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 …

Eloy Jimenez returns to the White Sox lineup for the opener of a 3-game series against the Tigers  —  Post-Tribune  —  Eloy Jimenez rejoins the starting lineup as the White Sox open a three-game series against the Tigers at 7:10 p.m. at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Pazos dealt from Phillies to Rockies for Stovall  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies acquired infielder Hunter Stovall from the Colorado Rockies for left-hander James Pazos on Friday.  —  Pazos was obtained from Seattle in December as part of the trade that sent infielder Jean Segura to Philadelphia.

Mets activate deGrom to start vs. Brewers  —  The New York Mets activated ace right-hander Jacob deGrom to start Friday night's game against the victory Milwaukee Brewers.  —  The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner went on the injured list after experiencing elbow pain last week.

Robinson Canó's familiarity with NL pitchers is improving as he nears hits milestone  —  When the world watches an illustrious hitter like Robinson Canó endure an early-season slump, normally, the player's insecurity level rises.  —  Though Canó is not immune to worrying …

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.

Cincinnati Reds bullpen rolling, despite no strict roles  —  ST. LOUIS - The Cincinnati Reds bullpen is without strict roles, but that hasn't kept it from rolling as a unit.  —  The relief corps went into Friday's game with a 3.24 ERA, third-best in the National League.

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.

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.

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.