Cubs, Red Sox clash; division races heat up
CUBS AT RED SOX (April 28-30)
It’s the Theo Epstein Curse Reversal Series. He was the Red Sox’s general manager in 2004 when they won the World Series for the first time since 1918, ending the Curse of the Bambino. As Cubs president of baseball operations, Epstein was the architect of the team that won the World Series last season for the franchise’s first title since 1908, ending the Curse of the Billy Goat. The last time the teams met was in 2014, when the Cubs swept a three-game series at Fenway Park. Right-hander Jake Arrieta allowed one hit in 72⁄ scoreless 3 innings to win the opener.
ORIOLES AT YANKEES (April 28-30)
This is their second series of the season; Baltimore took two of three at Camden Yards. Baltimore won the 2016 series 10-9 but was 4-6 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees are 47-28 against Baltimore at the current Yankee Stadium, their second-most wins against any opponent there. In 34 career games there, Manny Machado is hitting .294 with five home runs. In 131 career games against Baltimore, Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting .307 with 11 home runs and 83 runs.
METS AT NATIONALS (April 28-30)
The Mets hit .219 and scored 24 runs while losing six of nine at Nationals Park last season, and they finished second to the Nationals in the National League East. They won six of nine while scoring 43 runs in Washington in 2015, when they won the East. This is the second meeting of the season between the NL East’s two heavyweights, who both have strong rotations and both had bullpen issues in the early weeks of the season.
ANGELS AT RANGERS (April 28-30)
This matches two American League West teams trying to shake off disappointing starts. The Angels already have had a sixgame losing streak. The two-time defending division champion Rangers started the season with a three-game skid and recently won just once in a six-game stretch, but they swept a four-game series from the Kansas City Royals last weekend. Last year the Rangers took 10 of the 19 games between the teams.
ROCKIES AT DIAMONDACKS (April 28-30)
Rebounding from poor 2016 seasons, Colorado and Arizona are pushing the Los Angeles Dodgers for NL West supremacy. The first task for the Diamondbacks is to prevent Rockies slug- ger Trevor Story from trashing them the way he did last year. Story, then a rookie, hit five home runs in six games at Phoenix — one every 5.6 at-bats. This series also is a checkpoint for Arizona’s much-improved pitching staff. Poor pitching at home plagued Arizona in 2016. The 2016 Rockies hit 20 homers in nine games in Phoenix — seven players hit at least two — and averaged nearly seven runs per game.
INDIANS AT TIGERS (May 1-4)
The AL Central rivals meet for the second time this season after the Tigers took two of three at Cleveland. Catcher Alex Avila led the Tigers by going 4-for-5 with two home runs, four RBI and three walks. Left fielder Justin
Upton went 4-for-11 (.364) with a double and a homer. It was an encouraging sign for the Tigers after going 4-14 against the division champions last season.