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The Philadelphia Phillies head to Truist Park on Friday night to face the Atlanta Braves, with first pitch set for 7:15 p.m. ET. Philadelphia is 8-17 and stuck in a nine-game losing streak, while Atlanta is 18-8, first in the NL East, and already 8-2 against division opponents. That is a pretty sharp contrast for late April. One team is trying to stop the season from getting away early. The other is building separation. The game will be broadcast on APLTV, and the pitching matchup is expected to be Andrew Painter for Philadelphia against Grant Holmes for Atlanta. The Braves come in off a 7-2 win over Washington, where Ozzie Albies drove in four runs and JR Ritchie gave Atlanta

The Washington Nationals visit the Chicago White Sox on Friday night at Rate Field, with first pitch set for 7:40 p.m. ET. Washington enters at 11-15 and third in the NL East, while Chicago is 10-15 and fourth in the AL Central. Neither team has separation in the standings, but the White Sox come in with better recent momentum after taking a road series in Arizona. Washington has dropped two straight, including a 7-2 loss to Atlanta where the bright spots were mostly individual. CJ Abrams and James Wood both went deep, and Cade Cavalli struck out 10 over five innings, but the Nationals still could not keep the Braves from pulling away. Chicago is coming off a 4-1 win

Bo Bichette seems to like batting leadoff for the New York Mets. Good thing, because the Mets are going to be without their usual leadoff hitter for a while. Bichette and the Mets will look to continue building a winning streak Friday night when New York hosts the Colorado Rockies in the opener of a three-game series. Freddy Peralta (1-2, 4.05 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against the Rockies’ Michael Lorenzen (1-2, 7.48) in a battle of right-handers. The Mets and Rockies were on the opposite ends of 10-8 scores as the host team in the rubber matches of three-game series Thursday. New York outlasted the Minnesota Twins, while Colorado fell to the San Diego Padres. Bichette

The Los Angeles Angels visit the Kansas City Royals on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium, with first pitch set for 7:40 p.m. ET. Los Angeles enters at 12-14 and third in the AL West, while Kansas City is 8-17 and sitting at the bottom of the AL Central. The Angels just snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over Toronto, while the Royals have lost nine of their last ten games. This is not a matchup with a clean favorite. The Royals are a small home favorite even with their recent slide, while the Angels bring the better power profile and a lineup that can change the game quickly. The pitching matchup is Yusei Kikuchi for Los Angeles