Rangers haven't looked like a .500 team of late, but that's what they were entering Friday  —  The short night for Taylor Hearn on Thursday put the Texas Rangers on a fast track to their fourth straight loss.  —  They've lost four in a row twice this season, with both skids coming on the road.

LEADING OFF: Vladdy Jr. debuts, La Tortuga gets his night  —  A look at what's happening around the majors today:  —  IT'S TIME  —  Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is set to make his big league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays against the Oakland Athletics.  The son of Hall of Famer Vladimir …

Lester solid in return, but Dodgers get past Cubs 2-1  —  CHICAGO — Although it wasn't enough to keep the Cubs rolling, Jon Lester was pleased with his first outing in more than two weeks.  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers spoiled the veteran left-hander's return to the rotation by scoring …

Detroit Tigers' Jordan Zimmermann (elbow sprain) placed on 10-day IL  —  Jordan Zimmermann hit the 10-day injured list on Friday with a right-elbow sprain, just a day after making an early exit from his start in Boston, the Detroit Tigers announced.  —  Zimmermann gave up five runs on five hits …

Angels blast Yankees, 11-5  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - A team in dire need of a morale boost and a victory got both Thursday night when the Angels muscled their way out of a four-run hole for an 11-5 win over the New York Yankees, preventing a four-game sweep by the visitors in Angel Stadium.

Greinke leads Diamondbacks past Pirates for 4-game sweep  —  PITTSBURGH — Zack Greinke did a little bit of everything on Thursday, holding the Pirates to two hits over seven innings and adding a big hit of his own to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-0 victory and a four-game sweep of Pittsburgh.

Foltynewicz returns to Braves' rotation Saturday  —  Mike Foltynewicz, the Braves' best starting pitcher last season, finally will make his first major-league start of 2019 on Saturday night.  —  He missed almost all of spring training and the start of the season because of right elbow soreness stemming from a bone spur.

Addison Russell says he's willing to ‘play another role’ for the Cubs  —  While Addison Russell has been serving a 40-game suspension, Javier Baez has emerged as the next superstar shortstop of the Chicago Cubs.  —  So, where does Russell fit if the Cubs are willing to give him another shot in the big leagues following his suspension?

Yankees look to bounce back at Giants  —  Madison Bumgarner goes head-to-head with one of the teams most strongly linked to him in winter trade rumors when the San Francisco Giants open a three-game interleague series against the New York Yankees on Friday night.

Rodon aims for 3rd straight win as White Sox host Tigers  —  The Chicago White Sox have received little positives out of their starting pitching this season, save for left-hander Carlos Rodon.  —  Rodon (3-2, 2.89 ERA) will look to win his third straight start on Friday night as the White Sox begin …

Mets' Rhame suspended 2 games for headhunting  —  New York Mets reliever Jacob Rhame was given a two-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing at the head of Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins in the top of the ninth inning Tuesday, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.

Royals cornerstone Alex Gordon fighting the good fight against Father Time  —  Royals general manager Dayton Moore looked out onto the field hours before a game last week in New York's Yankee Stadium — a place that has seen some of the bright talents in the game fade and forced into the background …