The National Basketball Players Association issued a statement Thursday in support of Enes Kanter after the Turkish big man took to social media to call out mistreatment from Denver Nuggets fans and the NBA Turkey Twitter account.

"The National Basketball Players Association fully supports our players using their platforms to stand up for their beliefs and the principles they support. We stand with Enes and, as with all of our players, will work to ensure that he is treated fairly and with respect."

After playing a vital role in the Portland Trail Blazers' Game 2 win over the Nuggets on Wednesday, center Kanter was curiously left out of a tweet by the NBA Turkey Twitter account referencing the top performers from the game. Kanter took notice, tweeting his frustration following the game.

What a messed up country lead by #TurkishDictator @RTErdogan
Only Turkish player out here tonight, and the official @NBA for Turkey @NBAturkiye is censoring me. They dont show blazers games in Turkey. The government controls people,this a problem. How can official NBA allow this pic.twitter.com/Zvny0NwF8C

— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) May 2, 2019

Kanter also responded Thursday on Twitter to a heckle from a Nuggets fan during Game 2. After a brief altercation near the end of the game where Kanter and Gary Harris were assessed technical fouls, the crowd chanted "Kanter sucks!" with one fan yelling "Go back to Turkey, oh wait, you can't!"

I wish I could go back to Turkey to see Family ?
But I chose to support Democracy, Freedom and Human rights,
I am grateful for most Americans supporting that right. @nuggets take control of your fans.
This is hurtful ?
Be grateful for the Democracy and Freedom we have here. https://t.co/SMGu9j3qc4

— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) May 2, 2019

In a statement Thursday, the NBA said fans in Turkey could still watch Kanter and the Trail Blazers on NBA League Pass and NBA TV International, and that the league had ended its deal with NBA Turkey Twitter.

"The NBA Turkey Twitter account was managed by a local vendor, and we are terminating that relationship," NBA deputy commissioner and COO Mark Tatum said in the news release.

Kanter is effectively banned from returning to his home country and has a warrant out for his arrest in Turkey. In January, officials in Istanbul were seeking a "red notice" through Interpol, asking law enforcement to detain and hand Kanter over to Turkish authorities. Kanter is an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a supporter of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government considers the leader of a terrorist organization.

In Turkey, Kanter's Twitter account has been banned for the last couple of years, and games he plays in have been censored as well. Game 2 against the Nuggets was initially on the schedule to be shown on S Sport Cable Network, which did not end up airing the game.

Kanter's issue with Turkey dates to 2017 when the government cancelled his passport and sought an arrest warrant. Kanter has a green card, but because of the issues with his safety and passport, did not travel to London in January when he was with the Knicks, or to Toronto in February as a member of the Blazers.

Wednesday's incident isn't the first time Kanter has been part of a social media controversy involving his issues with Turkey. Last December, the NBA Europe Instagram put up a post "celebrating the best Turkish talent in the NBA," and had three players shown: Ersan Ilyasova, Cedi Osman and Furkan Korkmaz.

Kanter tweeted about the omission, saying, "Scared to put my name up there lol... U scared little rats." Kanter received an apology from the NBA, and a personal apology from commissioner Adam Silver.

The NBA Europe account put up a corrected post soon after including Kanter, with an apology. Kanter tweeted, "Apology accepted."

PHILADELPHIA -- Kawhi Leonard was sensational Thursday night in the Toronto Raptors' 116-95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup. Pascal Siakam was pretty good, too.

The rest of the Raptors? Not so much.

Of the rest of those Raptors, though, none of them has the experience with the franchise that Kyle Lowry does. Lowry, who finished with seven points on 2-for-10 shooting and was a game-worst minus-28 in 38 minutes, declared the Raptors have to help Leonard out -- especially himself.

"We've got to help him," Lowry told ESPN. "I was literally saying it during the game. We have to help him. He's doing everything he can possibly do offensively and defensively to f---ing win games, and myself, I'm not helping him enough.

"I'm not putting it on nobody else but me."

Meanwhile, a bad night was made worse when Lowry, after boxing out Ben Simmons in the first half, appeared to take an elbow in the groin from Simmons in the first half of Thursday's loss that sent him falling to the ground for several seconds before eventually getting to his feet.

None of the referees appeared to see the play, and the game continued without a stoppage. Lowry has a history with Simmons, as both were ejected from a game in Philadelphia in January and got into a spat late in a game also in Philly last season, but Simmons apologized to Lowry at halftime.

"Yeah, he said it at halftime," Lowry told ESPN. "Said he didn't mean to. Scott [Foster] didn't call it on the floor. It's not like I'm going to dwell on it or bitch about it. It happened. It's over now.

"We got our ass kicked after. It didn't matter."

When asked if Lowry thought the league should review the play for possible retroactive punishment, he told ESPN, "I'm personally not going to dwell on it. We have bigger things to fry than something that happened in the first [half] or whatever."

Those things would, quite specifically, include both Lowry and center Marc Gasol giving them more offensively. For all of the (understandable) talk about Philadelphia's starters entering this series, Toronto's starting five has plenty of star power, as well.

Leonard and Siakam (20 points) did their part. Danny Green (13 points in 34 minutes) wasn't bad, either. Lowry and Gasol, on the other hand -- five- and three-time All-Stars, respectively -- didn't come close to matching the production on their glittering resumes. Both looked passive. Gasol was 2-for-6 and scored seven points while recording a minus-26 in 29 minutes.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia received dominant performances from Joel Embiid (33 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks) and Jimmy Butler (22 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists) and had all five starters finish in double figures.

"We're being unselfish and we have to be more selfish," Lowry told ESPN. "We have to help Kawhi and Pascal, and score more and be a little bit more assertive.

"We're just being very -- we're passive. We're too passive to a fault."

Raptors coach Nick Nurse would agree, as he said after the game the Raptors will have no chance of evening up the series if his team doesn't show up with more effort and energy in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon.

"Yeah, I think we got outplayed in just about every area we could get outplayed in," Nurse said. "Just in overall physicality, energy, cutting, rebounding, passing -- you know, all of that kind of stuff -- we got thoroughly outplayed, and it's been a while. Right? It's been a while since we've seen this team play that way.

"I think the first adjustment, we're going to have to make it, I guess we're going to have to play all of them a lot harder. We're going to have to play a hell of a lot more physical. I mean if we don't do that, the prettiest things we decided to do offensively aren't going to matter much."

Besides Leonard -- who was spectacular in defeat, finishing with 33 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists as he tried to keep Toronto in the game -- there wasn't much about Toronto's performance that could be described as pretty. Besides Leonard, Siakam and Green, the Raptors were a combined 10-for-36 from the floor -- including 2-for-14 from 3-point range.

Most of that burden, though, falls on Lowry. He is the lone holdover from Toronto's playoff failures over the past several years -- after Dwane Casey was fired and DeMar DeRozan was traded for Leonard last summer.

He has been in this place before. His teams have been down in playoff series. He has been criticized for his play in bad Raptors losses.

He hasn't, though, been in this place when playing alongside Leonard, who Toronto specifically traded for to try lifting the Raptors to places they have never been.

Leonard looked capable of lifting the Raptors on Thursday, just as he has repeatedly throughout this postseason. Siakam, too, has stepped up in his third season in the league. But if the Raptors want to even this series with Philadelphia, they're going to need Lowry to play far better in his hometown in Game 4 on Sunday than he did in Thursday's dud.

"I've got to play better," Lowry told ESPN. "Literally that is the only thing that matters. I have to play better. Nothing else matters. Plus-minus, charges, everything. Nothing else matters. I have to score the ball and play better offensively.

"If I can get close to where I can be, it would be a different series. We might be a little better off than 2-1, but it's been like this all year for me. It's been an up-and-down year for me, and I can't dwell on anything but continue to try to get better at some point.

"Hopefully it'll be Sunday."

PHILADELPHIA -- With his Philadelphia 76ers taking a 2-1 series lead over a Toronto Raptors team led by Kawhi Leonard and his 37.7 points per game so far in the Eastern Conference semifinals, coach Brett Brown was asked a simple question.

When Joel Embiid is healthy, does Brown believe he has the best player in the series on his side?

Brown, taking a swig of water as the question was asked, put down the bottle to answer. "Yes," Brown replied, letting a smile escape from the corners of his mouth.

Embiid certainly looked the part Thursday night, posting 33 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and 3 assists in Philadelphia's 116-95 win.

After being limited through the first two games, Embiid broke out of the shackles applied by former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol.

He scored 24 points on 6-for-12 shooting when Gasol guarded him Thursday, including 3-for-3 on 3-pointers and 9-for-9 from the foul line, according to ESPN Stats & Information. This came after he scored just six points combined against Gasol on 2-for-11 shooting (0-for-2 from 3 and 1-for-2 on free throws) in Games 1 and 2.

"I'm not really focused on him," Embiid said of Gasol, who finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in Game 3. "Great player, have a lot of respect for him, but it's a team game.

"If I'm open, my teammates are going to find me, and if they're open, I'm going to find them. So I'm not really worried about them, I'm more worried about my team. You know, how we coexist on the court, how we play together."

The Sixers played seamless basketball Thursday, leading by as many as 26 points and never trailing. Outside of Leonard's 33 points on 13-for-22 shooting, Philadelphia held the rest of the Raptors' roster to just 62 points on 36.1 percent from the field.

After Toronto was held to just 89 points in Game 2, Thursday marked the first time the Raptors failed to reach 100 points in consecutive games since Dec. 28 and Dec. 30.

It shouldn't be surprising then that Brown was most impressed by his big man's defense.

"I mean, for me it goes straight to the blocks," Brown said when asked what stood out about Embiid's night. "You know, we can talk about a windmill dunk. You can talk about some finesse post moves and that, but I go to defense. That's what interests me the most to date with this series. ... My mind goes straight there. He is our crown jewel defensively, and I suppose offensively, too. But certainly defensively. And his rim protection and blocking-shot ability tonight stood out as much to me as anything in an incredible performance."

Not that the windmill dunk -- preceded by a catch at the 3-point line and a hard drive down the lane -- that sent the Philadelphia crowd into a tizzy when it put the Sixers up 110-84 halfway through the fourth quarter didn't deserve to be mentioned.

Embiid celebrated the play by running back down the court and opening his 7-foot-6 wingspan in an airplane motion. Earlier in the game, he rocked the baby after hitting a shot from the short corner over Serge Ibaka and jiggled his shoulders after hitting a 3-pointer over Gasol.

"I think for everybody that knows me, I need it," Embiid said of the antics. "When I have fun, my game just changes. I'm always told that if I don't smile during the game, I'm either having a bad game or I'm not into it. So I know that to get my game going, I got to have fun on the court. At the same time I got to make plays, but that part of the theatrics, it has to happen for me.

"And the game is more fun that way. We all have fun as a team. You can see, it lifts my teammates and we all do a good job."

Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said he wasn't surprised by what he saw out of Embiid.

"He's a dominant big," Lowry told ESPN. "He played his ass off. He plays even better at home."

The Sixers will get another home game Sunday. A win will put them one win away from the franchise making its first appearance in the conference finals in 18 years. This for a team that went just 10-72 in the 2015-16 season as it played out the controversial rebuild known as "The Process" that was introduced by former general manager Sam Hinkie.

"This is not a good time to talk about 'The Process,'" Embiid said without a hint of irony despite the fact he wore a sweatshirt that had "The Process" printed on it. "Focus on the playoffs and we got a great opportunity up [3-1] on Sunday. We got to take care of business. It's great. It's great. ... Considering what we've been through all these years, we're here. But we got a lot more to give. We have a chance to accomplish something special, and that's what I'm focused on."

And his teammates are focused on the special teammate they have in their midst.

As Jimmy Butler left the locker room late Thursday night wearing a pair of cutoff jeans, Air Jordans and a black tank top, Embiid quipped, "Who let you out of the house like that?"

Butler replied without missing a beat.

"When you're rocking with the best team and you got the best player in the world," he said, "you can wear whatever you want."

PHILADELPHIA -- Both the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers arrived in the 2019 postseason with a deep belief that their respective five-man starting units featured the collective talent to deliver them to the NBA Finals.

Each lineup features a combination of young, homegrown supernovas, recent big-ticket acquisitions and savvy veteran role players. Both units excelled in their limited time together: The Sixers outscored opponents by 17.6 points per 100 possessions with Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid on the floor in the regular season, and the Raptors were 12.2 points per 100 possessions better in the regular season with Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol.

Yet each starting unit is also a relatively unknown entity. Both the Sixers and Raptors starters played only 161 minutes together -- there are movies in wide release with a longer running time. In a league that worships continuity, where championship teams often appear to be telepathic, 161 minutes is hardly enough time to master basic coverages, let alone solidify the kind of rhythm required to win NBA titles.

After sputtering offensively during the first two games of the teams' Eastern Conference semifinals series, the Philly Phive arrived in Game 3 with an emphatic performance, propelling the Sixers' 116-95 win over the Raptors. In their 18 minutes together, they outscored the Raptors 44-32, good for a net rating of 32.5 points per 100 possessions while dominating both ends of the court. Over the course of the action Thursday night, each member of that unit exhibited the best elements of his game.

"When we come down to the offensive end, the evolution of Jimmy [Butler] with the ball, or posting Jo [Embiid], or utilizing Ben [Simmons], bringing JJ [Redick] off screens, making sure Tobias [Harris] -- you know, who can score a bunch of different ways -- is used," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "I think it's evolving."

The 76ers now leads the series 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday in Philadelphia at 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC).

Philadelphia's starting lineup has undergone a rapid and dramatic change in personnel and approach. When they started to make noise last season with Embiid, Simmons, Redick, along with defensive stopper Robert Covington and versatile big man Dario Saric, the Sixers were the most unorthodox unit in the NBA. Most NBA teams rely on the high pick-and-roll as the staple of their diet, but the Sixers featured a trifurcated playbook: post calls for Embiid, choreographed sets predicated on movement designed to get shots for the likes of Redick, and a down-your-throat transition attack as often as possible.

All that changed when the Sixers swapped Covington and Saric for Butler early in the season, then added Harris at the trade deadline. Butler and Harris were more prolific scorers with conventional games, and each needs possession of the ball to maximize his effectiveness, Butler in particular. At times during the regular season, the fit was fussy, with players, coaches and management acknowledging as much. Butler and Embiid are often most comfortable as solo practitioners; Simmons can be problematic off the ball in the half court; Redick relies on movement; Harris was another newbie who often likes mismatch basketball.

Game 3 was evidence that there's no reason any unit with the Sixers' talent, no matter how odd the fit might seem on the surface, can succeed over 48 minutes. In many respects, the Sixers still feature that trifurcated offense -- the Sixers delineate those buckets now as "Pace, Post and Rub." And all three buckets overflowed with goodness Thursday night.

• Pace: The Sixers didn't generate a ton of transition opportunities in Game 3 but were quite effective on the nine chances they enjoyed. Redick, who is getting the ball a bit less in the half court since the arrivals of Butler and Harris, fanned out to the wing and drilled a couple of 3-pointers. Simmons, forever the catalyst in Philadelphia's transition attack, pushed the ball selectively, a few times after Raptors made buckets. Harris runs like a deer in the open floor, and pressures defenses.

• Post: This will never be Philadelphia's most efficient offense, but Embiid appeared more comfortable in Game 3 working against Gasol, against whom he struggled in Toronto. In Embiid's nine direct post-ups, the Sixers scored eight points.

  "We talked about getting big fella [Joel Embiid] the ball and making him make a lot of plays," Butler said. "Obviously, he is a force to be reckoned with, especially when he is making trey balls like he does, but then attacking the rim at the same time. I think that's how we've got to play, you know: You get the ball to him, he's going to score, make the right play."

  Harris is a more modern power forward but loves nothing more than posting up guards, which he did on four occasions in the first half for four points.

• Rub: Phonetically, "Pace, Post and Rub" has a nice ring to it, but for connotation, rub refers to the majority of the actions the Sixers run in the half court. Rubs include the dribble-handoff action between Embiid and Redick the Sixers have run so effectively over the past two seasons, though they have dropped in frequency.

More prominently, the Sixers have started to run the most common of all NBA playcalls: The good ol' middle pick-and-roll. This is how Butler likes to work, and Embiid is a reasonably effective dance partner (both Butler and Embiid -- and teammates on the court -- are more efficient players when Embiid actually rolls hard). Harris is an underrated ball handler in the pick-and-roll, and flashed glimpses of that in Game 3.

Embiid is unlikely to convert 75 percent of his 3-pointers as he did Thursday night en route to 33 points in 28 minutes. But little else about Philadelphia's offensive package looks like an outlier. By protecting the ball (13 turnovers is a number with which the error-prone Sixers can live), controlling the glass, and getting Embiid to the line, there should be plenty of possessions for the Sixers to spread the love.

Prior to the arrivals of Butler and Harris, the Sixers were an exceptional defensive team even before they were a good offensive one. Losing Covington, one of the NBA's most effective defenders, came at a cost. But Philadelphia's current personnel still gives the versatility to confound opponents -- Toronto's confusion has been on full display the past two games. Fittingly, Philadelphia's starting five overtook Toronto's starters as the most productive unit in the NBA this postseason. The Sixers have now outscored the competition by a gaudy 34.5 points per 100 possessions.

After the game, both Butler and Embiid insisted that chemistry is an overrated virtue. They took objection to the notion a team just getting to know one another can't fully master the tasks of common-sense basketball and win big.

"The way we've been adjusting and the way we've been playing together, I still feel like we have so much potential, especially with Tobias [Harris], Ben [Simmons], JJ [Redick]," Embiid said. "Chemistry is overrated. When you have great basketball players on the floor, it's easy. It's not that complicated. We all -- we're passers, we play slow, we're so unselfish. We understand that it's all about moving the ball."

CLEVELAND -- The Indians decided during the winter their starting pitching would carry them to another October.

Cleveland's ride might end before then.

Corey Kluber's broken right arm might alter the plans for a season the Indians hoped would include a fourth straight AL Central title.

Kluber, 33, suffered a non-displaced fracture Wednesday night when he was struck by a line drive in the fifth inning of a start against Miami. Kluber, who struggled through the season's first month, couldn't avoid the 102 mph comebacker hit by Marlins infielder Brian Anderson. After being nailed, Kluber chased after the ball while his right arm stayed motionless against his side. He swatted the ball with his glove toward the bag before walking dejectedly back to the mound.

Kluber underwent further imaging tests Thursday to determine the length of his absence. The Indians are reviewing those results and will place him on the 10-day injured list. They will provide an update Friday before the opener of a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners.

Based on the initial diagnosis, and assuming there's no other damage, Kluber is likely to miss more than one month to allow his ulna bone to heal.

The loss of Kluber, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, for any time will hurt. He has been among baseball's most consistent pitchers for the past five years, and the Indians are already without starter Mike Clevinger, who is out with a strained upper back muscle.

Without 40 percent of their starting staff, the Indians look vulnerable. They already trail the improved Minnesota Twins by 2½ games, and Cleveland's offense has been in a prolonged slump. The Indians are batting an AL-low .215 and have 111 runs in 29 games.

All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor hasn't taken off after being sidelined to start the season with a sprained ankle, and All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez has yet to break out of a slump that stretches back to August.

When Cleveland's front office chose not to trade Kluber or Trevor Bauer and to reconstruct the team's roster by allowing All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley to leave as a free agent and trading sluggers Edwin Encarnacion, Yonder Alonso and Yandy Diaz, it did so believing the pitching depth would be enough to get the Indians back to the playoffs.

That theory is about to be tested.

Clevinger is still probably a few weeks from returning, although he played catch this week and appears to be ahead of schedule.

The Indians are likely to go to a five-man rotation in May with Jefry Rodriguez getting starts. He has made two starts while filling in for Clevinger and is scheduled to start Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. Kluber would have started Monday, and manager Terry Francona will either juggle his rotation or reach down to Triple-A Columbus and bring up either Adam Plutko or Cody Anderson.

Plutko opened the season in the minors and has been recovering from a forearm strain. Anderson has missed most of the past two seasons after Tommy John elbow surgery, but the Indians think he could be ready soon.

When Francona went to the mound to check on Kluber, what he saw was alarming.

"It looked ugly," he said.

Right now, it's not the only unpleasant sight for the Indians.

Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg reached 1,500 strikeouts in fewer innings pitched than any player in major league history, hitting the milestone during Washington's game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

Strasburg got opposing pitcher Dakota Hudson looking in the fifth inning for his eighth strikeout of the game and the 1,500th of his career. He reached the total in 1,272⅓ innings.

According to Elias Sports Bureau data, Boston's Chris Sale had the previous mark, reaching 1,500 in 2017 after 1,290 innings.

"It's pretty cool, but I think I was told a long time ago that strikeouts aren't everything,'' Strasburg said. "I think it's important to know how to put guys away when you have two strikes, but at the same time, I get myself into trouble when I'm trying to strike them out.''

Hall of Famer Randy Johnson holds the record for fewest games needed to reach 1,500 strikeouts. He did it in 206 games, seven fewer than Strasburg, who ranks second on that list.

"Here's a guy that missed a considerable amount of time in his career and still has 1,500 strikeouts,'' manager Dave Martinez said about Strasburg. "It tells me what an unbelievable pitcher he is and, if he stays healthy, the sky's the limit."

Strasburg (3-1) finished the day with nine strikeouts and allowed a run in 6⅔ innings to help the Nationals win 2-1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals fired pitching coach Derek Lilliquist on Thursday night.

Minor league pitching coordinator Paul Menhart was promoted to replace Lilliquist. General manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement moments after the Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 in a game with a starting time delayed 2 1/2 hours by rain.

"We felt that both the rotation and the bullpen, we thought that we had some flaws in there," Rizzo said. "We thought that there [were] preparation issues in there, and we thought that we wanted to get a new message and a new voice."

Rizzo reiterated his support for manager Dave Martinez and said the two made the decision together.

The victory Thursday prevented a four-game sweep and improved Washington's record to 13-17.

Despite an imposing rotation highlighted by three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, three-time All-Star Stephen Strasburg and $140 million free agent Patrick Corbin, the Nationals began the day with a 4.95 ERA that ranked 13th out of 15 NL teams.

Washington's relievers are last in the NL with a 6.02 ERA, though the bullpen has improved of late.

"I was surprised, to be honest," closer Sean Doolittle said after earning his fourth save.

"I know that the bullpen didn't get off to the start that we wanted to, but here kind of over the homestand over the last week or so things have really fallen into place nicely. The starters all year long have done really, really well."

Lilliquist, the Cardinals' pitching coach from 2013 to 2017, was hired after Martinez replaced Dusty Baker.

Menhart has served as the team's minor league pitching coordinator since 2015. This year marks his 14th season in the Nationals organization.

"It's not easy," Martinez said about firing Lilliquist. "But I feel like moving forward, this is the best for the team.

"Paul Menhart, who I've known now for a couple of years, who I've talked and worked with, he brings a different kind of energy. He's positive. He's a technician. He knows analytics. A lot of our pitchers here have worked with him throughout their whole minor league careers."

It's a weekend of rivalries old and new -- Cardinals vs. Cubs, Dodgers vs. Padres, Bryce Harper's old team vs. Bryce Harper's new team. Here's your guide to all the fun.

Cardinals-Cubs has long been considered one of baseball's best rivalries. (They play this weekend at Wrigley: Friday, 2:20 p.m. ET, ESPN+; Sunday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN.) But what is the best rivalry in baseball in 2019?

Eddie Matz: If we're talking about the here and now, I'll take Phillies-Nationals. It doesn't have the history of some of the game's more deeply rooted rivalries (how could it, when one of the teams has been in its current home for only a little more than a decade). And Nats fans have a reputation for being about as rabid as a school of goldfish. But that rep seems to have gone out the window -- at least when it comes to Bryce Harper. When the Phils visited D.C. in early April, it was some of the best baseball regular-season theater I've seen in years. I'm not sure if that tension will last throughout the eternity that is Harper's contract, or if it'll even last into next year. But for right now, it's captivating.

Sam Miller: It's probably not the best rivalry, exactly, but I love the Dodgers-Padres rivalry because only one side knows there is a rivalry. To the Dodgers, a trip to San Diego is practically a staycation: Their fans generally outshout the home team's, their team generally outscores the home team, and all in all it feels as meaningful as a trip to Arizona or Colorado. But San Diegans haaaaate the Dodgers, and it's especially aggravating that the Dodgers don't even notice and reciprocate this hatred. The Padres are like a bunch of ghosts trying to haunt a family cabin in the woods, but the family just keeps having a great time, totally unspooked. Anyway, the Dodgers have won 62 percent of their games in Petco this decade, but now the Padres are finally pretty good, and that's fun.

David Schoenfield: At this very moment, we might be looking at Phillies-Mets considering what went down last week between Rhys Hoskins and Jacob Rhame after Rhame threw at Hoskins one night and then Hoskins unloaded a home run off him the following night and proceeded to enjoy the longest home run trot in recent memory. I don't think we've seen the last of the issues between those two clubs. I might also throw out Astros-Red Sox given how those teams met in the playoffs the past two years and the winner went on to win the World Series. Of course, Yankees-Red Sox is still classic, but that's more between the fans these days -- which might also be true of Cardinals-Cubs.

But ... all that pales to the clear and obvious best rivalry: Trevor Bauer versus the Astros. Given the recent Twitter war between Bauer and Alex Bregman, this one has some serious dislike going on. Mark your calendars for July 30-Aug. 1.

The first-place Twins will be in the Bronx this weekend. What is more surprising: The Twins hitting the ball like the '27 Yankees (or the 2018 Yankees, for that matter) or the injury-riddled Yankees racking up wins with a lineup that looks like the 2011 Twins?

Matz: The Yankees are more surprising, for one reason and one reason only. Six of Minnesota's 28 games have come against the Orioles. In those six games, Nelson Cruz has four dingers. As does Max Kepler. As does Eddie Rosario. All together, the Twins have gone yard 23 times in those six contests. In other words, they've hit nearly half of their bombs against Longballtimore. Which should come as no surprise to anyone who has been forced to watch the O's this season.

Miller: The Twins are more surprising. The Yankees, besides being deep and having a great team top to bottom, have played a very soft schedule so far -- Baltimore, Detroit, Kansas City, the White Sox, the Giants, the Angels -- and, through Wednesday, are 0-5 against teams over .500 (Houston and Arizona). The 0-5 is interesting, probably not a big deal on its own, but five games against winning teams? At this point in the season? That's wild.

Schoenfield: I guess I'm the tiebreaker ... thing is, Eddie is right! But Sam is also right! I'll go with the Twins because I thought they might crash against the Astros this week, but they beat Justin Verlander 1-0, lost to Gerrit Cole, then won the final two games of the series. Plus, Orioles pitching or not, nobody expected them to be hitting home runs like this. In fact, it seems they'll break the franchise record for home runs, set in 1963 -- the longest-standing such record in the majors.

How important is it for the Nationals to at least hold their own this weekend at Philadelphia?

Matz: It's no more important than them holding their own later this month when they host the Mets. Or when they visit Citi Field the week after that. Or when they go to Milwaukee and L.A. next week. Truth is, I don't even know what holding their own even means as it pertains to the Nationals. Does it mean not getting swept? Does it mean taking taking two of three? Does it mean they do the sweeping? What I do know is that right now the Nationals are not a good baseball team. They look lost without Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon, and that goes for both sides of the ball. It would help if the 2018 version of Juan Soto showed up, but that hasn't happened yet. And that bullpen. Ugh. So yeah, the Nats need to turn things around, and fast. Doesn't matter who the opponent is.

Miller: The thing about a division with four good, evenly matched teams is that you want to say, "Oh, well, it'll be close all year, just gotta stay in it." But that's probably not true. More likely one team will, for reasons we can't anticipate or deduce, jump eight games ahead of where it's projected to be, and one will fall eight games behind where it's supposed to be. And the strength of the division will make it really hard for the team that falls back to claw its way into it again, since every week brings another series against a very good, highly motivated team. At this moment, the top four teams in the National League East are projected, by Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA projections, to win between 81 and 86 games. If the Nationals do get swept this weekend, though, they'll be surprised how quickly the pack has moved on.

Schoenfield: I want to start seeing some good baseball from the Nationals because -- let's face it -- this team has a bit of history of underachieving. At the same time, Trea Turner is still out and now Anthony Rendon is out and Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg won't pitch in this series and, well, it seems like this is what happens to the Nationals. They win the division when it's weak, like 2017 (the Marlins finished second) and 2016 (the Phillies and Braves were awful), but when faced with a little competition, like last season or 2015, stuff goes wrong. This is starting out as one of those "stuff goes wrong" seasons.

Your turn: What's the one thing you most want to see this weekend?

Matz: Can Zach Eflin go the distance again? Facing the Marlins in his last outing, the Phils righty became the fifth pitcher this season to throw a complete game. If he can repeat the feat on Sunday against Washington, Eflin will become the first hurler to post consecutive CG's since Corey Kluber did it in August 2017. Given how banged up the Nats' lineup is -- Turner, Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman are all on the injured list, and Juan Soto is dealing with back spasms -- the conditions are ripe.

Miller: I'm most looking forward to seeing Casey Mize's second start with Double-A Erie -- his first being a no-hitter that he threw on Monday. Last year's first overall pick appears to be way too good for the minors, and he's putting up minor league numbers that look like those that Roger Clemens and Stephen Strasburg put up. This year, Mize has allowed a single run in 35 innings. The Tigers probably won't bring him up for a while (for shame!), so we're left rooting for farcical stat lines.

Schoenfield: Cardinals at Cubs looks like a fun showdown at Wrigley. Jack Flaherty starts on Friday and I'm curious to see if he can get on a roll after throwing seven scoreless innings in his previous start. He's 3-1 in six starts, but with a so-so 4.06 ERA and seven home runs allowed in 31 innings. In fact, despite the great start for the team, the Cardinals' rotation has been giving up a ton of long balls. The Cubs will try to take advantage.

PICK 'EM TIME

Total home runs in the three Twins-Yankees games at Yankee Stadium: Over or under 12?

Matz: Based on their averages against teams not named the Orioles, these two teams should combine for about seven homers in a three-game series. Under, please.

Miller: Under. Both teams' pitching has been solid, and neither team is the Orioles.

Schoenfield: Four home runs per game? Even with the Little League porch in right field, that's a lot of home runs. I'll go under.

The first-place Dodgers visit upstart San Diego. Will the Padres send a message to L.A. and win the series?

Matz: Absolutely. The message will be something along the lines of: "Dear Dodgers ... We're sorry to inform you that Eric Lauer, Joey Lucchesi and Nick Margevicius aren't as good as Chris Paddack and Matt Strahm. Next time, we'll do a better job of lining up our starting rotation. P.S: Please take it easy on us this weekend."

Miller: More likely going to send them a massage. That's supposed to be a callback to what I said earlier, about how going to Petco is like a Dodgers staycation. In retrospect, there might have been too many metaphors going on in that answer. Anyway, what I'm saying is the Dodgers are still much better than the Padres.

Schoenfield: By the way, it's Chris Paddack versus Jacob deGrom on Monday. I know that has nothing to do with the Dodgers series, but I had to point out one of the must-watch games of next week. Actually, it does have something to do with the Dodgers series: If Paddack isn't pitching in it, the Dodgers have a better shot at taking two of three.

Who's your pick for Sunday night's game -- Cardinals or Cubs?

Matz: Both teams are absolutely rolling right now. But current Cardinals players have a .979 OPS against Jose Quintana. That's more than 300 points higher than what Adam Wainwright has allowed the current Cubs. I'll take The Lou.

Miller: The Cubs have crushed righties this year, and the Cardinals are starting righty Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals have struggled against lefties, and the Cubs are starting lefty Jose Quintana. So I'll unconfidently pick the Cubs.

Schoenfield: It's a little weird the Cardinals are still depending on Adam Wainwright. After all, the last season he was both healthy and effective was 2014. Since then, he's been worth just 2.4 WAR over 74 starts. His FIP this year is 4.90 -- although he's allowed just three runs his past two starts, on three home runs. My point: Everybody wants Adam Wainwright to be really good again since he has meant so much to the franchise, but I think the Cubs tag him for a couple of long balls and win the game.

TWO TRUE OUTCOMES

Each week, we'll ask our panelists to choose one hitter they think will hit the most home runs and one pitcher they think will record the most strikeouts in the coming weekend. Panelists can pick a player only once for the season. We'll keep a running tally -- and invite you to play along at home.

CHICAGO -- Like the latest episode of HBO's "Game of Thrones," the battle to take place at Wrigley Field this weekend has been brewing for some time. In fact, the rivalry between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals goes back about as far as Westeros. And just like the rise in intensity this season -- television season, that is -- the baseball rivalry has reached another level as well.

If calling your opponent's city "boring" doesn't add to the rivalry, nothing will. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was kidding, of course, when he and former Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster took some shots at the city of St. Louis during a comedy sketch at the Cubs' fan fest in January, when temperatures hovered around freezing. Things got decidedly hotter when Cardinals veteran Yadier Molina took exception, calling Bryant a "stupid player and loser."

"There's obviously going to be carryover, but I thought they were harmless comments at the Cubs' convention with our fans there," Bryant said in a SportsCenter feature on the rivalry. "But now that we're in the middle of the season, I don't know what to expect. I know there will be boos and stuff like that, but maybe that adds to the rivalry."

The war of words calmed down, but that doesn't mean the intensity will when the teams meet for three games this weekend, with the Cardinals in first place and the Cubs in second. It's only May, but with the teams facing off for the first of six series, fans from both sides will undoubtedly treat it like October.

"That's what makes the NL Central so special to me," Jason Heyward said. "It's a division battle every night, it's a playoff atmosphere. And I feel like fans in the NL Central have a lot to look forward to every year, but this year it'll be really fun."

Heyward knows of what he speaks. He has played for both franchises, as has Daniel Descalso, who joined the Cubs before this season.

"I think it's as good as it's ever been," Descalso said of the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry. "When I was a Cardinal (2010-14) it was sort of one-sided, the Cardinals sort of dominated the rivalry. I think the Cubs have kind of flipped the script the last couple of years, with winning the World Series in 2016, and knocking them out of the playoffs the year before that. So I'm sure the Cardinals are itching to get back on top, but the NL Central still goes through Chicago."

The Milwaukee Brewers might argue the point. They toppled the Cubs in a tiebreaker game last October for the division title, but Chicago has won the most regular-season games of any team in baseball over the past four years. That's the sort of thing about which St. Louis used to brag: year-after-year dominance. After missing the postseason the past three seasons, the Cardinals are serious about a return to the playoffs.

"That's every year," Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. "Just because they didn't make the playoffs the last few years, it doesn't mean they weren't battling every year. We just came out on top."

Right now, the Cardinals are on top, off to a 20-11 start. The Cubs, meanwhile, have righted the ship, going 14-5 since a 2-7 trip to start the season. They've won four in a row, scoring 32 runs in the process.

"They're playing well," Rizzo said. "We're playing well."

The result is a treat for two fan bases -- and a national audience Sunday night. By then, we'll know if January's comments -- which Bryant indicated he never thought he had to apologize for -- will have any meaning on the field. He is likely to be the Cubs' second hitter in the bottom of the first inning Friday, standing just in front of Molina. That could be interesting.

"I know they've commented and said that they're going to be fun games, they're going to be more intense, so we'll see what happens," Bryant said. "But I don't know about water under the bridge. I thought they were harmless comments. You know, I respect that team. I respect the whole organization, so there's no hard feelings on my end."

The other side may feel differently, but more important than the rhetoric this weekend is who gains or loses in the standings. This is the first time since September 2017 that the Cubs and Cardinals have faced off as the top two teams in the division. That's not that long ago but since then, both organizations have had to rebound from down moments -- the Cubs from their collapse last season, and the Cardinals from the firing of longtime manager Mike Matheny, who was replaced by Mike Shildt. Both teams are currently feeling better about themselves, but which will maintain that feeling come late Sunday night?

"St. Louis is a crazy baseball town, they love their Cardinals for sure," Descalso said. "And I'm sure they can't wait to restart the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry this year. Same goes for our fans. It should be fun."