As the final month of the regular season continues, here are three things well be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend: 1, Marte nearing return: The Diamondbacks have been without one of their stars since went down with an ankle sprain around three weeks ago. Fortunately for fans in Arizona, it seems that absence will come to an end soon. indicates that Marte could return to action as soon as this weekend. Its po sible that Martes return will start with reps at DH rather than second base as the club eases their star back into regular duty. Arizona has a firm grasp on a playoff spot at this point with a 79-62 record, but the club nonethele s figures to get a big boost from the return of Marte, who is slashing an incredible .298/.370/.560 with a wRC+ of 150 in 116 games this year. In his absence, the Snakes have relied on a platoon of and at the keystone, though that partnership will continue for as long as Marte is used at DH potentially pushing and to spend more time on the bench. 2. Series Preview: Guardians @ Dodgers Two of baseballs best teams this year are set to square off in a three-game set over the weekend that could be a po sible preview of the 2024 World Series. The Dodgers entered the season as the presumptive favorite not only in the NL West, but in baseball as a whole after an offseason spending spree that brought , , , and into the fold. By contrast, few expected the Guardians to be serious contenders after the club posted a 76-86 record last year and made almost no changes Jason Heyward Jersey to their roster over the offseason. Even so, Clevelands 80-60 record gives them a four-game lead in the AL Central and the fifth-best record in MLB overall. The Dodgers have mostly met their preseason expectations to this point despite lengthy absences from Yamamoto, Glasnow, and while the Guardians have greatly exceeded expectations by establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the AL. As both clubs attempt to beat back a pair of divisions rivals nipping at their heels down the stretch and secure a bye through the first round of the postseason, the Guardians will send left-hander (2.38 ERA in four starts), veteran right-hander (2.76 ERA in three starts), and youn righty (4.55 ERA) to the mound at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers havent formally announced their rotation for the series, but rookie (2.72 ERA in eight starts) is expected to start todays game against Boyd, while right-handers (3.53 ERA) and (3.01 ERA) would be on turn for the final two games. 3. Pitchers Duel in California: Elsewhere in the NL West, two of the NLs best hurlers face off. In Saturdays game between the Giants and Padres at Petco Park, groundball specialist is set to take on strikeout artist . Webb, a Giant for the entirety of his career to this point, has excelled this year with a 3.43 ERA and a 2.97 FIP in an NL-best 183 2/3 innings of work. This season has been more of the same for Webb, who has been among the leagues most consistent pitchers in recent years with a 3.16 ERA and 2.99 FIP in 740 1/3 innings of work since the start of the 2021 season. Cease gets to his front-of-the-rotation production in an entirely different way. His groundball rate since 2021 is more than 20 points lower than that of Webb, but his strikeout rate (30.3%) is nearly ten points higher. Ceases 3.62 ERA and 3.18 FIP in 164 innings of work this year arent far off from Webb, but his career has had far more ups and downs; Cease posted lackluster numbers in his final season with the White Sox last year that inflate his 3.56 ERA and 3.35 FIP in 690 2/3 innings of work since 2021. The two hurlers are set to face off tomorrow at 5:40pm local time. Ivan Rodriguez Jersey