Daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Saturday  —  We've officially hit the second half of the MLB season, with more than half of 2018's games now in the books.  To celebrate, we have a smorgasbord of hurlers, ranging from Chris Sale and Justin Verlander at the top …

Rays face another tough Astros pitcher — Cole  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays were beaten by the slimmest of margins in the series opener, and the Houston Astros' dominating starting pitching gets another chance to showcase itself at Tropicana Field on Friday night.

Cubs emphasize positives after salvaging up-and-down trip  —  LOS ANGELES — Perhaps Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon's analysis of his team's woeful-looking road trip was spot on.  —  “The Reds are screwing this whole thing up,” Maddon said before the Cubs' 11-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

Detroit Tigers' Daniel Stumpf has no knowledge of spider monkey nickname  —  Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Stumpf has told the Detroit Free Press that he has no knowledge of the nickname “spider monkey,” which fired pitching coach Chris Bosio said he called him and was fired for when it was taken out of context, according to Bosio.

Want to keep benches from clearing?  Change rule, Jim Riggleman and Joey Votto say  —  Reds manager Jim Riggleman says there's one way to avoid the bench-clearing brawl like they did Thursday night in the Reds game with the Milwaukee Brewers.  —  “I wish we had the hockey rule,” Riggleman said.

Midseason awards, bad All-Star positions and MLB's next big thing  —  At some point Friday evening, the 1,215th final score of the 2018 Major League Baseball championship season will be entered in the logs.  It's the natural halfway point — peak baseball — when we have as many games behind us as we do ahead.

Prodigal Panda: Pablo Sandoval enjoying renaissance with Giants  —  SAN FRANCISCO - Pablo Sandoval's loud banter resonates often throughout the San Francisco Giants' clubhouse.  Fans at AT&T Park greet the announcement of his name cheerfully.  Some teammates wear T-shirts bearing his likeness.

Seranthony Dominguez proves he has the short memory required to be an excellent reliever |  Extra Innings  —  Aaron Nola did it again.  For the seventh time in 11 starts, the Phillies' ace righthander allowed fewer than two runs.  His latest gem — a 114-pitch mastery of the Nationals …

Kris Bryant's injury eases the Cubs' Albert Almora Jr.-Ian Happ debate  —  Cubs center fielder Albert Almora Jr. on Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw's exit: ‘It worked for our favor’ (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  In assessing the Albert Almora Jr.-Ian Happ situation …

Doubling up: Nicholas Castellanos  —  Castellanos has seemingly been a hitting machine this year; his 30 multi-hit games are tied for fifth in baseball this season, behind only Seattle's Jean Segura (34), Atlanta's Nick Markakis (33), Boston's J.D. Martinez (32) and Cleveland's Francisco Lindor (31).

Column: White Sox pitcher Reynaldo Lopez looks capable of being the bell cow of rotation  —  Photos of the White Sox pitcher.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  One of the biggest trades of the White Sox rebuild came about 15 years ago at a Dominican Republic pawn shop when Reynaldo Lopez's grandfather …

Padres happy to be back home vs. Pirates  —  SAN DIEGO — There will be a double homecoming Friday night at Petco Park.  —  Right-hander Joe Musgrove, who was born and raised 20 minutes east of San Diego in El Cajon, will be facing the Padres for the first time as the starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Next Slide  —  Detroit Tigers right-handed pitching prospect Alex Faedo took the latest questions about his velocity dip in stride.  He said he was asked similar questions early in 2017 as a junior at Florida, before being named Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series.

Shortstop or third base?  Why scouts - and maybe Phillies - believe Manny Machado can play either position |  Scott Lauber  —  For two months, the Phillies have played rookie second baseman Scott Kingery at shortstop.  They were using a shortstop at third base, too, at least until …

Cardinals host NL East-leading Braves  —  Another series, another opponent sitting at the top of its division.  —  That's the scenario for the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend as they welcome the Atlanta Braves, who lead the National League East, for a three-game series at Busch Stadium starting Friday.