Minor League strikeout leader Dan Straily will face the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday at the Oakland Coliseum in his Major League debut.

On July 17, the Brewers' Randy Wolf and the Cardinals' Joe Kelly took the mound for their respective teams. Milwaukee won that battle, 3-2, behind 6 2/3 solid innings from Wolf. Wolf and Kelly will face off again on Friday as the Brewers and Cardinals start a three-game series at Busch Stadium.

The Rangers have appeared in two consecutive World Series. You don't do that without a whole lot of heart, and they've shown that by splitting their four-game set against the rival Angels.

Each day, MLB.com selects one player from each game whose performance stands out.

After a long road trip, the White Sox return to U.S. Cellular Field on Friday, where Philip Humber and the South Siders will face off against new Angels pitcher Zack Greinke, who is seeking his first win with his new ballclub.

Alcides Escobar's first career walk-off hit in the 11th inning plated Eric Hosmer to give the Royals a 7-6 win over the Indians on Thursday and a sweep of the three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

With encouraging starting pitching from Alex White in his return from Triple-A, Josh Rutledge's seventh-inning homer helped the Rockies pull away in their 8-2 victory over the Cardinals, which ended a losing streak at five games and snapped a Coors Field skid at seven.

Matt Harrison gets the call Friday as the Rangers set out on a quick two-city, six-game road trip, starting in Kansas City against the Royals and Jeremy Guthrie.

An already forgettable night turned even more so in the final minutes of Thursday's 8-2 loss in Colorado, as Lance Berkman limped off the field after grounding out in the final at-bat of an 0-for-4 night. His right knee, which was surgically repaired just over two months ago, had given out on him.

Two thrilling results in Senior Division play at Toni Stone Field highlighted the first day of the 2012 Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities World Series on Thursday.

The Braves scored three runs in each of the first two innings in Thursday night's series finale, and held on through seven more innings and a rain delay for a 6-1 victory in front of 19,685 at Turner Field.

On Thursday, Clayton Kershaw brought some home cooking to Los Angeles as he and his wife, Ellen, hosted Clayton's Texas BBQ and Hoedown at Dodger Stadium to raise money for their charity, Kershaw's Challenge.

A's outfielder Seth Smith, serving as designated hitter on Thursday, left Oakland's 4-1 victory over the Blue Jays after sustaining a strained left hamstring while running out a groundout in the fifth inning at the Coliseum.

Last week, Armando Galarraga didn't just make his first start in the Majors in more than a year. He also welcomed his first child to the world. Galarraga's start on Friday against Tim Hudson and the Braves at Turner Field should come under a lot less eventful circumstances.

Before Thursday's game, Cole Hamels manhandled the Nationals this season, allowing one run in 16 innings. It was a different story in the series finale, as Ross Detwiler was the lefty in charge as the Nationals avoided getting swept by blanking the Phillies, 3-0, at Nationals Park.

The starting pitchers for the Marlins and Nationals in Game 1 of their day-night doubleheader on Friday at Nationals Park probably won't stay in the Majors for long this season. The scheduled starters for Game 2 are former All-Stars who should make pitching rotations for years to come.

Right-hander Samuel Deduno shut out the Red Sox on two hits over six innings Thursday evening at Fenway Park and the bullpen finished the job to give the Twins a 5-0 win in the series opener.