SERIES TO WATCH
CUBS AT PIRATES (Aug. 16-19)
The Pirates get what might be their last chance to close the gap in the National League Central race when they host the two-time defending division champion Cubs in a four-game series at PNC Park. Chicago has won six of 11 games against the Pirates this season. Cubs catcher Willson Contreras is batting .448 with four doubles and one home run in the season series, and second baseman Javier Baez is at .342 with five homers and 11 RBI.
ATHLETICS
AT ASTROS (Aug. 17-19)
Not long ago, this looked like a ho-hum series. The A’s were struggling to stay above .500 after three consecutive last-place finishes in the American League West, and the Astros were off to a strong start in defense of their World Series title. But the A’s have been among the best teams in the majors since midJune and were within three games of first-place Houston as the week began. The Astros are 9-4 in the season series, but the A’s took three of four last month at Houston.
DODGERS AT MARINERS (Aug. 17-19)
The Dodgers have scored 14 runs in five games in AL ballparks this season and have exceeded four runs only once despite the use of a designated hitter. The Dodgers have acquired two American League sluggers, Manny Machado and Brian Dozier, since their poor hitting in early July at Anaheim resulted in a series loss to the Angels. At Oakland this month, neither of the two sluggers who filled the DH role, Matt Kemp and Justin Turner, had an extrabase hit.
INDIANS AT RED SOX (Aug. 20-23)
It’s the first meeting of the season between two teams comfortably in first place in their divisions, and it should be a high-profile four-game series at Fenway Park. Boston won four of seven games last season as second baseman Eduardo Nunez went 15-for-34 (.441) with five doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI and first baseman Mitch Moreland was 7for-23 (.391) with two doubles and four homers. Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez went 5for-11 (.455) with a home run.
YANKEES AT MARLINS (Aug. 21-22)
Giancarlo Stanton returns for the first time to Miami, where he won the NL MVP award last season for the team that drafted him in the second round in 2007. He is a career .293 hitter with 112 homers in 377 games at Marlins Park but is looking for his first hit against his former team. In two April games he went 0for-7 with four strikeouts as each team won a blowout. The Yankees are 5-9 at Miami.
PHILLIES AT NATIONALS (Aug. 21-23)
The Phillies are one of the two teams the Nationals would need to pass to win the NL East, and this is the last time they’ll see them at Nationals Park (they have six more head-to-head meetings in Philadelphia). The Nationals will have to find a way to stop Rhys Hoskins, who has six home runs and 16 RBI in 17 games against Washington. He also has good memories of Nationals Park from the Home Run Derby even though Nats star Bryce Harper was the eventual winner that night.