Race to the Playoffs: 3 series to watch this weekend

With just five weekends left in the MLB season, the playoff picture remains increasingly cloudy. A dozen teams are still 3 1/2 games within a playoff spot, and six of them go head-to-head beginning Friday.

Here are the three series you need to watch:

Pirates at Cardinals

This National League Central showdown pits two of the hottest teams in the league against each other in their fifth head-to-head series of the season. While the Cardinals continue to thrive with key players sidelined, wild-card leading Pittsburgh lost its third straight game Thursday without Andrew McCutchen in the lineup. The reigning NL Player of the Month is expected to return for Friday's opener, which features a rested Carlos Martinez for St. Louis and surging J.A. Happ for Pittsburgh. Acquired from Seattle at the deadline, Happ owns a sparkling 1.98 ERA across five starts since the trade. He'll be tasked with neutralizing a Cardinals lineup that's hitting just .237 against southpaws this season.

Rangers at Angels

While the narrative around baseball remains fixated on the American League MVP debate, Mike Trout and the Angels are looking to put the breaks on a 12-19 skid that's knocked them out of postseason position. Despite their struggles, the Angels are just 3 1/2 games behind the surging Rangers and have won three of four series against their division rivals this season. Texas, however, has been red-hot since acquiring ace Cole Hamels, winning 23 of its last 33 games to claim sole possession of the second wild-card spot. The Angels miss Hamels, but they will run into Derek Holland, who's struck out 20 batters and allowed just six runs in three starts since coming off the disabled list.

Twins at Astros

The surprising Twins continue to stay afloat in the competitive AL wild-card race, but the real test begins Friday, when they kick off a nine-game road trip against the Astros, Royals, and White Sox. Rookie Miguel Sano's been bothered by a nagging hamstring injury, but has three homers in his last three starts. Given their recent struggles on the mound, the Twins are hopeful Sano will return to the lineup after pinch-hitting Thursday. Minnesota's 5.41 ERA was the second-worst mark among AL rotations in August and comes in sharp contrast to the homer-happy Astros, whose 180 homers are second in all of baseball. Houston enters the series holding a slim two-game lead over Texas in the West.