The Arizona Diamondbacks will try to win their fourth consecutive series when they host the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night in Phoenix.

Arizona opened the three-game series with a 4-3 victory on Friday night, the team’s eighth win in the last 10 games.

Ketel Marte led the way with three hits, including a pair of doubles, and Josh Rojas scored what proved to be the winning run on a wild pitch in the fourth inning.

It was the seventh loss in the last nine games for Chicago, which hasn’t won consecutive games since April 17-18.

The Cubs will turn to right-hander Kyle Hendricks (2-3, 4.38 ERA) on Saturday, with Arizona countering with right-hander Zac Gallen (2-0, 0.95).

Hendricks is coming off a 6-0 win at San Diego on Monday, allowing just three singles over 8 2/3 innings and coming within one out from pitching his first complete-game shutout since July 24, 2020.

Hendricks, who talked manager David Ross into allowing him to go out for the ninth on Monday, left after issuing a two-out walk to Jake Cronenworth and throwing 116 pitches. Scott Effross then got Manny Machado to ground out to end the game.

“I felt really good,” Hendricks said. “I established my fastball down in the zone. There were a couple of hard-hit balls, but they were down — not up over the middle of the plate where it could hurt.”

“It’s amazing. I love watching Kyle pitch,” said shortstop Nico Hoerner, who sat out Friday’s loss to rest a sore right ankle. “Obviously, his style of pitching isn’t common in the game anymore. It’s just incredible to see a guy with a mastery of his craft like that against not just any team, but a really strong lineup in their ballpark.”

Hendricks is 4-2 with a 3.12 ERA in seven career starts against the Diamondbacks, including 3-1 with a 3.76 ERA in four starts at Chase Field.

Gallen has won his last two starts against Miami and Colorado after garnering a no-decision against the Dodgers on April 27. He has allowed just two earned runs and 12 hits over 19 1/3 innings during that span while walking two and striking out 17.

Gallen pitched seven shutout innings in his last start, a 4-0 win over Colorado on Sunday. He allowed five hits and didn’t walk a batter while striking out seven. He left after throwing 92 pitches, 61 for strikes.

“My job is to hang zeros and give our offense a chance to squeeze some runs for us,” Gallen said. “Felt good and sharper as the game went along.”

Gallen hasn’t given up more than two runs or five hits in any of his five starts this season. He is 0-1 with a 7.45 ERA in two career starts against the Cubs.

“He’s on a good run,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s because of the hard work and everything he’s doing when nobody is watching. He’s executing. That’s the name of the game. He’s dotting up his fastball. His secondary stuff, I’m sure, is tunneling very, very well. It’s deceptive and it’s powerful. He’s on a great run.”

–Field Level Media

Seattle Mariners right-hander George Kirby blanked the perennially pennant-contending Tampa Bay Rays for six innings in his first start in the majors last Sunday.

Now, he’ll pitch against one of his home-area teams with a chance to hand the New York Mets their first series loss of the season.

Kirby is slated to make his second appearance Saturday night, when he’ll take the mound for the visiting Mariners against the Mets in the middle game of a three-game series.

Kirby (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will oppose fellow right-hander Chris Bassitt (4-2, 2.45).

The Mariners, playing the Mets in New York for the first time since 2008, won their Citi Field debut Friday night, when Ty France scored the tying run in the fourth inning and singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of a 2-1 victory.

With an off-day Thursday, the Mariners could have skipped Kirby — who grew up a little more than 20 miles north of Citi Field in Rye, NY — and pitched veteran Chris Flexen and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray on their normal four days rest Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

But manager Scott Servais said Kirby made the decision for the Mariners after allowing four hits, walking none and striking out seven in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Rays.

“George Kirby showed up the other day,” Servais said Friday afternoon. “Thought it was best to pitch him when we did and then keep it going from here. Marco (Gonzalez) tonight, George pitching Saturday and then Robbie gets the last day.”

One more win this weekend by the Mariners will make them the first team this season to record a series win against the Mets, who are 9-0-1 in series play with only a four-game split with the Atlanta Braves last week keeping them from perfection.

The 10-series unbeaten streak is the longest to start a season in Mets history.

The Mets scored their lone run in the first inning Friday night and came within a few feet of tying the game in the eighth. Pete Alonso’s well-struck ball off former teammate Paul Sewald hung in the air on a dreary night before centerfielder Julio Rodriguez caught it on the warning track.

“Off contact and the sound? Absolutely, I thought it had what it took to go over the wall,” Alonso said. “Pretty bad night, lot of fog out, it’s raining. Just pretty much not a good night to hit the ball over the wall and every once in a while, it’s better to hit the ball on the ground.”

Bassitt earned the win on Sunday, when he allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings as the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-1, in the second game of a doubleheader.

Bassitt, who spent the previous seven seasons pitching for the Oakland Athletics in the American League West, is 1-4 with a 3.98 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) against the Mariners, whom he’s faced more than any other team.

–Field Level Media

The Boston Red Sox suddenly found their offense and hope to continue their recent prowess when they face the Texas Rangers on Saturday night in the second game of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.

Boston will send left-hander Rich Hill (0-1, 2.86 ERA) to the mound on Saturday, and right-hander Glenn Otto (1-0, 3.14) will start for the Rangers.

The Red Sox captured the series opener 7-1 on Friday behind Nick Pivetta’s strong seven innings on the mound and a station-to-station attack that produced 10 hits — just three for extra bases.

Pivetta has allowed just one run in his past 13 innings over two starts, and his ERA has dropped from 7.84 to 5.08 during the stretch.

On Friday, Xander Bogaerts had two hits and two RBIs to lead Boston while J.D. Martinez also had two hits. Enrique Hernandez was on base four times with two walks, a single and a hit by pitch, and every player in the Red Sox’s starting lineup but Jackie Bradley Jr. recorded a hit.

Martinez extended his hitting streak to 14 games as the Red Sox won for the second time in their past three contests after losing five in a row.

Hill is coming off the COVID injury list.

“I saw him this morning. He feels great,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said before Friday’s game.

Boston outfielder Alex Verdugo was removed from Friday’s game in the seventh inning because of a right-foot contusion. X-rays on his foot were negative, and he is listed as day-to-day.

The Rangers managed just four hits in the loss, three by outfielder Kole Calhoun. He also produced Texas’ only run by scoring on a wild pitch in the seventh after he had tripled.

“We had a lot of ‘just misses’ today,” Texas manager Chris Woodward said after Friday’s loss. “We actually (hit) some balls really hard that we were just unlucky on. The fact that we were just missing is encouraging. That’s the bottom line.

“We went out there today with the plan to hit the fastball, and there were some good swings. I have a lot of circles on my card for the balls we hit hard. I think we actually accomplished the game plan but just didn’t get the line drives.”

The Rangers got nothing offensively on Friday from star offseason acquisitions Corey Seager (0 for 3 with a strikeout) and Marcus Semien, who went 0 for 4 to drop his average to .160.

Semien, who sat out the Rangers’ win on Thursday against Kansas City, has not homered this year and has just 19 hits and eight RBIs in 119 at-bats.

Texas is 5-16 this season when scoring five runs or less.

–Field Level Media

The visiting Cincinnati Reds will look to continue their power surge against the Pittsburgh Pirates when the two clubs meet Saturday night in the third game of a four-game series.

The Reds hit three more home runs Friday in an 8-2 win over the Pirates that featured a season-high eight extra-base hits. The Reds have won three straight and six of eight after a 3-22 start. Over the eight games, the Reds are averaging 7.6 runs per game.

“It’s all about wins,” Reds manager David Bell said. “With wins comes confidence. With success comes confidence. It’s not that, all of a sudden, the effort was better or anything like that. That’s been going on all year. Once you have success and win a couple games, you can definitely build on that.”

Mike Moustakas had two of the three homers Friday and stands one homer shy of 200 for his career.

Reds ace Luis Castillo (0-0, 5.79 ERA) heads to the mound in his second start of the season, looking for his first win after returning from a strained right shoulder.

In his 2022 season debut last Monday against Milwaukee, Castillo allowed three runs on three hits over 4 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking three while throwing 87 pitches. He received a no decision as the Reds beat the Brewers, 10-5.

In his career against Pittsburgh, Castillo is 5-3 with a 2.30 ERA in 12 starts. Last year, Castillo made two starts, allowing just one run over 12 1/3 innings, striking out 10 and walking four while posting a 1-0 record with a 0.73 ERA.

The Pirates will counter with Zach Thompson (1-3, 7.08). The 28-year-old righthander will be making his sixth start and seventh appearance of the season on Saturday. Thompson held the Reds scoreless in five innings in Cincinnati last Sunday afternoon, leaving with a 2-0 lead.

But Thompson received a no-decision as the Reds used a grand slam from Colin Moran to rally against the Pirates bullpen for a 7-3 win.

Thompson threw a scoreless inning of relief and earned his first win with the Pirates on May 4 in a 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Lifetime against the Reds, Thompson is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts. He made two starts against the Reds while with the Marlins last year.

On Aug 21, 2021, he allowed two runs in five innings but earned a no-decision in a 7-4 loss in Cincinnati. In Miami six days later, he was tagged for five runs — three earned — in five innings and took the loss in a 6-0 Reds win.

Before Friday’s game, right-hander Tyler Beede was added to Pittsburgh’s active roster. To make room, lefty Cam Alldred was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Beede, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Giants on Thursday. Beede, a 2014 first-round draft pick by San Francisco, will work out of the bullpen. Beede, who allowed five runs in 9 2/3 innings this season before the team designated him for assignment, owns a career 5.39 ERA in 135 1/3 innings over four seasons with the Giants.

“The stuff is there,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Beede. “We feel our staff can help him.”

Alldred was optioned just a day after making his major league debut against the Reds in Thursday’s 4-0 loss. Alldred retired all three batters in a perfect sixth inning before allowing a leadoff single in the seventh.

–Field Level Media

When the Tampa Bay Rays continue their three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays in the second game on Saturday evening in St. Petersburg, Fla., there will be two managers with roots in the Tampa Bay area.

Rays manager Kevin Cash grew up in Tampa and spent one season of his eight-year major-league playing career with Tampa Bay. Cash became the Rays’ manager before the 2015 season.

Then there is Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo, who has even more history with the Rays than Cash does.

Montoyo was part of the then-Devil Rays organization before the team played its first big-league game in 1998. In 1997, Montoyo managed the Rays’ rookie-level team in Princeton, W.Va. He worked his way up, managing at every level in the Tampa Bay system through 2014 before joining the major-league club.

Montoyo served as a bench coach and third-base coach for Cash for four seasons before he was hired for the top job in Toronto after the 2018 season.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Montoyo and Cash have similar managerial styles. Both are innovators — Montoyo with his four-man outfield and Cash with his strategy of using an opener to pitch the first few innings of a game.

Their philosophies are similar — you win with good pitching, good defense and hope that your superstars — Wander Franco for the Rays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., for the Blue Jays — come through in the clutch and that other guys can deliver just enough from time to time.

The latter scenario took place Friday night for the Rays, who rode a three-run eighth inning to a 5-2 victory.

Although Guerrero did have a run-scoring single and Raimel Tapia had two hits and an RBI, the rest of Toronto’s bats were quiet. That’s been the case too often lately as the Blue Jays have lost five consecutive games.

“What happens when everybody struggles with men in scoring position is everybody presses more because everybody tries harder,” Montoyo said. “That’s what’s going on right now. It takes one guy to get hot with runners in scoring position, and others are going to follow.”

However, Blue Jays outfielder George Springer might not be one of those guys in the short term. He suffered an ankle injury trying to catch a ball near the wall on Friday and exited in the third inning. Montoyo said it’s uncertain how much time Springer will miss.

Tampa Bay’s bats were better when it mattered most Friday. The decisive eighth-inning rally featured RBI singles by Manuel Margot and Francisco Mejia and an RBI triple by Brandon Lowe. But that came after the Rays squandered a 2-0 lead.

“Nothing is easy in this league,” Cash said. “And certainly not in this division.”

Tampa Bay has won two in a row and eight of its past 11 games.

The Blue Jays will look to left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu (0-0, 13.50 ERA) to stop their losing streak, but he hasn’t made it past the fourth inning in either of his starts this year.

The Rays will counter with left-hander Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 6.14), who threw five scoreless innings against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.

Yarbrough is 8-2 with a 3.23 ERA in 17 career appearances (eight starts) against Toronto. Ryu has no decisions and a 2.70 ERA in four lifetime starts against Tampa Bay.

–Field Level Media

The Milwaukee Brewers have at least one major edge over the host Miami Marlins during a three-game weekend series that continues Saturday, and it comes at the closer position.

Milwaukee, which beat Miami 2-1 on Friday, is led by left-hander Josh Hader, who has been selected the National League Reliever of the Year three times over the past four seasons. He got the save in the series opener with a perfect ninth inning.

Hader was better than ever last year, posting a career-best 1.23 ERA with 34 saves in 35 chances. This year, Hader has a 0.00 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings. He is 13-for-13 on save chances and has allowed just two hits and five walks.

Hader reached 500 career strikeouts in just 293 2/3 innings on Wednesday, making him the second-fastest pitcher in major-league history to hit that milestone. Only Aroldis Chapman got there quicker, in 292 innings.

Hader’s 13 saves in 13 appearances to start a season are a major-league record.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Hader, 28, makes his job easier.

“If it’s possible,” Counsell said, “he’s only getting better.”

Miami, meanwhile, has had much less certainty at the closer role. The Marlins started last season with Anthony Bass, a move that lasted just one week when he blew his first two save chances.

Dylan Floro, 31, who made his major-league debut in 2016, became a first-time closer last year. He got his first save on May 24 and finished the year by nailing down 15 in 21 tries while posting a 2.81 ERA.

This year, however, Floro started the season on the injured list due to a sore arm. He made his 2022 debut on Tuesday, allowing four hits, one walk and three runs in one inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Anthony Bender, who had a 2.79 ERA in 2021 during an impressive rookie year, was handed the closer job this season. However, he has struggled, pitching to a 4.50 ERA and registering only six saves in eight chances before losing his closer role.

With the score tied in Friday’s game, Marlins manager Don Mattingly used Tanner Scott to start the ninth inning, and the left-hander took the loss. Bender inherited a bases-loaded, no-out jam and walked Jace Peterson with one out to bring home the winning run.

As for the starters on Saturday, Miami will go with left-hander Trevor Rogers (1-4, 5.00 ERA) while Milwaukee will start lefty Eric Lauer (3-0, 1.82).

The Marlins are just 1-5 when Rogers starts, but he is coming off his best performance of the year. On Sunday, he pitched five scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres, scattering five hits and two walks.

In two career starts against the Brewers — both last year — Rogers is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.82 and 13 strikeouts in 11 innings.

Lauer’s history against the Marlins is quite the opposite. In three appearances against Miami, including two starts, he is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA.

This season, the Brewers are 5-0 with Lauer on the mound. He has made four consecutive quality starts, allowing a total of four runs, three earned, in 25 1/3 innings.

Lauer has struck out 32 over his past 19 1/3 innings.

It remains to be seen if Lauer will face Avisail Garcia on Saturday after the Marlins slugger left the Friday game before the start of the seventh inning.

“Something happened to his stomach,” Mattingly said. “He was throwing up. He tried to go back out, but there was no reason to push him back on the field.”

–Field Level Media

Chase Silseth threw six scoreless innings in his major league debut, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 2-0 victory over the host Oakland A’s on Friday night.

Silseth, 21, was called up from Double-A Rocket City with the Angels in need of an extra starter ahead of a Saturday doubleheader. An 11th-round draft pick out of the University of Arizona last year, Silseth (1-0) allowed only one hit — a third-inning single by Elvis Andrus.

He walked two and struck out four while making 81 pitches before handing the ball over the Angels’ bullpen, which completed the shutout. Aaron Loup (seventh inning), Ryan Tepera (eighth) and Raisel Iglesias (ninth inning, eighth save) each threw a scoreless inning and finished a two-hitter.

A’s starter Daulton Jefferies (1-6) also went six strong innings, but he allowed an RBI single to Brandon Marsh and a solo homer to Andrew Velazquez, and that was enough for Los Angeles.

Royals 14, Rockies 10

Hunter Dozier had five hits, Andrew Benintendi and Ryan O’Hearn homered, and Kansas City beat Colorado in Denver.

Michael A. Taylor and Benintendi had three hits apiece, Salvador Perez and Whit Merrifield each had two hits and Dylan Coleman (1-1) pitched an inning of relief to earn the win for the Royals.

Brendan Rodgers homered among his three hits, Sam Hilliard had two hits and also went deep, C.J. Cron finished with three hits and Ryan McMahon had two hits for the Rockies.

Brewers 2, Marlins 1

Jace Peterson drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the ninth inning — the only free pass of the game — that scored Christian Yelich as Milwaukee defeated host Miami.

Peterson drew the four-pitch walk from Anthony Bender, who inherited a bases-loaded, no-out jam from fellow reliever Tanner Scott (0-1). Josh Hader pitched a scoreless ninth for his 13th save. He is the first pitcher in major league history to go 13-for-13 on save chances to start a season.

The Marlins have lost 10 of their past 12 games. Eight of those 10 losses have come by just one run. Pablo Lopez set a career high with 11 strikeouts, including nine on his changeup. He allowed three hits, no walks and one run in seven innings, and his major league-leading ERA rose slightly from 1.00 to 1.05.

Mariners 2, Mets 1

Ty France scored Seattle’s first run and delivered the tie-breaking RBI single in the eighth inning in a win over host New York.

The Mariners, who played at Citi Field for the first time since the park opened in 2009, won for just the fourth time in 12 games this month. The Mets, who have yet to lose a series this season, have dropped two of three.

Former Mets pitcher Paul Sewald (2-1), who struck out Starling Marte to strand two in the seventh before retiring all three batters he faced in the eighth, got the win for Seattle. Sewald went 1-14 for New York from 2017-2020 but is 12-4 for Seattle.

Red Sox 7, Rangers 1

Nick Pivetta allowed one run in seven innings and Boston rolled to a victory in the opener of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.

Xander Bogaerts had two hits and two RBIs while J.D. Martinez also had two hits to lead the Red Sox’s 10-hit attack. Pivetta (1-4) gave up just three hits and walked one. Boston has won two of its past three games after losing five in a row.

Dane Dunning (1-2) surrendered five runs on six hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings while striking out six. The Rangers managed just four hits, three by Kole Calhoun, while falling for the second time in three contests.

Tigers 4, Orioles 2

Eduardo Rodriguez pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, Miguel Cabrera hit his 504th career home run and host Detroit held off Baltimore.

Rodriguez (1-2) allowed five hits and four walks while striking out three to record his first win since signing with Detroit as a free agent. Cabrera had an RBI double along with his solo homer, while Spencer Torkelson had two hits and drove in a run.

Orioles starter Jordan Lyles (2-3) gave up four runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked three and fanned six. Baltimore’s Trey Mancini and Anthony Santander hit solo homers in the eighth inning.

Rays 5, Blue Jays 2

Manuel Margot and Francisco Mejia each had RBI singles in the eighth inning and Brandon Lowe followed with a run-scoring triple as Tampa Bay defeated Toronto at St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Blue Jays took their fourth straight loss, spoiling a strong effort by starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (3-2), who was charged with four runs (three earned) on five hits and one walk. Gausman struck out eight.

Margot, who missed the previous two games with a hamstring injury, broke a 2-2 tie when his line drive between shortstop and third base drove in pinch runner Vidal Brujan. It was Margo’s 14th RBI in May.

Phillies 12, Dodgers 10 (10)

Nick Castellanos hit a two-run double in the 10th inning and drove in three runs as visiting Philadelphia outlasted Los Angeles.

Bryce Harper had a home run among his three hits, Bryson Stott had three RBIs and Kyle Schwarber added a home run as Philadelphia improved to 4-1 on a seven-game West Coast road trip that began with a series in Seattle.

Justin Turner hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning for the Dodgers to send the game into extra innings, and he drove in four runs. Chris Taylor also homered and Austin Barnes had three hits for Los Angeles, which has lost three consecutive games for the first time this season.

Padres 11, Braves 6

Ha-Seong Kim hit a three-run homer to help visiting San Diego rally past Atlanta in the opener of a three-game series.

The Braves scored four times in the sixth inning to take a 6-4 lead, but Kim belted a 2-0 fastball from reliever Will Smith in the seventh to put the Padres back on top. San Diego put it away with four runs in the ninth, three of those coming on a pinch-hit double by Trent Grisham.

The winning pitcher was Luis Garcia (1-2), who tossed one scoreless inning. Taylor Rogers got four outs for his 13th save. Smith (0-1) took the loss after yielding three runs in his lone inning.

Twins 12, Guardians 8

Royce Lewis hit a grand slam for his first career home run and three other Twins homered to power Minnesota to a win over Cleveland in Minneapolis.

Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco and Gary Sanchez each homered to join Lewis in the offensive outburst for Minnesota, which enjoyed its highest-scoring game of the season. Max Kepler added three hits and two RBIs.

Austin Hedges, Oscar Mercado and Andres Gimenez each homered for the Guardians. Jose Ramirez finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Giants 8, Cardinals 2

Mike Yastrzemski, Evan Longoria and Curt Casali drove in two runs each as visiting San Francisco routed St. Louis for its sixth consecutive victory.

Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb (5-1) allowed one run on three hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out one.

Jordan Hicks (1-3) gave up three runs on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts in five innings as the Cardinals lost for the fifth time in six games. Paul Goldschmidt drove in both Cardinals runs with an RBI grounder and a solo homer while extending his on-base streak to 20 games.

Reds 8, Pirates 2

Brandon Drury drilled his team-leading seventh homer and drove in four while Mike Moustakas homered twice to power suddenly hot Cincinnati over host Pittsburgh.

Cincinnati starter Tyler Mahle (2-4) overcame a leadoff homer to allow only two runs and five hits, striking out a season-high eight and walking one for the Reds, who won a season-best third straight. The Reds have won four of five from the Pirates and six of their last seven games overall.

Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller (0-5) was charged with five runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking two, taking his fifth loss in seven starts this season. Keller fell to 1-4 lifetime against Cincinnati, with a 7.36 ERA in 10 career starts.

Yankees 10, White Sox 4

Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo and Josh Donaldson homered to back 6 1/3 strong innings from Gerrit Cole, boosting New York to a win at Chicago.

The Yankees earned their fifth consecutive victory and won for the 17th time in 19 games overall. Cole (3-0) scattered three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out nine.

Gavin Sheets homered for the White Sox, who have been outscored 25-11 in the first two games of the series.

Astros 6, Nationals 1

Houston belted three early home runs and rode a strong starting pitching effort from Framber Valdez to win its 11th game in a row by beating host Washington in the opener of a three-game series.

Jose Altuve’s solo shot and Yuli Gurriel’s two-run blast came in a five-run first inning. Yordan Alvarez homered in the third.

Washington lost for the fourth time in its last five games. The Nationals didn’t score until the seventh inning on Alcides Escobar’s fielder’s choice grounder. That scoring chance stemmed from Keibert Ruiz’s leadoff walk.

Diamondbacks 4, Cubs 3

Ketel Marte went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI and Josh Rojas scored what proved to be the winning run in the fourth inning on a wild pitch to lead Arizona past Chicago in Phoenix.

Geraldo Perdomo also had three hits for the Diamondbacks, who entered the game batting .199 but finished with a season-high 12 hits. Zach Davies (2-1) picked up the win, allowing three runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings, and Mark Melancon pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save.

Ildemaro Vargas had a two-run triple and Frank Schwindel added two hits for the Cubs, who lost for the seventh time in nine games. Drew Smyly (1-4) gave up four runs on 10 hits over six innings.

–Field Level Media

The Detroit Tigers got a much-needed victory in the opener of their three-game series against the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Friday.

Detroit will look to collect back-to-back wins for just the third time this season on Saturday.

The Tigers needed to get out of bases-loaded jams in the eighth and ninth innings on Friday to notch their second win in the past 11 games.

Will Vest recorded his first career save by entering with one out and three on base, then striking out the next two batters to preserve a 4-2 triumph. The Tigers entered the night having lost four games in a five-game series vs. the Oakland A’s.

“It’s just nice to finish the night with a win, regardless of how we got there,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said.

Miguel Cabrera hit his 504th career homer and had an RBI double for the Tigers, who have the lowest-scoring offense in the majors.

“I know he was pretty ultra focused today,” Hinch said of Cabrera. “We’re trying to get some momentum offensively. We did just enough with some big hits and he sparked us. It didn’t surprise me, but it came at a perfect time.”

Detroit right-hander Michael Pineda (1-2, 3.43 ERA) will make his fifth start of the season on Saturday. Pineda was a hard-luck loser in his outing on Monday, giving up two runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings against Oakland. The Tigers have scored six runs in his starts.

He will be opposed by left-hander Bruce Zimmermann (2-1, 2.67), who has allowed two earned runs or less in five of his six starts. Zimmermann held the Kansas City Royals to two runs on six hits and didn’t issue a walk in six innings during a victory on Sunday.

Zimmermann equaled his longest outing of the season vs. Kansas City. His manager was prepared to give him another inning, but the lefty allowed a two-out run in the sixth.

“If he finished that sixth cleanly, he was going to go back out for the seventh,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “I’m going to obviously see how the game is being played and seeing how he’s doing, but I’d like for him to go deep.”

Zimmermann has exhibited excellent control, walking eight and striking out 30 while giving up just one home run in 30 1/3 innings. It’s a stark contrast to last season, when he surrendered 14 homers in 14 appearances (13 starts) covering 64 1/3 innings.

Zimmermann will oppose Detroit for the first time in his career. Pineda is 6-4 with a 4.09 ERA in 15 career starts vs. Baltimore.

The Orioles created plenty of traffic on the basepaths on Friday but couldn’t get the big hit. They went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on base. Their runs came on back-to-back solo homers from Trey Mancini and Anthony Santander.

Baltimore was missing two of its key position players.

First baseman Ryan Mountcastle was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Wednesday, due to a left-wrist/forearm strain.

“We’re hoping when these days (on the injured list) are up that he’ll be able to come off right then,” Hyde said. “He just wasn’t healing as fast as we were hoping, and with kind of the way we are, a little short, got a bunch of guys banged up, we didn’t want to rush him back. We want to make sure it’s right.”

Outfielder Austin Hays was spiked on his left wrist while running to first base against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. He is questionable to play the remainder of the series.

–Field Level Media

The Oakland A’s will host the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday in a day-night doubleheader, with both teams playing well of late.

The Angels captured the series opener 2-0 on Friday and have won seven of nine. Despite the loss, the A’s have won four of their past six since a nine-game losing streak.

Right-hander Chase Silseth fired six shutout innings for Los Angeles on Friday, giving up just one hit while winning his major league debut. Another Angels rookie, left-hander Reid Detmers, no-hit the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. The Angels will hope to keep the strong pitching run going on Saturday.

Los Angeles left-hander Jhonathan Diaz (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will start Game 1 of the doubleheader. He is coming off a scoreless five-inning outing in his first major league start of the season on May 6 against the Washington Nationals, in which he got the win.

Diaz has a four-seam fastball that tops out at just 93 mph, but he is effective in mixing in his pitches, which include an 89 mph sinker, a changeup and a slider that register in the low 80s and a 74 mph curveball.

What makes Diaz successful, Angels manager Joe Maddon said, is more than his repertoire, but his mental approach.

“He’s very good, very composed,” Maddon said. “He was not fazed by anything. I like that about him.”

A good example of that came when he faced Nationals star right fielder Juan Soto. In Soto’s second plate appearance, Diaz thought he had Soto struck out on a 3-2 pitch and began walking toward the dugout.

However, the pitch was called ball four, and Soto stared down Diaz.

In Soto’s next at-bat, Diaz struck him out, with the young slugger swinging wildly at a curveball out of the strike zone for strike three. Soto then slammed his bat to the ground in frustration.

“It was real emotional,” Diaz, a 25-year-old Venezuela native, said through an interpreter. “We looked at each other, made eye contact. That’s the way he plays. I like it. We win.”

Diaz has faced the A’s once in his career, making a start last season but giving up two runs on two hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings, getting a no-decision.

Right-hander Paul Blackburn (4-0, 1.74 ERA) will make his seventh start of the season for Oakland in Game 1. He is coming off his best start of the year, when he threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings on Monday against the Detroit Tigers. He gave up four hits, did not walk a batter and struck out three.

Blackburn has been by far the Athletics’ best pitcher this season.

“I could talk about this every time Paul pitches,” A’s catcher Sean Murphy said. “He mixes all of his pitches, throwing to locations, keeping guys guessing, keeping everybody off-balance, pitching to contact, being efficient. All the good things you could say about a pitcher.”

Blackburn has faced the Angels once in his career, getting a victory after throwing 6 2/3 scoreless innings when he was a rookie in 2017.

Michael Lorenzen (3-2, 4.13 ERA) will pitch Game 2 for the Angels, his sixth start of the season.

The right-hander is coming off his worst start of the year, a loss against the Nationals on May 7, when he gave up five runs on five hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. It came one start after his longest outing of the season — 8 1/3 innings and 100 pitches against the Chicago White Sox.

In his lone career appearance against the A’s, Lorenzen threw two scoreless innings in relief on May 8, 2019.

Right-hander Adam Oller (0-2, 11.17 ERA) will make the fourth start of his rookie season for Oakland in Game 2. He has never faced the Angels.

–Field Level Media

The Atlanta Braves expect to get Ronald Acuna Jr. back in the lineup Saturday when they host the San Diego Padres in the second game of a three-game series.

Acuna has missed two games with a right groin injury that he sustained on Tuesday. The 24-year-old right fielder told reporters prior to the Friday game that he would be available on Saturday.

Manager Brian Snitker opted against using Acuna as a sub on Friday in the Braves’ 11-6 loss to the Padres.

“I think anybody with a leg problem, I don’t think you want to bring them off (the bench) cold,” Snitker said. “That’s kind of defeating the purpose, because they’d be better off playing and staying warm than doing that and taking a chance.”

Acuna has an active 24-game on-base streak (dating back to last season) that is tied for the third longest of his career, the longest being a 32-game streak from June 19 to July 28, 2019. He has hit safely in seven straight games and has stolen a base in three consecutive games.

The Padres won the series opener by matching a season high with 16 hits. Three of those came from Eric Hosmer, who upped his batting average to. 377 with his 13th multi-hit game. The third baseman took over the major league lead when teammate Manny Machado went 0-for-4 and saw his average fall to .371.

Machado saw his seven-game hitting streak ended, but he extended his on-base streak to 22 games with a walk.

The pitching matchup on Saturday features Atlanta right-hander Charlie Morton (2-4, 5.65 ERA) and San Diego left-hander Sean Manaea (2-3, 3.75).

Morton bounced back in his last start on Sunday against Milwaukee. The veteran had endured four consecutive subpar performances, losing three, but he looked good while throwing five shutout innings to beat the Brewers.

“I think I saw some things from hitters that made me feel like I’m probably not that far off, especially early,” Morton said. “I see things differently from hitters and their reactions to pitches that I’m throwing. Whether it’s a fastball right down the middle that they’re not quite turning on or it’s the four-seamer up that they’re swinging up or it’s the curveball that they’re chasing.”

Morton lost to the Padres on April 14, allowing five runs in five innings during an 11-1 defeat. He has made 10 career starts against San Diego, going 6-2 with a 2.66 ERA.

Manaea lost his latest start against the Miami Marlins on May 7, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out a season-high eight. Manaea has allowed 13 runs (12 earned) over his past 17 innings across three starts.

Manaea has made one career start against the Braves back in 2017 while a member of the Oakland A’s. He did not receive a decision after allowing two runs in 7 1/3 innings.

The Padres attempted to bolster their offense on Friday by signing 39-year-old veteran Robinson Cano. The team sees Cano as a viable left-handed bat off the bench who can make an occasional start at second base or serve as the designated hitter. Cano was released by the New York Mets on Sunday after hitting .195 with one homer and three RBIs in 43 plate appearances.

“I’ve still got a lot left in the tank,” Cano said. “I know I can still play this game and just go out on top.”

To create a roster spot for Cano, San Diego optioned right-handed pitcher Dinelson Lamet to Triple-A El Paso.

–Field Level Media