Live Scores, Live Odds and Game Matchups

A pair of pitchers toe the rubber for their respective debuts Thursday afternoon when the Philadelphia Phillies visit the Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies won the season opener 4-3 on Monday before the Reds drew even Wednesday with a 2-0 triumph.

The Minnesota Twins look to open the season in grand fashion with a three-game sweep when they host the Kansas City Royals on Thursday afternoon in the series finale. The Twins punished the Royals’ bullpen for the second straight game Wednesday by recording six runs in the seventh inning in a 9-1 victory after scoring seven times two days earlier.

The Boston Red Sox will look to build off a thrilling late-night win when they aim for a three-game sweep of the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates in the finale Thursday afternoon. Catcher Sandy Leon ended nearly 12 full innings of scoreless baseball with a walk-off three-run homer Wednesday night, as Red Sox newcomer Chris Sale and five relievers limited the Pirates to five hits.

Travis Shaw has settled in quite nicely for the Milwaukee Brewers, who look to secure a four-game series split when they host the Colorado Rockies in the finale Thursday afternoon. After ripping two doubles in each of his first two games with the Brewers, Shaw slugged a two-run homer in Tuesday's 6-1 win to get his new team in the win column for the first time.

The thrilling season-opening series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs stretches one more day as rain bumped the finale of the three-game set to Thursday afternoon. The Cardinals host the rival Cubs in the rubber match after each claimed a one-run win to begin the series, with both contests providing some late-inning drama.

Eager to bounce back from a disappointing 2016 season, James Shields was forced to wait two extra days for a shot at redemption. Shields and the Chicago White Sox host the Detroit Tigers on Thursday after the teams were rained out on Monday and Wednesday, sandwiched around a 6-3 win by Detroit in Tuesday's contest.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has begun the season by placing Yasiel Puig in the eighth spot in the batting order, but that's hardly etched in stone. Puig is off to a strong start for the Dodgers, who conclude their season-opening four-game series against the visiting San Diego Padres on Thursday afternoon.

After getting off to a slow start, the Los Angeles Angels appear to be running on all cylinders. Los Angeles attempts to post its third straight victory Thursday afternoon as it concludes its four-game series against the host Oakland Athletics.

Daniel Murphy is off to a good start in showing his stellar debut season with the Washington Nationals was not an anomaly. The Nationals wrap up a three-game home series Thursday against the Miami Marlins having won the first two matchups, and Murphy – who hit .347 in finishing as the runner-up for National League MVP a season ago – has recorded two hits and one RBI in each victory.

The New York Mets know a healthy starting rotation is critical to their postseason hopes, so all eyes will be on Matt Harvey as the Mets host the Atlanta Braves in the rubber game of a three-game series Thursday. Harvey only made 17 starts before missing the final three months of the season following surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, and his fastball velocity has not returned yet to the mid-90s speed that helped him strike out 188 hitters in 189 1/3 innings in 2015.

The Tampa Bay Rays won their opening series of the season for the first time since 2012 and look to continue that success when they begin a four-game set against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. The Rays took two of three games from the New York Yankees, after Wednesday’s 4-1 triumph, to start a run of 14 straight contests against American League East foes.

The Houston Astros attempt to complete a sweep of their season-opening four-game series when they host the Seattle Mariners in the finale on Thursday. Houston appeared headed to an extra-inning loss Wednesday before George Springer belted a two-out, three-run homer in the 13th for a walk-off 5-3 victory.

The San Francisco Giants aren’t known for their speed, but an exception might need to be made for Eduardo Nunez. The 33-year-old looks to continue his fast start Thursday as the Giants aim for a split of their season-opening four-game series against the host Arizona Diamondbacks, who scored seven unanswered runs in Wednesday’s 8-6 victory.