A look at what’s happening around the majors on Thursday:
MAKE IT A DOZEN?
Following an off day, Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees go for their 12th straight victory when they open a series in Oakland.
New York has won 11 in a row for the first time since 1985.
Jameson Taillon (8-4, 3.94 ERA) pitches for the Yankees against James Kaprielian (7-4, 3.25), who was drafted in the first round by New York in 2015 out of UCLA before getting traded to the Athletics in the July 2017 deal that sent pitcher Sonny Gray to the Yankees.
Kaprielian is 2-0 with a 3.31 ERA in three starts since coming off the injured list, but the A’s have lost four straight and eight of 10 to fall out of playoff position in an AL wild-card race now led by the Yankees.
AS ADVERTISED
The Dodgers got the pitcher they thought they were getting when they traded for Max Scherzer.
Scherzer makes his fifth start for Los Angeles in the finale of a three-game series at NL West rival San Diego. Since the Dodgers acquired him from Washington at the July 30 trade deadline, the three-time Cy Young Award winner is 3-0 with a 2.11 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings.
Scherzer has helped stabilize LA’s rotation with Clayton Kershaw out since early July due to inflammation in his left elbow and forearm.
BOTTOM FEEDERS
The slumping Philadelphia Phillies can’t blame their schedule if they fail to catch Atlanta in the NL East race.
Philadelphia hosts NL-worst Arizona to begin a four-game series. Of the Phillies’ 11 remaining series, nine are against teams that currently have losing records.
Philly has 36 games left and just six are against winning teams: three-game sets at NL Central-leading Milwaukee and NL East-leading Atlanta.
In addition to the woeful Diamondbacks, the Phillies will host the even worse Baltimore Orioles next month. Philly also welcomes the Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs and last-place Pittsburgh Pirates, and has two road series at Miami, one at Washington and one at the New York Mets.
THOR WATCH
Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard is slated to pitch an inning for High-A Brooklyn as he begins his second minor league rehab assignment following Tommy John surgery in March 2020. His first rehab stint was shut down in May due to elbow discomfort.
Acting general manager Zack Scott said Tuesday that New York plans to use Syndergaard in relief when he returns, hoping it will shorten the length of his rehab assignment. The 28-year-old Syndergaard can become a free agent after the season.
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