The Texas Rangers have won five of their past six games and look to continue their hot streak when they square off against the host Houston Astros on Saturday in the third contest of a four-game series.

Texas will send Jon Gray (1-1, 5.73 ERA) to the mound while Houston will counter with fellow right-hander Justin Verlander (5-1, 1.38).

The Rangers evened the series on Friday in a 3-0 win that featured Martin Perez throwing his first complete game since 2014 and just the fourth in the majors this season. Houston took the first game of the series 5-1 on Thursday.

It was the first complete game thrown by a Rangers pitcher since Kyle Gibson on Sept. 16, 2020, on the road against the Astros.

Houston made things interesting in the ninth, as Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker singled with two out. Perez then coaxed Yuli Gurriel into a game-ending flyout.

The Astros managed seven hits off Perez in the loss, with Bregman and Tucker recording two each. Houston also grounded into three double plays. Cristian Javier took the loss for the Astros despite allowing just one run and three hits in six innings of work.

It was the second time in three games that Houston was the victim of complete game. Boston’s Jake Pivetta held the Astros to just two hits in a 5-1 win on Wednesday.

Gray lasted 5 2/3 innings in the Rangers’ 7-4 win at home over Los Angeles on Monday, his first start after skipping a turn in the rotation because of a bad left knee that has forced him to wear a bulky brace. Gray gave up four runs, three of them in the first inning, in the win on eight hits in what was his longest outing of the season.

“I think Gray’s command was off (in the first),” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “He felt great physically. He was able to get to 90 pitches.”

Verlander has won his last four starts, has pitched at least five innings in each of his seven starts this season and has not allowed more than five hits in any game. His most recent outing was on Sunday when he gave up just two hits and three walks in five innings in an 8-0 Houston win in Washington.

Verlander is back at near-full strength after missing all of last season with Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

“I’ve felt stronger and stronger as the year has gone on and I have learned to manage the soreness that I had after the first few games,” Verlander said. “We’ve stretched things out as we’ve felt like we could, and I feel really good about where I’m at and how I’m pitching.”

The Astros got some good news on Friday on right-hander Jake Odorizzi, who threw from flat ground after sustaining a left leg injury on May 16 against Boston. An MRI showed that Odorizzi has some damage to the tendons and ligaments of his ankle but not to the Achilles.

“A few days ago, I didn’t think there was a chance at this, so we have to be grateful and thankful Odorizzi is back here,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said Friday.

–Field Level Media

The Atlanta Braves are starting to receive the offensive performance they expected from Marcell Ozuna, who will take a three-game home-run streak into the middle contest of a three-game series at the Miami Marlins on Saturday evening.

Ozuna went 2-for-5 in Atlanta’s 5-3 win on Friday and extended his hitting streak to seven games, during which he is batting .310 (9-for-29).

It’s quite a difference from a previous stretch in which he endured a 16-game period without an extra-base hit and went without a homer for 22 games.

“We know what a guy like Marcell can do,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “When he gets hot, he an carry you. I mean, he can put a team on his back. That’s kind of what we were hoping for. He felt good coming out of (the series vs.) Milwaukee, and hopefully he will feel good here.”

Ozuna hit one of three home runs launched by the Braves on Friday. The club has 50, two behind the National League-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

A pair of right-handers will start on Saturday as Atlanta sends Kyle Wright (3-2, 2.79 ERA) against Miami’s Elieser Hernandez (2-3, 6.15).

Hernandez is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in three starts in May. In his last start on May 15 against Milwaukee, he allowed five runs (two earned) in four innings to suffer his second straight loss. Hernandez has allowed 10 homers in 33 2/3 innings this season.

Hernandez owns a 1-1 record with a 3.22 ERA in 11 career appearances (six starts) vs. the Braves. He pitched against Atlanta on April 23 and allowed five runs on seven hits — three home runs — in 4 2/3 innings.

Wright is coming off his sixth quality start of the season. He allowed three runs (one earned) in 6 1/3 innings against the San Diego Padres on May 15. He struck out nine and walked two but received no decision. He has not earned a win since April 28.

Wright has received the least run support of any Atlanta pitcher with at least four starts. The Braves average only 1.8 runs on his behalf.

Wright is 1-2 with a 4.74 ERA in four career starts against the Marlins. He picked up the win vs. Miami on April 22 after pitching six scoreless innings and striking out 11.

The Marlins were happy to get Jorge Soler back in the lineup on Friday. He had missed three games with a sore back but returned to go 2-for-4 with a towering 413-foot home run. Soler is hitting only .204 but has six of his eight homers in May.

“He’s looking good,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said of Soler. “I don’t know if he was putting pressure on himself or just didn’t quite have his feel in spring training. Even though he got some hits, he still didn’t have a lot of at-bats. He’s starting to look like he’s kind of got his rhythm. We’re in a good spot with him right now.”

Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. went 2-for-4 on Friday and extended his on-base streak to 27 games dating to last season. The Braves used Acuna at designated hitter instead of in right field to reduce wear and tear on his right knee. He remained aggressive and stole his seventh base of the season.

–Field Level Media

The Detroit Tigers came into Friday’s game ranked last in the majors by scoring 2.76 runs per game.

Things didn’t improve on Friday when the Tigers managed just three hits in their 6-1 loss to the host Cleveland Guardians. Detroit will look for a better performance on Saturday when it continues its three-game series.

“We’re trying,” Tigers shortstop Javier Baez said recently. “Everything’s got to click. It’s early in the year, and we’re trying to build. Everybody needs to play. They’re going to have ups and downs, and we will see how they come out of it.

“It’s a process, and we got to go down to come up. There’s no pressure here. We just gotta go out there and play.”

Baez was signed to a six-year, $140 million contract in December to add some punch to the lineup. However, that has not been the case. He’s batting .205 with two home runs and 11 RBIs.

He’s far from being the only players in a batting slump on manager A.J. Hinch’s club. Spencer Torkelson (.179) and Jonathan Schoop (.157) are batting under .200, while Robbie Grossman is at .200 and Jeimer Candelario is at .201.

Things might not get any easier on Saturday when Detroit faces Cleveland ace Shane Bieber (1-2, 3.72 ERA). He’ll be opposed by rookie right-hander Alex Faedo (0-1, 2.87).

The right-handed Bieber is 6-2 with a 2.28 ERA in eight career starts against the Tigers.

This will be Faedo’s first start vs. the Guardians.

The top three batters in the Cleveland order were a combined 7-for-12 with five RBIs and five runs scored on Friday. Leadoff batter Myles Straw was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs, while Amed Rosario was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs. No. 3 hitter Jose Ramirez was 2-for-4 with a triple and three-run homer. He leads the majors with 37 RBIs.

Many wondered if Ramirez would even play on Friday. He had X-rays taken after he fouled a pitch off his left shin on Thursday against Cincinnati.

“I was concerned because there was a lot of pain,” Ramirez said through an interpreter.

DeMarlo Hale was the acting manager on Friday with Terry Francona undergoing a medical procedure. Hale asked Ramirez if he could play and he was given the thumb’s up.

“You trust his word,” Hale said. “When he said he’s good to go, he’s good to go. He’s earned that.”

Both starting pitchers came out of Friday’s game with injuries. Detroit ace Tarik Skubal was hit by a line drive off his left leg and was taken out of the game.

Winning pitcher Aaron Civale came out after a left glute cramp.

“He had a cramp when he fell,” Hale said. “We weren’t going to take any chances. He was already at 90-some pitches.”

–Field Level Media

Maybe Saturday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays can bring more late-game magic for the host Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles’ fortunes have suddenly turned for the better with a pair of last-inning victories. The second of those came with Friday night’s two-run home run from Rougned Odor in the 13th inning for an 8-6 victory against the Rays to begin a three-game series.

On Saturday night, the Orioles might feel as if a hex has been lifted.

“Trust yourself,” Odor said. “We never give up. That’s how we play this game.”

On Friday, the Orioles played their longest game in terms of innings since September 2019, which was before the use of extra-inning ghost runners.

A night earlier, Anthony Santander hit a tie-breaking, three-run home run in the ninth to beat the New York Yankees 9-6. The last time Baltimore won back-to-back games on walk-off home runs came in August 2015.

“It felt like there was something different every inning,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “When there’s extra innings, you never really know what to expect.”

The Orioles have to hope this begins a new trend against Tampa Bay. Friday night’s outcome snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Rays. It also was only Baltimore’s third victory against Tampa Bay in the last 30 meetings dating to 2020.

Still, Baltimore rallied from deficits three times Friday night, certainly gaining the attention of the Rays.

“They’re not far off from competing,” Tampa Bay center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said. “Their time is coming.”

The streak didn’t matter much to Rays manager Kevin Cash.

“Any loss is frustrating,” he said.

The Rays were off Thursday and will have another day off on Monday, so their bullpen should be in decent shape throughout this series despite the team using nine pitchers Friday night. However, Cash said he avoided using Andrew Kittredge on Friday because of a sore back.

There also was concern regarding shortstop Wander Franco, who was thrown out the plate in the top of the 13th. After that game, he reported to have quad tightness.

Left-hander Jeffrey Springs (1-1, 1.66 ERA) is slated for his fourth start, but the goal will be for him to get the Rays to the middle of Saturday’s game. He has yet to complete five innings in a game this season, though he has been used mostly out of the bullpen.

Springs was the winning pitcher with one-third of an inning April 10 against Baltimore.

The Rays gave up only three runs through nine innings Friday. They’ve allowed more than that only once in an eight-game span.

Baltimore scored a total of four runs in the first three-game series against Tampa Bay this year.

The Orioles will go with right-hander Kyle Bradish (1-2, 5.06) on Saturday. This will be just his fifth start in the major leagues, though it will be his third American League East opponent after losses to Boston and the New York Yankees.

The Orioles could have first baseman Ryan Mountcastle back Saturday after he missed time because of a forearm injury.

–Field Level Media

The St. Louis Cardinals are undertaking a youth movement during their road series this weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they aren’t only looking toward the future — they’re aiming to address current needs.

With outfielder Tyler O’Neill (shoulder) going on the injured list, St. Louis called up Nolan Gorman. In his major league debut during the Cardinals’ 5-3 win on Friday, Gorman started at second base and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

“He’s such a great teammate. Great hitter, too,” said Cardinals outfielder Juan Yepez, who played at Triple-A Memphis with Gorman, the 19th overall pick by St. Louis in the 2018 MLB Draft.

In the middle game of the series on Saturday, St. Louis left-hander Matthew Liberatore is slated to make his major league debut when he starts against Pirates left-hander Jose Quintana (1-1, 2.19 ERA). Liberatore posted a 3-3 record with a 3.83 ERA in seven starts with Memphis.

Liberatore, a childhood friend of Gorman, should be able to give the Cardinals good innings after he went at least five innings six times and seven innings twice in his seven starts at Triple-A.

“He’s coming to throw Saturday, and we’ll get a good look at it and just see where we want to go from there,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said.

Although Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright gave up only one run in seven innings on Friday, Marmol has hinted at further changes if there continues to be pressure on the bullpen and the response is less than ideal.

“We’ve got to get deeper in games,” Marmol said of his starters. “And honestly there will be some reshuffling of that bullpen to see who can get outs.”

Pittsburgh also has had problems with short outings by starters, but again that wasn’t an issue Friday as Zach Thompson pitched five innings, giving up only one run.

The Pirates are 4-6 in their past 10 games.

Quintana, 33, was brought in at least in part to add a veteran presence to the Pittsburgh rotation, but he has done a lot more than that.

He has not allowed a run over his past two starts, and has given up two or fewer runs in six of his seven starts.

That includes a season-best seven shutout innings Sunday, when he yielded three hits and struck out five in a 1-0 win over Cincinnati — despite the Reds executing a combined no-hitter.

That day came on Quintana’s 10th anniversary in the major leagues and left quite an impression on him.

“It’s a special day for me,” Quintana said. “It means (I’ve come) a long way after being here in the United States for the first time and coming with huge dreams. My family is proud of that.

“The people I’ve been around, I really say thank you to everybody who helped me a lot during this time. … I’m never going to forget this day.”

But Quintana does have to move on to the next start.

Pittsburgh has wins in Quintana’s past three starts and in five of his past six. Against St. Louis, Quintana is 5-3 with a 4.39 ERA in 11 career starts but has not faced the Cardinals as a member of the Pirates.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Dodgers started their 10-day, 10-game road trip with an impressive 4-1 victory over the host Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.

The National League West leaders will attempt to stay hot as they look for their seventh straight win when they battle the Phillies again on Saturday.

Mitch White (1-0, 4.82 ERA) is expected to receive the start for Los Angeles. The third-year right-hander lost his lone career start against the Phillies when he gave up two runs in four innings on Aug. 12, 2021.

Even with Max Muncy getting a day off on Friday, the Dodgers had plenty of offense. Freddie Freeman contributed three hits, two RBIs and two runs, and Trea Turner had a hit and two walks to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.

After losing three straight to the Phillies to open a four-game series in Los Angeles last weekend, the Dodgers haven’t lost since.

“We’ve got a good team,” Freeman said on a postgame interview on SportsNet LA. “We’re playing good baseball. You’re going to go through a stretch where you lose a few games.”

The Dodgers won on Friday with their only hits being seven singles and two doubles.

“Manufacturing runs when you don’t hit home runs is key in this game,” Freeman said.

The Dodgers also received terrific production from their bullpen as five relievers — Yency Almonte, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Phil Bickford and Craig Kimbrel — combined to allow five hits but just one run in four innings.

The Los Angeles relief corps has sustained some injuries, most notably to Blake Treinen, Victor Gonzalez and Tommy Kahnle. Manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Kahnle won’t resume throwing for weeks due to a forearm injury.

Kahnle had been expected to be a key part of the bullpen.

“But that’s not to be. So other guys are just gonna get opportunities,” Roberts said.

The Phillies will look to avoid a third consecutive loss and a fifth setback in six games on Saturday.

Following a promising 5-2 West Coast trip, the Phillies have scored only four runs total in the first four games of the current homestand.

The Phillies snapped a 21-inning scoreless drought when they managed a run in the ninth inning on Friday.

“I don’t know what pressing is,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said of his struggling offense. “Every at-bat in the big leagues is a big at-bat.”

J.T. Realmuto’s double in the ninth inning prevented Philadelphia from taking consecutive shutout defeats. Kyle Schwarber had two doubles, but the offense as a whole scuffled once again.

“When you’re struggling, sometimes you start searching instead of staying with the plan,” Girardi said of the quality of at-bats.

“At the end of the day, it’s about winning baseball games,” Schwarber added.

It’s unclear when Bryce Harper will return to the lineup while he recovers from a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow on Sunday. The Phillies have gone 1-4 without the reigning National League Most Valuable Player.

Harper is hitting .305 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs in 34 games.

“He’s just not ready yet,” Girardi said Friday of Harper, who has been relegated to designated hitter duty because of the elbow ailment.

Philadelphia will send Aaron Nola (1-4, 3.64 ERA) to the mound on Saturday. In his latest start, Sunday against the Dodgers, Nola allowed four hits and two runs in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked two in a no-decision.

Nola is 2-0 with a 3.09 ERA in six career starts against the Dodgers.

–Field Level Media

The Boston Red Sox will look to extend their season-high winning streak when they play the third contest of a four-game series against the visiting Seattle Mariners on Saturday afternoon.

Boston goes for four straight wins after the long ball carried the offense again on Friday. Trevor Story’s grand slam and Jackie Bradley Jr.’s three-run home run provided all the offense in a 7-3 win over Seattle.

“I think guys are just staying consistent with their work,” Bradley told NESN after the game. “We’re not focused on the standings right now, just a game at a time.”

Story continued his dynamic week, as he has four homers in the series and 22 RBIs in 17 games this month.

After beginning the season in relief, Boston’s Garrett Whitlock (1-1, 2.43 ERA) is slated to make his sixth start of the season, and his career, on Saturday.

Whitlock has allowed three runs or fewer in each outing this season, though he has yet to log a win as a starter after getting a third straight no-decision on Monday in the Red Sox’s 6-3 win over the Houston Astros.

With Whitlock being treated as a full-fledged starter, Tanner Houck has served in a piggyback role behind Rich Hill. Houck is covering multiple innings as Whitlock did late last season.

“We feel very confident where we’re at right now with him. … We believe that this is going to work,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said recently of Whitlock. “I do believe we’re very close to having the structure that we want and then from there, we roll.”

Boston starters have allowed two runs or fewer in 19 of the past 27 games.

Whitlock, who has yet to start a game against Seattle, pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief in a 6-5 Red Sox win over the Mariners on April 23, 2021.

Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts collided with left fielder Alex Verdugo on a shallow fly ball late in the Friday game, and Bogaerts was subsequently lifted for a pinch hitter.

Cora confirmed that Bogaerts is day-to-day due to lower back discomfort on the left side.

Seattle will turn to Chris Flexen (1-6, 4.35), who has lost four consecutive starts since an April 22 win over the Kansas City Royals. He fell to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday despite striking out seven, as he allowed three runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Flexen has yielded three or fewer runs in all but one of his seven starts — a May 9 setback to the Philadelphia Phillies in which he allowed six runs over five frames.

A major reason for his win-loss struggles is being supported with just 1.14 runs on average, the lowest in MLB among pitchers who have made more than two starts.

“For me, you’re out there trying to compete, put us in the best situation to win a ballgame,” Flexen said. “(The offense continues) to battle, as we saw with a late little rally at the end there (at Toronto on Monday). It’s part of the game. I’m going to go out there and continue to try to compete and execute.”

Seattle has been limited to three or fewer runs in three of the past five games.

Flexen’s only previous start against Boston came on April 24, 2021, when he held the Red Sox to a single run on four hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings in an 8-2 win.

Before the Friday game, Seattle reliever Matt Festa returned from the injured list after missing two weeks due to a sore elbow. Reliever Wyatt Mills was returned to Triple-A Tacoma.

“Matt was off to a really good start,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We’ve used him in different roles. We’ll ease him back in. We should be in pretty good shape with the bullpen.”

–Field Level Media

San Francisco Giants left-hander Carlos Rodon had one of the best Aprils of any major league pitcher, yet he will not even be the hottest pitcher on the field Saturday when he faces the visiting San Diego Padres.

Rodon, in his first season with the Giants, was stellar through his first six starts. However, he was roughed up Sunday at St. Louis, where he gave up eight runs, tying a career high, on 10 hits over a season-low 3 2/3 innings.

Rodon (4-2, 3.49 ERA) had allowed just seven runs total before that outing while pitching to a 1.80 ERA. He even had a pair of 12-strikeout games, but the Cardinals opened with a four-run first inning and never looked back.

“It wasn’t very good,” Rodon said. “I threw a lot of strikes, but they got hit. … On to the next one. It’s going to be a long six days or whatever it is.”

While the wait to pitch again is nearly complete for Rodon, who has never faced the Padres, he now will face off against San Diego right-hander Joe Musgrove (4-0, 2.20), who is having his own red-hot start to the season.

Over his past six outings, Musgrove has given up nine earned runs, or just one more in his past 39 innings than Rodon gave up on Sunday. With 47 strikeouts and just six walks on the season, Musgrove is coming off a start Sunday at Atlanta when he gave up three runs (two earned) over six innings in a no-decision.

Musgrove, who will be facing the Giants for the first time this season, is 2-3 with a 5.02 ERA in seven career starts against San Francisco. He had a 6.08 ERA in five starts against the Giants last season, while giving up six home runs in 26 2/3 innings.

Not only has Musgrove pitched at least six innings in each of his seven starts this season, but the Padres have won all seven games. He gives the offense plenty of credit for the team’s undefeated mark in his appearances.

“That’s kind of my thought as I’m going out to pitch, that if I keep (a) game within two, three runs, we got a chance to win every time,” Musgrove said. “If we don’t figure it out earlier, we’re gonna stay on it, and we’ll make something happen late. Whether it’s bunting guys over or the one big swing that ties things up, we got a little bit of everything here.”

There was plenty going on in Friday’s series opener, including two home runs from the Giants’ Darin Ruf and a long ball from the Padres’ Jake Cronenworth. San Diego took a 6-4 lead in the eighth inning on a two-run double from Wil Myers.

However, with nobody on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Giants loaded the bases on a single and two walks before Wilmer Flores delivered a two-run single to force extra innings. Manny Machado and Jurickson Profar drove in runs in the 10th to give San Diego an 8-7 victory.

While San Diego closer Taylor Rogers (major-league-leading 15 saves) was not available for the series opener after throwing 33 pitches Thursday, he is expected to be ready for action Saturday.

–Field Level Media