A look at what’s happening around the majors Friday:
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CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
The Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied for first in the NL West heading into their weekend series in San Francisco. The rivals split their first 16 games this year, with each team scoring 68 times. The Giants took two of three in their previous series from July 27-29, led by Johnny Cueto’s 5 2/3 innings of four-hit ball in a 5-0 victory in the rubber game.
Los Angeles has won 23 of 29 to erase San Francisco’s lead in the division. David Price (4-2, 3.88 ERA) pitches Friday for the World Series champions, followed by Julio Urías (15-3, 3.17 ERA) and Walker Buehler (13-2, 2.05 ERA). Anthony DeSclafani (11-6, 3.38 ERA) takes the mound for the Giants in the series opener, but they haven’t announced their starters for the rest of the weekend.
MOVING ON
The New York Mets hit the road without acting general manager Zack Scott, who was placed on administrative leave following his arrest on charges of driving while intoxicated.
Electronic court records show Scott was released without bail after pleading not guilty Thursday to driving while intoxicated and three traffic violations. His driving privileges in New York were suspended, and he is due back in White Plains City Court on Oct. 7.
In a statement Thursday afternoon, the Mets said they placed Scott on administrative leave “until further notice,” and team president Sandy Alderson will assume Scott’s GM responsibilities running baseball operations.
The Mets are hanging onto the periphery of the NL East and wild-card chases as they open a five-game series at Washington.
SHO TIME
Shohei Ohtani takes a 12-start unbeaten streak into an outing against Texas. The Angels’ two-way star is 7-0 with a 3.15 ERA since his last defeat May 28, asserting himself not just as a heavy favorite for AL MVP but as a likely recipient of some votes in AL Cy Young Award balloting.
Glenn Otto (0-0, 0.00) makes his second big league start for the Rangers after being acquired from the Yankees in July for slugger Joey Gallo. The 25-year-old blanked Houston over five innings in his debut last week.
SHOWING SOME FIGHT
Bryce Harper and the Phillies’ big-name lineup have produced at least seven runs in seven straight games, a first for the franchise since June 1933. They carry a six-game winning streak into a series at Miami and trail the NL East-leading Braves by 1½ games.
Harper has multiple hits in six of his past eight games and is hitting .330 with 10 homers and 25 RBIs since Aug. 1.
Philadelphia right-hander Kyle Gibson (10-5, 2.94 ERA) is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in his past two starts. He’ll oppose Marlins youngster Jesus Luzardo (3-3, 7.62 ERA) to open a three-game set.
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