START: Harper healing, Ohtani on the mound, Anderson 8-0

A look at what’s happening around the majors today:

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BACK FROM THE BLISTER?

Philadelphia slugger Bryce Harper could return to the lineup for the end of a two-game series at Texas after an infected blister on his left index finger sidelined him for two games last weekend at Washington.

Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson said the infection had gotten better enough that Harper was available off the bench in Game 1 against the Rangers.

Harper, a six-time All-Star and this year’s leader in NL designated hitter voting, entered Tuesday batting a team-best .326, and his OPS (1.013) was second in the NL behind Paul Goldschmidt of St.Louis.

“When guys are DHing, they tend to swing a lot more,” Thomson said. “I just want to make sure we weren’t going to irritate him.”

STREAK SHOHEI

Shohei Ohtani tries to win three straight starts for the first time this season when the Los Angeles Angels host the Royals.

The reigning AL MVP is 5-4 with a 3.28 ERA in 11 starts, striking out 77 and walking 15 in 60 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old right-hander is coming off a 5-2 victory over Boston on June 9 and a 4-1 win at Seattle last Thursday, when he pitched six shutout innings in his first shutout start in a month.

Ohtani has allowed two runs or fewer in eight of 11 starts. His only previous start against the Royals was on June 6, 2018, when he allowed one run in four innings.

The two-way star had a big game at the plate Tuesday night, hitting two three-run homers and driving in a career-high eight runs. Still, the Royals held on for a 12-11 win in 11 innings.

Ohtani smashed a 423-foot homer in the sixth and a 438-foot homer that tied the ninth, giving him the most RBI game of his five-year career in America. The AL MVP then set the Major League record for most RBIs in a single game by a Japanese-born player with a sacrifice fly in the 11th.

Lefty Daniel Lynch (3-6, 5.19) will be on the mound for Kansas City. He was 0-5 in his previous eight starts before winning at Oakland on Friday, when he allowed one run in five innings.

CENTER SHOWDOWN

The top two teams in the American League Central Division meet again when José Ramírez and the Cleveland Guardians visit Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and the Minnesota Twins.

Triston McKenzie (4-5, 2.96 ERA) pitches for the Guardians against Sonny Gray (3-1, 2.09) in the middle game of the series. Gray pitched five shutout innings last Wednesday at Seattle, his first appearance since he went on the disabled list June 2 with a strained pectoral muscle.

BIS

Tyler Anderson (8-0, 2.82 ERA) tries to follow up a sensational start to a big season when he pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Cincinnati against Luis Castillo (2-4, 3.33) and the struggling Reds.

With his fifth team in seven major league seasons, Anderson nearly pitched a no-hitter Wednesday night. He shut down the Los Angeles Angels until Shohei Ohtani hit a one-out triple in the ninth inning for his first hit. The 32-year-old left-hander was lifted after 123 pitches. His previous career high was 109 in 2018 with Colorado.

GOLD STANDARD

The Cardinals hope to have star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt back in the lineup shortly after he missed a start due to back problems.

Goldschmidt won the most recent National League Player of the Week award. He leads the National League in batting average (.339), on-base percentage (.417) and OPS (1.031).

Goldschmidt did not start Tuesday night in Milwaukee. The top two teams in the NL Central have two more games left in the series.

“He’s going to experience it from time to time,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “Usually he takes a day, loosens up, gets treatment, and does it again. That is our hope.”

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