Christian Yelich is tormenting Cincinnati pitching and he aims for his third straight strong outing when the visiting Milwaukee Brewers close the series against the Reds on Thursday. Yelich matched the franchise record of six hits while hitting for the team's first cycle in seven years in Wednesday's wild 13-12, 10-inning victory.

The Minnesota Twins would need a magical run to even get back into striking distance of a playoff spot, but they can clinch the season series against a team likely heading to the postseason when they visit the Cleveland Indians on Thursday afternoon. Eddie Rosario recorded three hits and an RBI as the Twins rallied for a 4-3 win Wednesday to even the season series at nine wins apiece with one game left.

J.A. Happ's fortunes changed in a big way after the New York Yankees acquired the veteran left-hander from Toronto in late July. Happ owns a 5-0 mark with a 2.37 ERA in five starts with the Yankees heading into Thursday's opener of a four-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers, who have been outscored 34-10 en route to losing five in a row.

The St. Louis Cardinals have won nine consecutive series, a streak that is in jeopardy going into the rubber match of a three-game series with the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. The Cardinals managed five hits and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position in dropping a 2-0 decision to the Pirates on Wednesday after winning the series opener.

The Chicago Cubs are in the midst of playing 23 games in 23 days through Sept. 12, and the Atlanta Braves will have played 38 contests in 37 days when they reach that date. But even though the two teams - who meet in Atlanta on Thursday to make up an early-season rainout - face a challenging grind as August evolves into September, neither squad is complaining as the matchup pits the National League’s top two teams record-wise in a potential playoff preview.

The Boston Red Sox saw their high-octane offense kick it up a notch, igniting for 11 runs on 12 hits -- including five for extra bases (four doubles, triple) -- in the seventh inning on their way to a season sweep of Miami. The Red Sox hope that offense travels well Thursday in the opener a four-game series against the host Chicago White Sox (52-80), who took two of three from the club in June.

Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander has fallen off the pace in the American League Cy Young race but will try to remain perfect against the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. Verlander has won each of his four starts while compiling a minuscule 1.61 ERA against the Angels this season.

The Seattle Mariners are slumping and in danger of falling out of postseason contention, but they have a chance to climb back into the race when they open a four-game series at the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night. The Mariners have dropped nine of their last 14 and trail Oakland by 5 1/2 games for the American League's second wild card.

The suddenly hot Los Angeles Dodgers look to post a season-best sixth consecutive victory when they open a crucial four-game series against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. The Dodgers have outscored their opponents 34-13 during the winning streak to move within one game of the first-place Diamondbacks in the National League West.

The Colorado Rockies begin a 23-game stretch against the National League West when they kick off a four-game series against the Padres in San Diego on Thursday. Colorado is one-half game behind first-place Arizona in the NL West and is also in the thick of the wild-card race, one game behind Milwaukee for the second and final spot.