Javier Baez is happy to be home. The second baseman has belted two home runs in each of his team’s first two games at Wrigley Field, and he will try to stay hot when his Chicago Cubs host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon for the finale of their three-game series.

Trevor Bauer looks to provide another strong performance from a starting pitcher when the Cleveland Indians attempt to complete a four-game home sweep of the Central Division-rival Detroit Tigers on Thursday. Cleveland starters have allowed seven runs over 50 1/3 innings since April 4 after Carlos Carrasco recorded a complete game in Wednesday’s 5-1 victory to extend the team’s winning streak to four games.

The St. Louis Cardinals scored 29 runs while splitting their season-opening six-game road trip before being limited to just 18 while dropping four of six on their recent homestand. After going 9-for-43 with runners in scoring position at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals look to reignite their offense on Thursday as they open a four-game series versus the host Cincinnati Reds.

Colorado center fielder Charlie Blackmon could miss his third straight game when the Rockies open a four-game series against the host Washington Nationals on Thursday. Blackmon is dealing with quadriceps tightness, and the Rockies could potentially be without star third baseman Nolan Arenado later in the series due to his role in Wednesday's brawl against the San Diego Padres.

The New York Yankees avenged a lopsided result against the Boston Red Sox in the series opener by showing some fight - both literally and offensively - en route to posting just their second win in six contests. After two bench-clearing fracases ratcheted up the tension, the long-time rivals look to keep their emotions in check on Thursday as they reconvene at Fenway Park to play the rubber match of their three-game set.

The Minnesota Twins erupted for their biggest inning of 2018 but still needed some late heroics to keep their season series unbeaten streak intact. Max Kepler delivered a walk-off homer in the ninth inning after Minnesota blew a seven-run lead Wednesday to give the Twins momentum heading into Thursday's opener of a four-game series versus the visiting Chicago White Sox.

The Los Angeles Angels attempt to extend a pair of winning streaks when they visit the Kansas City Royals on Thursday for the opener of their four-game series. Los Angeles has won four straight overall and six in a row on the road after completing a three-game sweep in Texas with Wednesday's 7-2 victory.

The San Diego Padres figure to be in a salty mood Thursday when they return home to open a four-game series against the San Francisco Giants. The Padres went 3-3 against Houston and Colorado but ended their trip with a benches-clearing brawl Wednesday after Luis Perdomo threw behind Nolan Arenado in the third inning, resulting in five ejections.