00:00TGIF, am I right? It's the start of a huge weekend in the show, and it doesn't get bigger
00:05than the series in Southern California. Hey, you want to go nuts? Well, you're in the right place.
00:11I'm Abby Labar, and Quick Pitch starts now. Hey, Boston fans, can I ask you something?
00:16How often do you think about the Roman Empire? No, not that one. The Roman Anthony Empire.
00:22Over the last two months, the Red Sox rookie has lived rent-free in opponents' heads as a top
00:2710 hitter in MLB. From June 21st to August 21st, only two players have reached base more than
00:33Anthony. Forget the fall of Rome, Anthony's empire is just starting to rise. In his first career game
00:39at Yankee Stadium, he went two for five with a homer, a walk, and three RBI. Boston has declared victory
00:45over the Yankees for six straight games, and a win on Friday would match the Sox' second-longest
00:49single-season win streak against their rival in the wildcard era. This series as a whole, yeah,
00:55it's my Roman Empire, so time to get to the Bronx for game two.
01:00MLB Network will have game three of the Sox and Yanks from the Bronx Saturday afternoon. The series
01:05continues at 1 p.m. Eastern. Time now to check in on the AL East division-leading Blue Jays,
01:11who got a boost to their rotation Friday.
01:13Bieber was back and better than ever on Friday, allowing just one run and striking out nine in
01:18his team debut. His nine punch-outs are tied for the second most by a Blue Jay in his team
01:23debut.
01:23Only former Cy Young award winner David Price had more.
01:28Coming up, we're headed out west where the Padres needed to turn the tide on their SoCal rivals.
01:33The NL West lead is on the line in San Diego. Highlights next.
01:38Back-to-back weekends, we get the gift of this NL West rivalry.
01:42The Dodgers and Padres meet again as they continue to play hot potato with the top spot.
01:47Let me remind you of where we were a week ago.
01:49L.A. began last weekend second place in the division but swept San Diego to take back control
01:54of first. Seven days later, they enter the day with a one-game lead over their opponent.
01:59With redemption in their eyes, the Padres are riding the momentum of winning three straight
02:03after a big series win over the Giants. With four match-ups decided by a one-run margin this season,
02:09you better find a cool place to watch this one because it's bound to have baseball fans sweating.
02:14Bring on the heat. Let's go to Cali.
02:17Darvish dominated the Dodgers, allowing just one hit in six innings.
02:21But this is nothing new. Dodgers batters have hit just 167 lifetime against him.
02:26That's the lowest opponents averaged by any pitcher to debut since 1900 against L.A.
02:31The second lowest? Blake Snell, who started against Darvish on Friday.
02:37Squatch had a chance at some Royals franchise history on Friday.
02:40But more importantly, KC was looking for another win to keep their August playoff push going.
02:46Royals and Tigers, when QP returns.
02:49America's number one sportsbook.
02:51Let's get out to Texas for Guardians and Rangers in the same-game parlay spotlight, presented by
02:55FanDuel.
02:56There are so many animals in this AL wildcard race.
03:00The teams are dominating and the margins are slim.
03:03Who's going to be a king of the jungle at the end of it all?
03:06But wait, what's that lurking in the playoff race?
03:12I haven't seen this one yet.
03:15Oh yeah, it's the Pasquatch.
03:17Vinny Pasquantino and the Royals have taken strides in the standings after winning eight
03:22of their last ten.
03:23The Pasquatch has been terrifying at the plate with homers in four straight.
03:27He can tie two other Royals legends for the longest homer streak in KC history.
03:31Cutting their deficit from four games to just two games back.
03:35Will the Royals feast on their division rival or will the Tigers stay as hungry as they've
03:40been lately too?
03:42Locked up a big piece of their future Friday morning.
03:45Would Samuel Busayo come up clutch against the Astros Friday night?
03:49Find out next.
03:51Tomorrow is enjoying a breakout season down in Tampa.
03:54Another homer Friday put the young star in some elite company.
03:57We'll explain next.
03:59Power is power no matter what your age is.
04:02Junior Camonero went deep for the 36th time this season and the Rays win on Friday.
04:06He is now tied with Alex Rodriguez for the fourth most homeruns in the wildcard era by any
04:11player in his age 21 season or younger.
04:15Didn't see you there.
04:16You'll learn.
04:17How low can Luke go?
04:20Let's get to the phone lines.
04:23The laboratory.
04:30The absolute best day in Texas as the Rangers unveiled a statue for Hall of Fame third baseman
04:36Adrian Beltre on Friday.
04:38And well, his buddy Elvis Andrews, of course, had to touch the statue's head.
04:44I mean, come on.
04:45The statue features Beltre in his iconic follow through with a knee touching the ground.
04:49But hey, maybe Rangers fans could start a new tradition of rubbing Beltre's head for good
04:54luck.
04:55I know he didn't like it, but he does like wins.
04:58That's it for QP.
04:59I'm Abby Labar.
05:00We'll see you on Saturday.
