Strong starting pitching paved the way to the top of the American League Central for the Indians in the first half. That continued for Cleveland on Friday night, when the team opened the second half with a 5-2 win over the Twins at Target Field.

Dodgers second baseman Chris Taylor had the game of his life Friday night. On Saturday, he’ll show up not knowing if he’ll even play.

Madison Bumgarner performed with his usual saber-toothed emotion Friday night. Yet he threw too many dull pitches during his six innings in the Giants’ 4-1 loss to the San Diego Padres.

George Springer and Marwin Gonzalez homered and Carlos Correa raced home from second on a wild pitch as the Astros opened the second half with a 7-3 win over the Mariners on Friday night at Safeco Field.

The Cardinals repeated a similar formula in Friday’s 7-6 loss to the Marlins thanks to a combination of errors, non-plays and bullpen struggles.

Hector Santiago shut down his former team over seven shutout innings and got plenty of run support in a five-run seventh inning as the Angels beat the White Sox, 7-0, on Friday to open up the second half of the season.

Rookie shortstop Ketel Marte left the Mariners’ Friday game against the Astros after twisting his ankle while sliding into third base in the third inning. He is listed as day to day.

Ryan Hanigan, Travis Shaw and Xander Bogaerts each celebrated their return from the All-Star break with homers off of Yankees starter Michael Pineda, leading the Red Sox to a 5-3 victory on Friday at Yankee Stadium.

Carlos Correa doubled home two runs in the fifth inning against the Mariners on Friday night, then motored home all the way from second to score on a wild pitch.

A very cheesy moment at the ballpark.

Justin Verlander entered Friday’s start with four wins in his past five decisions since the beginning of June. Having already erased what was a rough start to his 2016 campaign, vintage Verlander was on display against the Royals at Comerica Park.

Recognizing their play over the next couple weeks could determine whether they are buyers or sellers at the Trade Deadline, the Rockies provided an efficient Jorge De La Rosa with sufficient support and opened the season’s second half with Friday night’s 11-2 win over the Braves at Turner Field.

The Mets opened the second half of their season Friday night tied for the second National League Wild Card. Of course, they want better than that, and the Mets hope a 5-3 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Friday is the beginning of a run at the first-place Nationals in the National League East.

Forgive Red Sox manager John Farrell if he wasn’t all that broken up about Steven Wright not being given a chance to pitch in the All-Star Game.

The All-Star break didn’t slow down Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki’s quest for making more history. The 42-year-old lined a pinch-hit single to center in the eighth inning on Friday night, and he now is nine hits shy of reaching 3,000.

In a power-packed Orioles lineup, it’s easy for Jonathan Schoop to get lost. But he shouldn’t. Schoop, who ended the first half on a torrid offensive stretch, delivered his 15th homer of the season on Friday to lift first-place Baltimore to a 4-3 series-opening win over Tampa Bay.

Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton created disruption on the bases and a difference in a game — that’s nothing new. Nor is the fact Hamilton once again made the opponent’s defensive decisions more complicated for his own team’s benefit.