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Chicago opens this Friday matchup at 6-13, last in the AL Central, and carrying a three-game losing streak after getting swept by Tampa Bay. The Athletics come in at 10-9, tied for first in the AL West, and they have still gone 7-3 over their last 10 even after a messy 9-6 loss to Texas on Thursday. First pitch is set for 9:40 p.m. ET at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, with Davis Martin facing Aaron Civale in a game listed on NBC Sports California and Chicago Sports Network. This is one of those spots where the records matter, but the shape of the matchup matters more. Chicago has gotten almost no margin for error because the offense has

Texas heads to Seattle for Friday night’s AL West opener at 10-9, tied for first in the division entering play, while Seattle sits 8-12 and 2.5 games back in fourth. First pitch is set for 9:40 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Park, with Jacob deGrom lined up against Logan Gilbert in what looks, at least on paper, like one of the sharper pitching matchups on the board. The game is listed on Rangers Sports Network, Mariners.TV, and KING 5. The market is still shading Seattle because of the home split and Gilbert’s profile, and that makes sense to a point. The Mariners are 7-4 at home even with the ugly overall record, while Texas is just 3-3 on the road. Still,

St. Louis opens this series at Daikin Park on Friday night with a 10-8 record, fourth place in the NL Central, and a little momentum after taking the final two games of its set against Cleveland. Houston is 8-12 and sitting fifth in the AL West, but the Astros are still 7-3 at home and the market has them as a modest favorite for the 8:10 p.m. ET first pitch. The game is set to air on Space City Home Network and Cardinals.TV. This matchup is interesting because the Cardinals arrive with the cleaner recent results, while Houston still owns the better overall offensive profile. St. Louis has won two straight and has Jordan Walker carrying the middle of the

It is not about how you start, right? The Boston Red Sox are hoping that is the case for the first month of the long and winding Major League Baseball season. Following Wednesday’s series-closing win at the Minnesota Twins, Boston kicks off a challenging seven-game homestand against the surging Detroit Tigers on Friday night. The four-game set extends through Monday’s traditional 11:05 a.m. start on the Patriots’ Day holiday in Massachusetts. “We’re (three) weeks into the season, and we feel like we haven’t played anywhere close to our best baseball. And it could be way worse,” shortstop Trevor Story said. “Once we get rolling and once we get to doing the things that we know we can do on a