A look at what's happening all around the majors Friday:
CY OLD VS. CY FUTURE?: Noah Syndergaard (9-5) starts for the New York Mets in a series opener, facing the Tigers for the first time and trying to end a four-start winless streak (0-2). Justin Verlander (11-6), the 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner, starts for the Tigers. Verlander was AL pitcher of the month in July, going 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA in four starts.
STREAKING BOTH WAYS: Jon Lester (11-4) starts for the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs, who carry a four-game winning streak into their series opener at Oakland. Dillon Overton (1-2) starts for the Athletics, who have lost five in a row and are last in the AL West.
IF ONLY A FEW YEARS AGO: Felix Hernandez (5-4) starts for the Seattle Mariners against the visiting Los Angeles Angels and Tim Lincecum. King Felix, the 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner, is 6-3 with a 1.68 ERA in nine home starts against the Angels since the start of the 2013 season. He is 14-16 with a 3.32 ERA in 48 starts against the Angels. Lincecum, the 2008 and '09 NL Cy Young winner for San Francisco, has allowed 12 runs and 12 hits over 6 1/3 innings in his past two starts.
RED SOX-DODGERS: In a matchup MLB executives would love for the World Series, the Boston Red Sox open an interleague series at the Los Angeles Dodgers. All-Star knuckleballer Steven Wright (12-5), who starts for Boston, leads AL qualifiers in fewest homers allowed per nine innings at 0.52. Scott Kazmir (9-4) won a career-best seven straight decisions before losing to Arizona on July 30.
PATCHED UP CARPENTER: St. Louis is expected to activate leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter before Friday's series opener against Atlanta. The infielder has not played since July 6 because of a strained right oblique muscle.
ICHIRO UPDATE: Ichiro Suzuki is two hits shy of 3,000 heading into the Miami Marlins' series opener at Colorado.