A look at what’s happening all around the majors today:
___
MEASURING STICK
The surprising Rockies, who lead the National League with 38 wins, get a tough test when they open a four-game series at Wrigley Field against the World Series champion Cubs. Colorado is a season-best 15 games above .500 and has outscored its opponents 32-6 during a four-game winning streak. Tyler Chatwood (5-7, 4.60 ERA) starts against Chicago lefty Jon Lester (3-3, 3.91).
AL EAST SHOWDOWN
David Price (1-0) starts for the Red Sox in the rubber game of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium, his third outing since returning from a sore elbow that had sidelined the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner since spring training. Price allowed one run and three hits over seven innings in a 5-2 win against Baltimore on Saturday. Michael Pineda (6-3) pitches for New York, which leads the AL East by two games over rival Boston.
HITLESS WONDER
Coming off his no-hitter against Arizona, right-hander Edinson Volquez (2-7, 3.80 ERA) starts for Miami in Pittsburgh. Volquez tweaked his right ankle in the first inning last Saturday but stayed in and tossed the sixth no-hitter in Marlins history. He threw a bullpen session Tuesday and is on track to pitch against Gerrit Cole (3-5, 4.27) and the Pirates. “He’s feeling better,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said Tuesday about Volquez. “We’re comfortable he’ll be close to 100 percent.”
ON HOLD AGAIN
Third baseman Adrian Beltre gets more time to rest his sprained left ankle when the Rangers have a scheduled day off before their weekend series at Washington. The 38-year-old Beltre, only 48 hits from 3,000, was out of the lineup Wednesday night against the Mets and it was unclear how long he might be sidelined. He got hurt again Tuesday in the seventh game since the belated debut of his 20th season. He missed the first 51 games because of calf issues. “He wants to play,” Texas manager Jeff Banister said. “Adrian plays with a different purpose than most.”
GIANT NEMESIS
San Francisco right-hander Johnny Cueto (5-5) takes an eight-game winning streak against the Brewers into his start at Miller Park in Milwaukee. The run began in September 2012 when Cueto was with Cincinnati, and he has a 1.68 ERA during that stretch.
NO FEAR
Ben Lively makes his second career start for Philadelphia in the finale of a four-game series against the Braves. Lively drew praise from Phillies manager Pete Mackanin because he “showed no fear” in winning his major league debut last week. The 25-year-old allowed only four hits and one run in seven innings of a 5-3 win over the Giants on Saturday. After the game, Mackanin joked: “He’s my favorite pitcher.”
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
