Texas at Kansas City 7:40 ET

Rangers over Royals- Solid pitching has lifted the Rangers to consecutive series wins -- posting a 1.83 ERA while winning four out of six and lowering their opposition batting average to .208, the third-best mark in the majors. Texas' Michael Lorenzen (2-1, 4.24 ERA) and Kansas City's Brady Singer (2-1, 2.62) are scheduled to face off on Friday in a battle of right-handers. In four career games (three starts) against the Royals, Lorenzen is 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA. Singer has lost all three of his career starts against Texas while posting an 8.10 ERA. Kansas City's 3.14 team ERA ranks fifth in the majors while Royals starters' 3.01 ERA ranks third. The club has won six of the past nine while allowing two runs or fewer in each victory. Take TEXAS!

New York Mets at Tampa Bay 6:40 ET

Rays over Mets- The Rays haven't won a series since taking two of three from the visiting San Francisco Giants from April 12-14. Since then, they have had a series split and four straight series defeats. They are four games below .500 for the first time since June 23, 2018. The Rays hope to kick off a turnaround during a three-game series against the visiting New York Mets that begins on Friday. Tampa Bay is averaging 3.75 runs per game but has scored two or fewer in four straight and six of its past nine. Aaron Civale (2-2, 5.06 ERA) will get the start for Tampa Bay on Friday. The right-hander lost his only prior appearance against the Mets, allowing two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings back in 2019. Jose Quintana (1-2, 3.48 ERA) will get the ball for New York in the series opener. He is coming off his best outing of the season, as he threw eight innings of one-run ball against St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Quintana is 1-4 with a 4.09 ERA in nine career appearances (eight starts) against the Rays. Take TAMPA BAY!

Baltimore at Cincinnati 6:10 ET

Reds over Orioles- The Orioles will look to build on that momentum and the Reds will hope to snap out of a slump Friday night when Baltimore visits Cincinnati in the opener of a three-game interleague series. Left-hander Cole Irvin (2-1, 3.49 ERA) is slated to start for the Orioles against Reds right-hander Hunter Greene (1-2, 3.63). The Orioles, the defending AL East champions, took three of four from the Yankees while outscoring them 13-6 and limiting New York to 22 hits. The Reds, who finished two games out of a National League wild-card spot last year after losing 100 games in 2022, continued to struggle on offense while dropping the final two games to the Padres. Cincinnati is 0-2-1 in its last three series since recording a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels from April 19-21. Irvin is 0-0 with a 1.69 ERA in three career games (one start) against the Reds. Greene has never opposed the Orioles in his three major league seasons. O’s suffer a letdown after Yankees. Take CINCINNATI!

LA. Clippers at Dallas 9:30 ET

Mavericks (-) over Clippers- The Los Angeles Clippers try to avoid elimination and even their Western Conference first-round series when they visit the Dallas Mavericks for Game 6.  The  Clippers have their backs against the wall after a truly dismal effort in Game 5. The most startling development of the night was how poorly Los Angeles played when it had a chance to take the series lead at home. They will be without star forward Kawhi Leonard (knee) for the third straight game as it fights to stay alive. The Mavericks are very much aware that the Clippers will be delivering their best punch on Friday. The Mavericks reached the Western Conference finals two seasons ago before losing to the Golden State Warriors in five games. But in their previous two attempts, Dallas was eliminated by the Clippers. Pay-back is sweet! Take DALLAS! 

Cleveland at Orlando 7:00 ET

Cavaliers over Magic- The Magic look to stave off elimination in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first-round series versus the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. They featured just four players with postseason experience prior to this series. Cleveland holds a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. The home team has won each game in the series, and should Orlando hold serve Friday, that would force the franchise's first Game 7 since 2009. Cleveland is bidding to win a playoff series for the first time since 2018. Of course, that was a different time for the Cavaliers as they finished a run of four consecutive NBA Finals appearances during LeBron James' second stint with the franchise. The Magic have covered the past three and yet trail in the series...that spells doom. Take CLEVELAND!

Texas at Kansas City 7:30 ET

Rangers over Royals- Right-handers Michael Wacha (2-1, 4.24 ERA) of Kansas City and Dane Dunning (3-2, 4.13) of Texas will square off on Saturday. In two career starts vs. the Rangers, Wacha is 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA. His most recent encounter against them was a 2 2/3-inning performance for the Rays on June 6, 2021, when he allowed a run on two hits and two walks. Dunning is 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA in four career starts and two long relief appearance against the Royals. He posted 6 1/3 scoreless frames in two bullpen stints. The Rangers are one of three teams without a winning or losing streak longer than three games. The win here...take TEXAS!

Baltimore at Cincinnati 6:40 ET

Reds over Orioles- John Means is coming off the injured list and is slated to make his season debut when the Orioles visit the Cincinnati Reds in the middle game of a three-game interleague series. Means will oppose the Reds' Andrew Abbott (1-3, 3.27 ERA) in a battle of left-handers. Means made the American League All-Star team in 2019 and threw a no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners on May 5, 2021. But he underwent Tommy John surgery after making two starts in 2022. Abbott took the loss last Sunday, when he gave up four runs over 5 1/3 innings as the Reds fell to the Texas Rangers 4-3. He won his lone career start against the Orioles last June 27. Take CINCINNATI!

New York Mets at Tampa Bay 6:40 ET

Rays over Mets- The New York Mets will be send Christian Scott (0-0, 0.00) to the mound who is making his first Major League start at Tampa Bay. The Rays will start Zack Littell (1-2, 3.27 ERA) who has averaged better than a strikeout per innings pitched with 35 K’s in 33 innings while surrendering just one walk every four innings. Take Tampa BAY!

Minnesota at Denver 7:00 ET

Nuggets (-) over Timberwolves- Last year, the Minnesota Timberwolves were a stepping stone to an NBA championship. This time around, Minnesota is a roadblock to the Denver Nuggets' quest for a repeat. Denver needed just five games to dispatch Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs in 2023, but it was a competitive series that former Nuggets guard Bruce Brown said was the toughest of the four rounds. Denver coach Michael Malone told reporters Friday that Caldwell-Pope has been a full participant in the two practices this week while Murray has been in and out. The Nuggets' chances of winning the series will greatly diminish without Murray, and they will have to lean even more on presumptive MVP Nikola Jokic, who will battle with Towns and Rudy Gobert up front. Take DENVER!