Things That Go Boom in Cleveland and Other Games for Thursday

Ack, more games! Why wasn’t I informed…

American League

• Red Sox at Yankees, 10:05 a.m. PT — This series doesn’t need any more hype. Either you love it or you don’t care. Watch (or don’t) accordingly.
• Mariners at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — Playoff implications in this one, plus a potentially volatile pitching matchup. Two finesse lefties — the execrable Horacio Ramirez and the too-unknown-to-have-an-unflattering-adjective-attached-to-the-front-of-his-name Aaron Laffey — hook up in this one. Philosophical question for the day: When does batting practice end and game begin?

National League

• Mets at Phillies, 10:05 a.m. PT — We’re all anxious to know whether Philadelphia can reach the post-season with two guys named Kyle in the rotation. Orlando Hernandez goes for the Mets. Your grandkids will be telling you about him one day.
• Diamondbacks at Padres, 7:05 p.m. PT — The preview says that Livan Hernandez is pitching for Arizona, but he started on Monday; it’s actually left-hander Doug Davis. San Diego counters with Chris Young, who missed his previous start due to a bad back. These two teams find themselves in a virtual tie for first place in the NL West with a month to go. The Padres are one game up in the loss column.

As you know by now, I’m very biased, but I honestly believe that the NL West race is the most compelling in baseball right now. It certainly is the closest. If you have to choose one game to watch, I recommend Arizona vs San Diego, although the Mariners and Indians could be “interesting” — any chance they could get that game moved to Coors Field?

As always, happy watching…