Chandler Simpson is quickly turning into a star for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 24-year-old rookie has an 18-game hitting streak, has stolen 27 bases and is playing a solid center field. In his most recent feat, Simpson drove home the tying run and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of the Rays’ 4-3 win over the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.

The Rays will go for a series sweep of the Orioles on Sunday. They beat Baltimore 11-1 in the opener Friday, in the teams’ first game after the All-Star break.

Simpson, the Rays’ leadoff hitter, is batting.316 with 15 RBIs. He has yet to hit a home run, but his stolen bases have supplemented nicely the 32 steals from Jose Caballero, who leads the major leagues.

To add to his strong Saturday, Simpson went to the wall and leaped high to catch a fly ball from Jackson Holliday that could have gone for extra bases. Instead, it was the final out.

“I knew he had hit it good and that I was approaching the wall, so I just wanted to get behind it,” Simpson said. “I knew I had to leap and I got it.”

Simpson also took a calm approach to his at-bat in the eighth with the Rays down 2-1. He fought off a two-strike pitch and then singled up the middle to bring home Ha-Seong Kim.

Simpson then stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error to give the Rays the lead.

Rays manager Kevin Cash has been impressed with the rookie.

“His speed is great and he does a great job of putting the bat on the ball,” Cash said. “He moves the ball around very well. He has done that since he has been with us.”

The Rays will send right-hander Ryan Pepiot (6-7, 3.38 ERA) to the mound in the series finale. He took the 4-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on July 13 in his most recent outing, when he gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk in six innings.

He is 2-1 with a 4.29 ERA in four career starts against the Orioles.

Pepiot is 1-0 in two starts against Baltimore this season. He gave up four earned runs in 1 2/3 innings on June 27 in a 22-8 loss but walked away with a no-decision. On June 16, he beat the Orioles when he gave up just one earned in eight innings of a 7-1 win. He struck out 11.

The Orioles will counter Sunday with left-hander Trevor Rogers (2-1, 1.53).

Rogers was acquired in a trade-deadline deal with the Miami Marlins last season. He partially dislocated his kneecap in the offseason and did not make his first start until May 24.

He lost his most recent start (July 12 against the Marlins), despite giving up only one run in 6 2/3 innings of the 6-0 loss. Before that, however, he had won two of three starts.

He is 0-0 with a 4.40 ERA in three career starts against the Rays. He has faced Tampa Bay once this season, getting a no-decision after giving up three runs in 2 1/3 innings of a 12-8 loss on June 18.

“There has been big improvement in the work he has done,” Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “He has faced some good teams and came out pretty good. When the umpire tells you a guy has good stuff, he is going pretty good.”

–Field Level Media

The Toronto Blue Jays will be out to extend their nine-game home winning streak Sunday afternoon and complete a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants.

The Blue Jays clinched the series win with a 6-3 victory on Saturday and have won seven of their past eight series at home.

The last time Toronto won nine games in a row at home was in 2015. The longest home winning streak in franchise history is 10 in 1985.

The Blue Jays are 34-16 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto this season.

The Giants hope former Blue Jays pitcher Robbie Ray (9-3, 2.65 ERA) can salvage the series finale on Sunday and end their four-game losing streak. The left-hander is 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA in three career starts against the Blue Jays. Ray won the American League Cy Young Award when he was with Toronto in 2021.

Right-hander Jose Berrios (5-4, 3.75) is Toronto’s scheduled starter for Sunday. He gave up two runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings and got the win in his only start against the Giants, in 2017.

The Blue Jays continued to get contributions from the bottom of the lineup on Saturday. Ernie Clement had an RBI single, Will Wagner had a two-run double for the second game in a row and Tyler Heineman had an RBI double and a two-run home run.

“That’s huge when the bottom of the order can get it done,” Clement said. “It takes a lot of pressure off the top. That’s our job.”

“When you know you’re hitting 7-8-9, whatever it is, the tendency is to kind of chase results,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “And the guys aren’t doing that. You have to have nine players trying to be the starter. … We’ve stressed that from the get-go this year, and they have embraced it.”

The Giants scored for the first time in the series — they were shut out 4-0 in the series opener — when Willy Adames homered with one out in the fifth against left-hander Eric Lauer, who had been perfect until that point. Adames also homered in the seventh against Chad Green.

The first homer by Adames was the first run of the game. San Francisco added a run in the top of the sixth before Toronto answered with four in the bottom of the inning against Logan Webb.

“At the moment it felt great, like maybe it could start something going for the team,” Adames said. “But, unfortunately, we couldn’t back (Webb) up. It’s been a little tough, obviously, to start after the break 0-2. Not the greatest, but we have a really good group here and I know we’re going to click sooner than later and play better baseball.”

Webb was not pleased.

“It’s the second time in a row I’ve given up four runs in the sixth inning, so I have to figure something out,” he said.

The Blue Jays outhit the Giants 14-4 on Saturday. San Francisco had two hits against Lauer and two more against right-handed relievers. Left-hander Brendon Little pitched a perfect eighth.

“We’ve struggled with lefties all year,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “It has been a little better the last month or so, but it’s been a sore spot for us.”

The Giants are 10-17 against left-handed starters.

“We have not done enough against lefties,” Melvin said.

In the series against the Blue Jays, the Giants have not done enough against anyone. Giants’ hitters have struck out 21 times and have not walked.

–Field Level Media

Rookie Cole Young singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Seattle Mariners defeated the visiting Houston Astros 7-6 on Saturday night.

With Dominic Canzone the runner at second to start the inning, Miles Mastrobuoni put down a sacrifice bunt to move Canzone to third. Young lined a single down the right field line off Houston’s Hector Neris (3-2) to win it.

Seattle’s Eduard Bazardo (4-0) pitched a scoreless 11th to get the victory.

The Mariners won their fifth consecutive game and sent the Astros to their seventh loss in the past eight games.

Both teams scored in the 10th. Houston pinch hitter Taylor Trammell’s sacrifice fly brought home the go-ahead run in the top of the inning. The Mariners tied it in the bottom half as Cal Raleigh scored from third on a fluke groundout off the knob of Dylan Moore’s bat.

The Astros rallied from a 4-1 deficit. They began their comeback in the fifth as Jose Altuve led off with a double down the left field line and Victor Caratini drew a walk, ending the night for Mariners starter Logan Evans. Reliever Carlos Vargas got Cam Smith to ground into a double play, but Christian Walker grounded a single to right to score Altuve.

Houston took the lead with a three-run sixth. With one out, Vargas hit both Brice Matthews and Zack Short with pitches, angering the Astros’ bench and drawing a warning from the umpiring crew. Altuve singled on a hard grounder that deflected off third baseman Ben Williamson and into shallow left field, with Matthews scoring on the play. Gabe Speier replaced Vargas and Caratini greeted him with a grounder up the middle, scoring Short. After Smith flew out to center, Walker grounded a single to right to make it 5-4.

Seattle tied it in the eighth off Bryan Abreu. Randy Arozarena led off with a hustle double to left and advanced to third on a flyout to right by Jorge Polanco. With two outs, Arozarena raced home on a wild pitch to make it 5-5.

The Mariners opened the scoring in the second inning as Polanco and Luke Raley drew one-out walks, Canzone was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Williamson hit a chopper back to the mound, with Lance McCullers Jr.’s only play to first.

Isaac Paredes led off the third with a single, but he had to leave the game with a hamstring injury. With one out, Caratini and Smith singled, with pinch runner Short scoring on the latter hit.

The Mariners scored three times in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead. Julio Rodriguez led off with a single before being forced out at second on a grounder by Arozarena. With two outs, Polanco lined a singled to center, sending Arozarena to third, and Luke Raley grounded a run-scoring single to right. Canzone hit a two-run double into the gap in left-center to make it 4-1.

–Field Level Media

Isaac Collins and Joey Ortiz hit home runs, William Contreras added a two-run double, and the visiting Milwaukee Brewers extended their winning streak to a season-best nine games while remaining perfect against the Los Angeles Dodgers with an 8-7 victory on Saturday.

The Brewers won even as All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta (12-4) tied a season high by allowing four runs in five innings. Trevor Megill pitched the ninth inning for his 23rd save as Milwaukee improved to 5-0 against Los Angeles with the finale of the season series Sunday.

Neither team has swept the other in a season series since the Brewers moved to the National League in 1998.

Shohei Ohtani hit one of three home runs for the Dodgers, who have lost nine of their last 11 games. With a struggling Mookie Betts getting the night off for Los Angeles, Will Smith had two hits out of the No. 2 spot of the lineup.

The Brewers took an early lead with a four-run third inning against Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan (1-1). Ortiz opened the scoring with an RBI single, Contreras delivered his two-run double and Andrew Vaughn had a sacrifice fly for a run.

The Dodgers answered with their own four-run third as Ohtani hit a two-run home run, his 33rd, before Teoscar Hernandez had an RBI double and Freddie Freeman scored on a Peralta wild pitch.

Milwaukee moved back in front when Collins led off the fourth inning with a homer to right, his sixth. The Brewers made it 6-4 in the sixth inning on a Caleb Durbin double that scored Collins, who had walked and stole second base.

Ohtani got the Dodgers within a run on an RBI single in the sixth, but the Brewers answered in the seventh with a Vaughn single for 7-5 lead. Ortiz’s home run in the eighth was his seventh.

Tommy Edman and Miguel Rojas hit home runs in the eighth to pull Los Angeles within 8-7. Edman ended an 0-for-29 downturn with a sixth-inning single.

Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich extended his on-base streak to 26 games with a second-inning single, and Jackson Chourio extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

–Field Level Media

Ryan McMahon, Ezequiel Tovar and Hunter Goodman homered and the host Colorado Rockies rallied from a 3-0 deficit for a 10-6 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night at Denver in a game that was delayed 38 minutes by rain.

The Rockies have won the first two games to clinch their first home series win of the season as Tovar was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs, and Goodman also drove in three runs.

It was the third consecutive loss for the Twins. Kody Clemens was 2-for-4 (double, triple) with three RBIs.

Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela (4-13) earned the win after allowing three runs and six hits in seven innings with a walk and three strikeouts.

Minnesota starter Zebby Matthews (1-2) gave up five runs and eight hits in four plus innings with a walk and six strikeouts in taking the loss.

Clemens’ two-run, bases-loaded double in the eighth pulled the Twins to within 8-5.

Goodman countered in the bottom of the inning with a two-run blast. It was his 18th homer of the season.

Harrison Bader doubled in a run for the Twins in the ninth.

Tovar’s two-out, three-run homer in the fifth gave Colorado a 6-3 lead. The blast, off reliever Brock Stewart, traveled an estimated 433 feet to center field and was Tovar’s fourth home run.

The Rockies added two more in the sixth to make it 8-3 on Tyler Freeman’s RBI double and Goodman’s groundout, which brought in a run.

The Rockies tied it 3-3 in the third on McMahon’s two-run homer. It was his 15th of the season.

Ryan Ritter’s run-scoring double in the bottom of the second cut Colorado’s deficit to 3-1. Ritter left the game in the sixth after getting hit on the finger as he executed a sacrifice bunt.

The Twins took a 3-0 lead in the second on an RBI triple by Clemens, a run-scoring double by Carlos Correa and an RBI single by Matt Wallner.

–Field Level Media

Former major league pitcher Jeff Bittiger, a scout for 22 years with the Athletics, died on Saturday morning, the team announced. He was 63.

The organization did not disclose the cause of death. The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, a pro independent league franchise for whom Bittiger was a longtime pitcher, coach and front office staffer, announced later Saturday that he died at his home in Pennsylvania “after a private battle with cancer.”

“Bitt will be remembered for his determination on and off the field, his love for the game of baseball and the countless players he coached and helped to greater career success,” the North Dakota-based RedHawks said in a statement.

“He’s been battling cancer privately for years,” Bittiger’s son Brett told The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. “He didn’t stop working until this spring, which is very much on brand for him. … He cared about being great.”

Bittiger was already scheduled to be inducted into the American Association Professional Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday in Fargo as part of the league’s All-Star Game festivities.

From the Athletics:

We are heartbroken to share that we've lost a member of the A's family today. Jeff Bittiger, a scout of ours for the past 22 years, passed away this morning at the age of 63.

Jeff played parts of four seasons in the big leagues with the Phillies, Twins, and… pic.twitter.com/aIMuV7NKwm

— Athletics (@Athletics) July 19, 2025

A native of Jersey City, N.J., Bittiger was selected by the New York Mets in the seventh round of the 1980 MLB Draft out of Secaucus (N.J.) High School.

The right-hander made his major league debut in September 1986 with the Philadelphia Phillies and concluded his MLB career in May 1989 with the Chicago White Sox.

His career record was 4-6 with a 4.77 ERA, 42 walks and 53 strikeouts in 33 games (12 starts) for the Phillies (1986), Minnesota Twins (1987) and White Sox (1988-89).

“Jeff spent his whole life around the game: playing, coaching, and scouting,” Billy Beane, a senior advisor to Athletics owner John Fisher and the team’s former general manager, said in a statement. “He was as good a person as he was a scout, and he was a hell of a scout. He knew pitchers inside and out and you could tell how much he loved baseball just by being around him. We’re all better for having been lucky enough to spend time with him at a game or in the draft room.”

The Athletics said he played independent baseball until age 40. He was a scout for the organization for 22 years.

“As an area scout, he signed (2009 American League) Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey, and he was a critical voice in many trade acquisitions over the last 10 years as a member of our Professional Scouting staff,” the Athletics said in a statement. “Thank you, Jeff, for your dedication not only to the A’s organization, but to the game of baseball.”

–Field Level Media

Shota Imanaga threw seven scoreless innings, Michael Busch and Kyle Tucker slugged back-to-back home runs in the first, and the Chicago Cubs blanked the visiting Boston Red Sox 6-0 on Saturday.

Imanaga (7-3) allowed just five hits, while striking out five and walking one, helping the Cubs take the weekend series and win their fourth straight game. Matt Shaw, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ian Happ each added solo homers for Chicago, which now holds the majors’ best record (59-39).

Boston starter Brayan Bello (6-4) allowed three runs on six hits in the loss, striking out four and walking one. Masataka Yoshida and Abraham Toro each tallied a pair of hits for Boston, which dropped its second straight game after posting a 10-game winning streak to end the first half.

The Cubs struck quickly in the bottom of the first, as leadoff batter Busch sent the first pitch he saw over the wall for his 20th of the season. Tucker followed up with his 18th of the year to give Chicago an early 2-0 edge.

After Dansby Swanson walked and Nico Hoerner singled to begin the second, Vidal Brujan drove in the Cubs’ third run with a sacrifice fly to left.

Boston threatened to mount a two-out rally in the top of the seventh, as Yoshida singled to right and Toro reached on an infield single, while Yoshida advanced to third on Imanaga’s throwing error. From there it took just one pitch for the Chicago lefty to escape the jam, as Connor Wong was retired on a fly out to second.

Chris Murphy replaced Bello in the seventh, striking out Reese McGuire before allowing rookie Shaw’s third homer of the year with one out.

In relief of Imanaga, Brad Keller struck out the side in the top of the eighth.

Chicago tacked on against Murphy in the bottom of the eighth, as Crow-Armstrong and Happ clubbed consecutive solo home runs to push the Cubs’ lead to 6-0.

–Field Level Media

Shea Langeliers and Jacob Wilson both hit two-run home runs and Luis Severino earned his first win in more than a month as the visiting Athletics pulled away for an 8-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night.

Langeliers went deep in the eighth inning off Nic Enright, and Wilson and Nick Kurtz each cleared the fence in the ninth against Kolby Allard to complete an unanswered eight-run onslaught by the A’s.

The Guardians went on top 2-0 in the third inning on a Jose Ramirez two-run homer that plated Nolan Jones. It marked the eighth consecutive game that Cleveland belted a go-ahead homer, breaking the franchise record.

Severino (3-11) went five innings, allowing two runs on three hits in snapping a five-start losing streak that began after beating the Kansas City Royals on June 13. The right-hander struck out three and walked two in an 86-pitch outing.

Jack Perkins and Justin Sterner combined for four hitless innings to wrap up the three-hitter.

The A’s scored three times in the fourth to take a 3-2 advantage against Cleveland starter Logan Allen (6-8). Three straight doubles by Brent Rooker, Kurtz and Langeliers preceded Miguel Andujar’s sharp single.

Rookie first baseman Kurtz went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs, and speedy center fielder Denzel Clarke fell a homer shy of hitting for the cycle for the Athletics.

The Guardians lost for just the second time in nine games and have split the first two contests in the three-game series.

Allen worked 5 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits. The left-hander struck out four and walked one, matching his shortest start since May 25.

The Athletics had lost eight straight in Cleveland — one shy of their longest road skid in the series — and are 5-20 overall since 2022. They dropped nine in a row at the then-Indians from May 27, 1994, to June 11, 1996.

–Field Level Media

Trent Grisham hit his third career grand slam in the ninth inning to propel the visiting New York Yankees to a 12-9 come-from-behind win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday to square their three-game series.

Grisham hit a slider from Raisel Iglesias (4-6) into the right field seats to give New York its first lead and help end its three-game losing streak. It was Grisham’s 17th homer, tying his career high.

Luke Weaver (2-3) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings and earned the win.

Anthony Volpe sparked the New York offense with a pair of home runs, his 11th and 12th, and a sacrifice fly.

Volpe’s first homer was a two-run shot in the fifth off Wander Suero that put New York on the scoreboard after the Braves scored the game’s first five runs. The second was a solo homer off Dylan Lee that tied the game 8-8 in the eighth. It was Volpe’s first multi-homer game of the season.

The Braves built a 5-0 lead thanks in part to a 438-foot solo homer by Michael Harris II, his seventh of the season and first since June 13, and a three-run homer by Ozzie Albies, his ninth. Albies added a two-run single in the fifth to give Atlanta a 7-2 lead.

New York rallied against the Atlanta bullpen, scoring four times against Enyel De Los Santos in the sixth to pull within 7-6. Jazz Chisholm Jr. drove in the first run with a single and Aaron Judge scored on an error. Volpe followed with a deep sacrifice fly and Chisholm scored on an infield grounder.

Atlanta extended the lead to 8-6 on Matt Olson’s RBI single in the sixth, but New York got it back on Cody Bellinger’s solo homer, his 17th, in the seventh.

Atlanta’s Joey Wentz made his first start of the season and threw four scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and one walk with two strikeouts. Wentz, signed after being released by Minnesota, has not allowed a run in seven innings since joining the Braves.

New York starter Will Warren was knocked out after allowing five runs on five hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings of work. He struck out five.

–Field Level Media

Eugenio Suarez hit two home runs and drove in three, Corbin Carroll had three hits including two triples, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-1 to win their third straight Saturday in Phoenix.

Geraldo Perdomo had three singles and four RBIs and Ryne Nelson gave up one run in six innings for the D-backs, who have outscored the Cardinals 17-4 in the first two games of the series.

A win Sunday would not only give Arizona a sweep but would also get the Diamondbacks back to .500 and keep them from falling further back in the National League wild-card race.

Nelson (6-2) gave up four hits, with Alec Burleson’s homer with one out in the sixth the only damage. Nelson struck out four and walked one and is 4-0 with a 2.29 ERA in his last seven starts.

Suarez has 33 homers and leads the NL with 81 RBIs. Carroll leads the majors with 12 triples.

Masyn Winn had three hits for the Cardinals, who have lost 10 of 14 and fell behind Cincinnati in the NL Central and in the NL wild card race. St. Louis is now fourth in its division.

Sonny Gray (9-4) gave up 11 hits and a career-high nine runs (eight earned) before leaving with one out in the fourth. He struck out five and did not walk a batter in his 20th start of the season and 327th major league appearance.

The Cardinals placed Nolan Gorman on the injured list before the game with a lower back injury.

The D-backs struck for a 3-0 lead in the first and did not stop. Carroll tripled to lead off the game and scored on Perdomo’s single before Lourdes Gurriel Jr. grounded into a double play. Josh Naylor appeared to strike out but he was awarded first base when catcher Pedro Pages was called for interference.

Suarez followed with his 32nd homer. He is 7-for-13 against Gray, with his first two homers off him coming Saturday.

Blaze Alexander and Perdomo had RBI singles in the second and Suarez hit his second homer in the third off Gray to make it 6-0. Carroll tripled in the first run of a three-run fourth when Perdomo and Adrian Del Castillo added run-scoring hits to stretch the lead to 9-0.

Perdomo drove in the final run with a groundout in the eighth.

–Field Level Media