Royals reliever Joakim Soria made the pitches he wanted to make, got a huge strikeout of Miguel Cabrera, got the ground ball he wanted from Victor Martinez and still allowed the deciding runs in a 4-2 loss to the Tigers on Friday night at Comerica Park.

Justin Verlander’s first double-digit strikeout performance against the Royals in seven years nearly wasn’t enough, but Tyler Collins’ game-tying home run and Victor Martinez’s go-ahead infield single pushed the Tigers ahead for good in the seventh for a 4-2 win to open a three-game division clash Friday at Comerica Park.

In the sixth inning in Friday’s 5-4 win against the Brewers, a swing from Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips ended with him grabbing at his right leg.

The Astros made what could turn out to be a major pre-Trade Deadline acquisition on Friday. Houston beat out several other clubs by agreeing to a five-year, $47.5 million contract with veteran Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel. The club has not confirmed or commented on the deal.

For right-hander Stephen Strasburg, the No. 13 proved to be a lucky number as the Nationals defeated the Pirates, 5-1, at Nationals Park on Friday night. Strasburg scattered three hits over eight innings of one-run ball, improving to a historic 13-0.

Ah, to be young.

Carlos Beltran’s second half has started just about the same way his first half went, with Beltran joining Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones in the discussion of greatest switch-hitters ever.

Yulieski Gurriel and Alex Bregman, whenever they arrive in Houston, will give manager A.J. Hinch myriad options with the Astros lineup.

Now that Jason Groome is an official member of the Red Sox after signing a $3.65 million contract on Friday, he is eager to get a uniform on and start his professional career.

That was probably not how he saw that going.

The Astros and Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel have agreed to a 5-year deal worth $47.5 million, according to industry sources.

The Rangers probably didn’t need to be reminded how good Kyle Hendricks is, but the right-hander did just that on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Hendricks scattered three hits over six scoreless innings, and All-Star Addison Russell scored two runs and smacked a two-run single to lift the Cubs to a 6-0 Interleague victory over the Rangers in a showdown between two division leaders.

Newly acquired left-hander Drew Pomeranz, whom the Red Sox hope provides a rotation boost in the second half, is slated to make his debut against the Giants on Wednesday at Fenway Park.

Indians right-hander Danny Salazar knows that adrenaline could have taken over had he stepped on the mound at Petco Park for Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

After a brief hiccup, the Yankees are right back to their winning ways. Joe DiMaggio, meanwhile, hasn’t had any roadblocks in his way. He keeps on going.

A quick glance at the midseason Power Rankings suggests that even a prolonged slump didn’t shake our faith in the Chicago Cubs. But putting aside their somewhat surprising poor performance against the A’s a couple of weeks ago in the home-and-home Bay Bridge Series that resulted in Oakland winning three of four, the Giants have been a model of consistency.

Baseball is back with a full schedule of Major League games as the second-half gets underway today.