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| Matt Harvey's major-league debut went swimmingly. (Getty Images) |
Thursday was a night for those who've never been here before. And what a night it was. Friday, meanwhile, will bring us another round of the best rivalries in baseball, as Red Sox-Yankees, Cardinals-Cubs and Dodgers-Giants are all on tap. 
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Matt Harvey, Mets: Every now and then, a young player rises to meet the hype. The 2012 first-rounder tossed 5.1 scoreless in his major-league debut. More notably, Harvey struck out 11 Diamondbacks over that span, which sets a franchise record for whiffs in a debut. Harvey also became just the 13th pitcher in major-league history to strike out 11 or more in his first ever start. Oh, and he also went 2-for-2 with a double.
Starling Marte, Pirates: Marte, the Pirates' top position prospect, made his major-league debut on Thursday night. As part of that debut, the 23-year-old outfielder smote the first big-league pitch he saw for a home run. Later in the game, he notched a single. Starling Marte, career .500 hitter!
Jim Henderson, Brewers: How long has Henderson been in the minors? He was originally a 26th-round choice of … the Expos. The 29-year-old Henderson spent parts of 10 seasons down on the farm, but a strong showing this season at Triple-A Nashville finally earned him a call-up. He responded by pitching a scoreless frame against the Nats on Thursday. Jim Henderson, career ERA of 0.00!
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Chris Capuano, Dodgers: Capuano came into his Thursday start against the Cardinals with a sparkling 2.81 ERA. However, in 4.1 innings of work he gave up six runs. Actually, Capuano was fortunate it wasn't worse, as he also allowed 11 hits and a walk over that span.
Justin Verlander, Tigers: It's not often we get the chance to put the reigning AL MVP in this spot, so we might as well take advantage. In Cleveland on Thursday, Verlander lasted 7.0 innings, but he gave up five runs on nine hits. He also walked two and gave up a pair of home runs.
Gerardo Parra, Diamondbacks: The Arizona leadoff hitter went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts against the Mets on Thursday. It was his first 0-for-5 performance since last September.
Full Thursday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for all games
Pitching intrigue: Cole Hamels makes his first start since signing that mammoth extension. Ben Sheets hopes to continue what's been one of the best comeback stories in a long time. Can the Phillies give GM Ruben Amaro another reason not to sell at the deadline? Can the Braves pad their 1.5-game lead in the NL wild-card chase? 7:35 pm ET
Aces high: Pitching matchup of the night? It might be Chicago's Chris Sale versus Texas's Yu Darvish. Sale has been one of the AL's top pitchers thus far, and it wasn't until his last start that he gave up his first home run to a lefty this season. As for Darvish, he's been the most compelling rookie pitcher in baseball. To boot, it's a battle of first-place clubs. 8:05 pm ET
How the West was won: Dodgers. Giants. It's perhaps baseball's best rivalry, and it resumes on Friday in San Francisco. Just 3.0 games separated these two nemeses in the NL West standings. Cy Young hopeful Matt Cain goes for San Fran, but it's not yet certain who'll take the bump for L.A. 10:35 pm ET
Friday probables for all games 
• My Buddy: Two words: Buddy. Biancalana. The Hardball Times checks in on one of the unsung heroes of the '85 Royals.
• Ichiro's town: Getting rid of the declining Ichiro Suzuki was a sound baseball decision by the Mariners, and it's probably not going to hurt the bottom line. As for the city of Seattle itself, though, they may miss the little guy more than you might think. [Seattle Times]
• This bobblehead is going to go blind and grow hair on its palms: What unfortunate tic does the Kirk Gibson bobblehead have in common with certain other socially unrestrained action figures? Sons of Steve Garvey has the troubling news.
• Beane ball: How is A's GM Billy Beane approaching the trade deadline now that he's once again helming a contender? Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News gets it from the horse's mouth. Money quote from Beane: "You do have to be disciplined, but you also have to respect what this team has done. And you want to try to push this as far as it can go this year, and if you can help in any area, you have to do that. You owe them that shot."
• Tiger tix: The Tigers are playing better of late, have already made a big trade and have a compelling slate of opponents coming up. What does all that mean? Pricier tickets at Comerica Park. [Detroit News]
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