44 ERA. Heasley made three major-league starts in 2021, going 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA.

Heasley grew up in Plano, Texas, about a 30-minute drive from Arlington.

“My dad’s company always had a deal with the Rangers, so we would always go to Opening Day,” Heasley said.

Texas, meanwhile, is going with Hearn.

The 6-foot-6 southpaw last pitched on May 1, when he beat the Atlanta Braves after giving up two runs and striking out six in five innings.

Hearn is set to start at home for the fifth time in six starts this year. In his first four outings at Globe Life Field, he is 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA. Hearn has pitched in one game lifetime against Kansas City, going 2 1/3 innings last spring. He gave up two runs and four hits, with one walk and two strikeouts.

With catcher Mitch Garver on the injured list due to a flexor strain, Sam Huff, the Rangers’ 11th-rated prospect, was promoted to back up Jonah Heim, who is getting most of the work behind the plate.

Huff made the start on Wednesday, going 1-for-3. Heim is expected to be behind the plate for Hearn.

–Field Level Media