Framber Valdez recorded his fourth consecutive quality start to claim a riveting pitchers’ duel and lead the Houston Astros to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

Valdez (4-4) allowed one run on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts over six innings. He has surrendered six total runs over his last four starts and 28 innings. Houston won all four contests.

Valdez retired the Mariners in order only twice, doing so in the first and fifth innings. But he struck out three batters in the third to negate a two-out walk to Julio Rodriguez and induced inning-ending grounders in the second and fourth to strand two baserunners in both frames.

Mitch Garver produced a run-scoring groundout in the second to plate Randy Arozarena, whose leadoff triple helped the Mariners slice a two-run deficit in half. Houston relievers Bennett Sousa, Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader preserved that lead. Hader notched his 13th save.

The Astros struck early against Seattle right-hander Bryan Woo (5-2) and did so by capitalizing on the Mariners’ shaky defense.

Woo surrendered three singles in the bottom of the first inning, but his throwing error following an infield single by Christian Walker enabled Jose Altuve to score the first run from first base. Walker advanced to second on the error and scored when Victor Caraniti followed with a grounder that Seattle second baseman Leo Rivas misplayed into the second error of the frame.

Woo mitigated damage by stranding two runners, setting the tone for the rest of his outing. He struck out Jeremy Pena and Isaac Paredes to strand Mauricio Dubon in the second, retired three batters in succession after Altuve and Walker singled to open the third, and stranded Dubon and Pena on the corners by getting Altuve to ground back to the mound in the fourth.

Jake Meyers hit into an inning-ending double play in the fifth, and Woo erased a leadoff single by Cam Smith by getting Zach Dezenzo to roll into a double play in the sixth. Woo allowed a season-high nine hits over six innings. However, he did not walk a batter and recorded five strikeouts while surrendering two unearned runs. It marked the third outing this season that Woo did not surrender an earned run. Woo has worked at least six innings in all 10 starts this season.

The Astros finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

–Field Level Media

Lenyn Sosa delivered a bases-clearing double and Joshua Palacios cracked a two-run homer as the Chicago White Sox rallied for a 10-5 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Saturday.

Mike Tauchman homered and drove in two and Andrew Benintendi slashed a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth for the White Sox, who can pull off their first series sweep of the season on Sunday. Starter Bryse Wilson went four innings and allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out four and walking two. Mike Vasil (3-2) threw three scoreless innings in relief.

Jack Leiter threw five innings of six-hit, two-run ball for Texas — walking five and striking out three — before giving way to four relievers who combined to allow eight runs across three innings. Hoby Milner (1-1) surrendered three runs (two earned) without getting any outs in the sixth.

Josh Smith’s RBI double gave Texas a 1-0 lead in the first. The Rangers tacked on in the fourth when Joc Pederson was hit in the hand by a pitch, Jonah Heim singled and Marcus Semien produced a sacrifice fly to drive in Pederson, who did not return to the game due to a fractured right hand. Heim scored when Palacios dropped a routine fly ball in left, allowing the Rangers to take a 3-0 advantage.

Luis Robert Jr. doubled to lead off the fourth and Palacios connected on his third homer of the year to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Wyatt Langford singled in the fifth and Josh Jung reached on third baseman Josh Rojas’ throwing error. Wilson left in favor of Vasil, who allowed Kyle Higashioka’s RBI single to push Texas’ lead to 4-2.

Milner relieved Leiter in the sixth and started by giving up a triple to Austin Slater. That was followed by a Jung error and a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Tauchman. Jacob Webb entered for Milner and allowed Benintendi’s two-run double that gave the White Sox a 5-4 lead. Robert singled and Matt Thaiss walked to load the bases before Sosa drove in three with a double to left to make it a six-run inning and an 8-4 lead.

Robert added another Chicago run in the seventh with an RBI double off Texas reliever Caleb Boushley.

Texas got the lone run back in the top of the eighth, as Adolis Garcia launched his seventh homer of the year off newly inserted reliever Miguel Castro. After Tauchman answered with his first home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth, Brandon Eisert worked a perfect ninth for the White Sox.

–Field Level Media

Austin Wells had two hits in a 10-run fifth inning, Aaron Judge homered for the second straight game, and the New York Yankees routed the Colorado Rockies 13-1 in Denver on Saturday.

Paul Goldschmidt, DJ LeMahieu, Cody Bellinger and Anthony Volpe had three hits and Jasson Dominguez contributed two hits for New York to back another strong outing by Max Fried.

Fried (7-0) allowed a run on six hits and struck out seven in 7 1/3 innings. He has held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in his 11 starts.

It is the second time this season the Yankees have scored 10 runs in an inning. They also did it May 6 against San Diego.

Michael Toglia had an RBI triple for Colorado, which missed a chance for two straight wins. The Rockies have just one winning streak this season.

Judge gave New York the lead with his homer in the first inning, his 18th of the season.

Colorado tied it in the fourth when Ezequiel Tovar singled, went to second on Goldschmidt’s error at first on a pickoff attempt and scored on Toglia’s triple.

The Yankees had an emphatic answer in the fifth when they sent 14 batters to the plate. Oswaldo Peraza drove in the first run with a double, starter Kyle Freeland’s throwing error on Trent Grisham’s grounder brought home another and Judge was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Bellinger made it 4-1 with a sacrifice fly, Volpe drove in another with a single and Judge came home on Dominguez’s sacrifice fly. Freeland left after LeMahieu singled and New York tacked five more runs against Angel Chivilli, capped by Grisham’s two-run double.

Frustration was evident when Rockies second baseman Adael Amador threw his glove at LeMahieu’s liner into right field during the inning.

Goldschmidt, Wells and Peraza reached base twice in the inning.

Freeland (0-7) allowed eight runs — four earned — on nine hits and struck out three and walked three in 4 2/3 innings.

The Yankees scored two runs in the eighth on Volpe’s RBI double and LeMahieu’s run-scoring single.

–Field Level Media

Ronald Acuna Jr. homered for the second straight game and Grant Holmes pitched seven strong innings to lift the Atlanta Braves to a 7-1 win over the visiting San Diego Padres on Saturday and even their three-game series.

The win ended Atlanta’s three-game losing streak and was their first in six games against San Diego.

Acuna hit a 427-foot, two-run homer to left-center field in the sixth inning off reliever Alek Jacob. Acuna has homered in both games since returning from left ACL surgery that kept him sidelined for a year.

Holmes (3-3) scattered six hits and recorded six strikeouts against one walk. It was his first win since April 20. Enyel De Los Santos pitched a scoreless eighth and Scott Blewett worked around a pair of two-out walks in the ninth to finish the game.

San Diego had to go with a bullpen game when scheduled starter Michael King complained of right shoulder soreness and was scratched an hour before first pitch.

Sean Reynolds (0-1) was the opener, making his first career start, and went 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits with one strikeout.

The Braves opened the scoring with a run in the second as Alex Verdugo scored on Nick Allen’s infield single.

The Padres tied the game 1-1 in the third inning on Manny Machado’s RBI single. Machado went 2-for-2 with two walks and has hit safely in 17 of the last 22 games, lifting his average to .317.

Atlanta scored twice in the third inning on a solo homer from Matt Olson and a run-scoring infield single from Ozzie Albies, which extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The home run was Olson’s 12th and his fifth over the last seven games.

The Braves broke it open in the seventh when Michael Harris II singled to right with the bases loaded to drive in a pair.

San Diego placed outfielder Jason Heyward on the injured list with a left oblique strain and recalled catcher Luis Campusano from Triple-A El Paso. Campusano walked as a pinch-hitter in the ninth.

–Field Level Media

Elly De La Cruz went 2-for-3 with a home run, a stolen base and four RBIs to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-4 victory over the visiting Chicago Cubs on Saturday afternoon.

TJ Friedl also had two hits and Santiago Espinal scored twice for Cincinnati, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Andrew Abbott (4-0) picked up the win as he allowed one run on six hits over 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two. Despite allowing a homer to Carson Kelly to begin the ninth, Emilio Pagan bounced back to notch his 13th save.

Justin Turner added a solo homer and Matt Shaw had three hits — including a pair of doubles — for Chicago, which had its three-game winning streak come to an end.

Cubs starter Colin Rea (3-1) surrendered six runs on seven hits over five innings. He struck out eight and walked three, both season-highs, while throwing a season-high 108 pitches.

Cincinnati jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on De La Cruz’s ninth home run of the season, a 387-foot line drive into the right field bleachers.

Chicago cut the lead to 2-1 in the third inning when Turner led off with his first home run as a Cub, a 406-foot drive to left-center.

The Reds extended the lead to 3-1 in the fourth inning when Gavin Lux led off with an opposite-field double down the left-field line, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Will Benson’s sacrifice fly to the wall in center.

Cincinnati added three more runs in the sixth inning. De La Cruz stroked a two-run single, stole second and scored on a single by Spencer Steer.

The Cubs cut the lead to 6-2 in the seventh when Kelly led off with a single, advanced to third on a Shaw double and scored on Ian Happ’s groundout. They got another run closer in the eighth when Seiya Suzuki led off with a double to left-center, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Kelly made it 6-4 in the ninth when he cracked his ninth homer of the season off the foul pole in left. One out later, Shaw lined a double to left to bring the tying run to the plate. Pagan bounced back to strike out Happ and get Kyle Tucker to fly to right to end the game.

–Field Level Media

Oneil Cruz recorded two hits, including a go-ahead RBI triple, to propel the host Pittsburgh Pirates to a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon.

One day after hitting two home runs to help the Pirates defeat the Brewers by one run, Cruz was instrumental in making that happen again. He roped a line drive off reliever Tyler Alexander (2-5) in the seventh that reached the right-center wall to drive in Isiah Kiner-Falefa with the eventual winning run.

The Brewers mounted a rally in the ninth. Third baseman Caleb Durbin, who had three hits, reached base by getting hit on the hand by David Bednar’s 96-mph fastball. Two batters later, Joey Ortiz singled for his third hit of the game.

Bednar recovered by inducing Brice Turang to hit into a game-ending 6-3 double play to pick up his fifth save of the season. The Brewers, who lost for the third time in four games, mustered 11 hits, but few in clutch situations.

Milwaukee loaded the bases with one out in the seventh and the game tied 1-1, but could not score. Turang grounded into a fielder’s choice as Sal Frelick was forced out at home. Chase Shugart (3-3) relieved Caleb Ferguson and induced an inning-ending fly out to right by Jackson Chourio. The Brewers left nine on base for the game.

Neither starter factored in the decision, but both had quality starts.

Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller allowed one run on seven hits with seven strikeouts and no walks over six innings. Milwaukee’s Quinn Priester, who made his first career start against the team that drafted him in the first round in 2019, gave up one run on six hits with seven strikeouts and one walk over six innings.

Bryan Reynolds singled with two outs in the bottom of the first and Spencer Horwitz, who had two hits, followed with an RBI double to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

The Brewers tied the game in the top of the second when Durbin singled to center to drive in Christian Yelich, who singled and stole second with two outs.

–Field Level Media

Jake Irvin pitched eight scoreless innings and James Wood hit a two-run home run to lead the Washington Nationals to a 3-0 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants on Saturday.

Irvin (4-1) allowed three hits while striking out seven and walking two on 96 pitches. He retired nine straight Giants before a two-out walk to Mike Yastrzemski in the eighth, but bounced back to strike out Heliot Ramos.

Keibert Ruiz added two hits for Washington, which has won six of seven.

Jorge Lopez pitched the ninth inning for his first save. Right fielder Daylen Lile, who made his major league debut Friday, ended the game with a diving catch on Matt Chapman’s blooper.

Kyle Harrison (0-1), making his first start this season in place of the injured Justin Verlander, gave up two runs on five hits over four innings. He struck out four without a walk.

Tyler Fitzgerald had two of the three hits for the Giants, who have lost three of five.

Amed Rosario doubled with one out in the first for Washington and Wood waited on a 0-1 curveball before pulling it into the Nationals bullpen to create a 2-0 lead. It was the 13th homer for Wood, who’s hitting .400 (10-for-25) over his past 10 games.

The first two Giants reached in the fourth inning on a walk and an error by Irvin, but Chapman grounded into a double play and Willy Adames struck out.

Washington got a pair of one-out singles by Ruiz and Alex Call in the bottom of the fourth, but Harrison retired Luis Garcia, Jr. and Lile on ground outs.

Garcia singled with one out in the seventh and, running on the pitch, went to third on Lile’s single to right. With the infield in, Robert Hassell III hit a slow roller to the mound and Tristan Beck’s only play was at first as Garcia scored to make it 3-0.

–Field Level Media

Highly-touted Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer is on his way to Boston.

The 22-year old infielder is likely to replace third baseman Alex Bregman, who left Friday’s game against Baltimore with an injured quad. He was not in today’s lineup and manager Alex Cora resigned himself to the likelihood that Bregman would have to be placed on the injured list.

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but yes,” Cora said Saturday morning.

Mayer was the fourth overall selection in the 2021 MLB draft. While he has struggled with injuries, Mayer has excelled through 43 games for Triple-A Worcester this season, hitting .271 and owning an .818 OPS while blasting nine home runs.

He is regarded as an excellent defender, with the vast majority of his minor league career spent at shortstop. Mayer played 29 games at short, nine at second base and four at third this year for Worcester.

Bregman was enjoying an outstanding first year in Boston, batting .299 with a .938 OPS in 51 games. Bregman, who signed a three-year, $120 million dollar deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2025 season, leads all American League third basemen in slugging percentage (.553), on-base percentage (.385), RBI (35), home runs (11) and doubles (17).

Bregman suffered the quad injury after rounding first base on a single to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning and was immediately replaced by Abraham Toro.

Mayer is the No. 8 prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com. He suffered a lower back strain at Double-A Portland last season and only played in 77 games, hitting .307 with eight home runs.

In addition to playing at third base in Boston, Mayer could see action at second as Kristian Campbell is a possible fill-in for the injured Triston Casas at first.

–Field Level Media

Less than three years after receiving a cancer diagnosis, Nic Enright is on his way to the major leagues.

The Cleveland Guardians called up the 28-year-old right-handed pitcher from Triple-A Columbus in an effort to bolster their bullpen as Hunter Gaddis heads to the bereavement list following a death in the family.

A 20th-round pick by the then-Cleveland Indians in 2019, Enright made nine appearances in 2025 for Columbus, where he held a 2.00 ERA with one save and seven strikeouts over nine innings. Last year, Enright went 2-1 for the Clippers with a 1.06 ERA, striking out 31 and collecting three saves in 17 innings.

Enright has not logged a major-league appearance in his six-year career, setting the stage for a likely emotional debut should he get the call to the mound.

In 2022, less than a month after the Miami Marlins plucked him from Cleveland in the Rule 5 Draft, Enright was diagnosed with Stage II nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma.

The righty persevered, however, believing that reaching the big leagues was a goal that would help him endure the treatments. On-field setbacks emerged, as well, including a shoulder impingement in 2024 and a lat strain that delayed his start to the 2025 season.

Now, Enright is on the verge of realizing his MLB dream.

–Field Level Media

Brooks Lee gave Minnesota its second walk-off win in as many days as his ninth-inning RBI single lifted the Twins to a 5-4 comeback victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday in Minneapolis.

Lee’s second three-hit game of the season ended with a two-out, slow-roller up the middle off Steven Cruz and allowed Carlos Correa to score from third.

Harrison Bader hit his fifth home run of the season and Kody Clemens got his fourth to lead Minnesota’s comeback. The Twins had lost their previous 39 games when trailing by four or more runs.

Vinnie Pasquantino had his third three-hit game of the season for the Royals, going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Salvador Perez went 2-for-4 and drove in a run while Maikel Garcia extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single and two RBIs.

However, the Royals also struck out a season-high 18 times.

Zebby Matthews struck out a career-high nine batters for the Twins. However, the 25-year-old righty making his second start of the season lasted only four innings as he needed 58 pitches to labor through the second and third innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk.

Pasquantino and Perez teamed up to double the Royals lead in the fifth off Justin Topa, giving Kansas City a 4-0 advantage.

Michael Wacha needed just 37 pitches to get through his first four innings for the Royals, but Bader took his first pitch of the fifth to the left-field seats to make it a three-run game. That started a three-run fifth to get the Twins back in the game, capped by Ty France’s two-out, two-run single to right.

The Royals’ starter left after Clemens led off the sixth with a home run. Wacha gave up seven hits and a walk with a strikeout in five-plus innings.

It stayed that way until the ninth, when Correa drew a leadoff pinch-hit walk off Daniel Lynch IV (3-1). Pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers got a one-out walk off Lynch, who was replaced by Cruz. Then, Cruz induced a groundout on a comebacker, his brief bobble of the ball prevented the Royals from getting a double play.

That set the stage for Lee’s heroics, which earned Jhoan Duran (3-0) the victory after recording a scoreless ninth.

–Field Level Media