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The Miami Marlins head west to face the San Francisco Giants on Friday night at Oracle Park, with first pitch set for 10:15 p.m. ET. Miami enters at 12-13 and second in the NL East, while San Francisco sits 11-14 and fourth in the NL West. It is early, yes, but both teams are still trying to decide whether they are closer to a real playoff chase or just a streaky April profile. Miami comes in off a 4-1 win over St. Louis, and the profile is pretty clear. The Marlins are not a huge power team, but they are getting on base, putting the ball in play, and leaning on a pitching staff that has held opponents down often

The Baltimore Orioles will face an American League East rival for the first time this season when the Boston Red Sox visit to begin a three-game series Friday night. Baltimore is 3-6 across its past nine games, so the Orioles are looking for consistency. Manager Craig Albernaz believes his players have the right approach. “How we take hits and keep bouncing back whether it be injuries, whether it be tough games, whether it be falling behind, our guys keep competing,” Albernaz said. The Orioles had Thursday off following a 3-4 road trip that concluded with an 8-6 victory at Kansas City on Wednesday. Baltimore matched its season-high run total in that contest. “I’d say that’s what our offense is capable

Off to their best 25-game start to a season in two decades, the Cincinnati Reds host the Detroit Tigers in an interleague series opener on Friday night. Coming off a road trip that saw them sweep three games against the Minnesota Twins and take two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays, the Reds have won 16 of their first 25 games for the first time since beginning 17-8 in 2006. Winners in seven of their past nine, the Reds averaged 5.5 runs per game across the road trip — an impressive figure for a club that ranks just 24th in the majors in scoring (97 total runs). Cincinnati has relied on consistent production from Elly De La Cruz and

Maybe the Seattle Mariners’ big three are finally getting over their World Baseball Classic hangovers. Over their just-completed six-game homestand, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor’s bats started to heat up. The Mariners went 3-3 against a pair of American League West rivals, the Texas Rangers and the Athletics, and start a six-game trip Friday in St. Louis with an interleague encounter against the Cardinals. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday and the score tied at 4-4 against the A’s, Raleigh grounded a single to center field. Rodriguez followed by grounding a single to left, sending Raleigh to second, and he scored on Naylor’s line-drive single to left. “These guys have really found a good