Seattle Mariners right-hander George Kirby will make his second start of the season against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.

The first one went very well for Kirby, who struck out a career-high 14 batters and didn’t walk one in seven innings of a 3-2 victory on June 8. He allowed a two-run homer by Taylor Ward and one other hit overall before exiting after just 96 pitches.

“That’s the guy he can be,” catcher Mitch Garver said of Kirby (4-5, 4.65 ERA). “It’s probably one of the most important starts we’ve had.”

Another big one comes Saturday night as the Mariners look to bounce back from a 3-2 loss in 10 innings to the Angels. Seattle is clinging to the second wild-card slot in the American League.

Shortstop Zach Neto celebrated his first-ever bobblehead night with the first walk-off hit of his career, a two-out single that drove in LaMonte Wade Jr. from second base.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Los Angeles, which closed to within 4 1/2 games of the final wild-card spot.

“It means everything, seeing everybody with my bobblehead. It’s very special,” Neto said after getting doused with Gatorade. “We needed this win. Flush it at midnight and come back in tomorrow and try to do the same thing.”

“That was tremendous,” interim Angels manager Ray Montgomery said. “Bobblehead nights (are) good omens. I’m sure he was excited about it. That was good. It was fun. I’m glad he got the opportunity to do it.”

The question is will it stop the Angels from being sellers at the trade deadline? Several media outlets reported that Los Angeles was shopping closer Kenley Jansen, third baseman Yoan Moncada, utility infielder Luis Rengifo, starting left-hander Tyler Anderson and Ward.

Anderson (2-6, 4.43 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday night for the Angels.

He is 1-3 with a 5.01 ERA in 10 career starts against the Mariners. He picked up the loss in Kirby’s gem on June 8 allowing three runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Kirby is 5-4 with a 3.52 ERA in nine career starts against Los Angeles, including 4-2 with a 3.38 ERA in six starts in Anaheim.

Seattle’s runs on Friday came on solo homers by center fielder Julio Rodriguez. It was the fifth multi-home run game of Rodriguez’s career as he became the third player in Mariners’ history to have five or more multi-homer games by the age of 24. The other two were Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. (14) and Alex Rodriguez (14).

“Incredibly talented player,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said of Julio Rodriguez. “He continues to let that talent shine. Just really seeing the ball well right now. Couple of homers off a tough opponent tonight in (Jose) Soriano. Just thought he was on each pitch and seeing the ball well, and when he got his pitch he was able to drive it.”

First baseman Josh Naylor, obtained in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, flew across the country from Pittsburgh on Friday and had a single in four at-bats in his Mariners’ debut.

–Field Level Media

David Peterson will get an opportunity to personally thank Robbie Ray for his All-Star invitation when they go head-to-head on the mound as the New York Mets and host San Francisco Giants continue their three-game series on Saturday evening.

Francisco Lindor hit his 20th home run of the season, and the first four batters in the Mets’ order combined for seven hits, six RBIs and four runs, lifting New York to a trip-opening 8-1 romp over the Giants on Friday night.

Peterson (6-4, 2.90 ERA) appeared destined to watch last week’s All-Star Game on television before the Giants elected to start Ray on the Sunday before the showcase, disqualifying him from pitching in Atlanta.

Shortly after Ray was formally listed as the projected starter, Peterson got the call that he’d be the veteran’s replacement.

Coincidentally, Peterson followed the Giants’ Logan Webb to the mound in the All-Star Game. Each threw a scoreless inning — Webb the third, Peterson the fourth — in the 6-6 contest that ended with their National League team winning a home run contest.

Peterson continued the form that earned him the All-Star nod in his first start after the break, limiting the Cincinnati Reds to one unearned run over six innings in his team’s 3-2 win last Sunday.

It was another indication he’s fully healthy after he underwent surgery on a torn labrum in his left hip after the 2023 campaign, with the rehab delaying his 2024 debut until May 29 and limiting his innings last season to 121.

He’s already reached 115 innings this season — not counting the one inning he threw in the All-Star Game.

“For me after the surgery, it was just getting back to being healthy, getting used to the new range of motion and all that came with the surgery,” the left-hander told reporters before the break. “It was nice to have a full, regular off-season (leading into the 2025 season) to work on my strength and get that back. It’s been good. It’s kind of what I’ve always thought was in there.”

Peterson has made three career starts against the Giants, going 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA.

While each team also had an All-Star on the mound to start Friday’s game, the Mets’ Clay Holmes and Giants’ Webb made it through just five and four innings, respectively.

Taxing a bullpen in a series opener is never good, but it puts pressure on Ray to go deep into Saturday’s game because the Giants have lost two starters in the last week.

With ineffective Hayden Birdsong having gotten demoted to the minors and Landen Roupp forced onto the 15-day injured list with a sore elbow, the Giants already have designated Sunday as a bullpen day.

“Look, it feels like every team goes through it, and sometimes when it rains, it pours a little bit,” Giants manager Bob Melvin bemoaned to reporters before Friday’s game. “We do have some guys we like in Triple-A as far as the depth goes, so we’ll see where that goes — and we’ll see what the deadline brings.”

Ray (9-4, 2.92 ERA) came out of the All-Star break with one of his worst outings of the season, tagged for five runs in 4 1/3 innings by the host Toronto Blue Jays in an 8-6 loss last Sunday. But the left-hander has had success against the Mets, going 4-1 with a 3.48 ERA against them in seven lifetime starts.

– Field Level Media

San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has made it clear he wants to acquire more offense before the trade deadline.

The Padres, for the time being, are trying to make do with what they have. That challenge continues when they visit the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday in the third contest of a four-game series.

The Cardinals recorded a 9-7 win on Thursday and a 3-0 victory on Friday night.

The bottom third of the Padres’ batting order went 4-for-24 in these two games.

Overall, the Padres went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position Friday while stranding nine runners.

Coming into this series, Padres manager Mike Shildt underscored his team’s need to deliver good at-bats more consistently.

“Our biggest thing is just to continue to make good swing decisions,” Padres manager Mike Shildt told KMOX radio. “We have an aggressive club, which I love. I’ve always loved teams and players that are aggressive.

“But we also want to make sure we’re in the strike zone with what we’re swinging at. We do that, we’re pretty lethal.”

San Diego will give the starting nod to right-hander Randy Vasquez (3-4, 3.73 ERA), who has failed to work five or more innings in six of his past nine starts. He has a 3.07 ERA in his three starts in July, however.

Vasquez won his only previous start against the Cardinals while allowing two runs on six hits over six innings in a 7-4 triumph on Aug. 26, 2024.

The Padres and Cardinals are in a span of seven games against each other in 11 days. St. Louis trails San Diego by 1 1/2 games in the chase for the final wild-card spot in the National League.

“It’s important,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after the win on Friday. “It’s important. We have two more, we’ve taken the first two, we’ll focus on tomorrow. We want to make sure we take tomorrow’s game. Then we’ll focus on the fourth game, then we’ll go to their place. They’re ahead of us, we’re chasing. We need every game.”

St. Louis will give the starting nod on Saturday to left-hander Matthew Liberatore (6-7, 4.13), who got extra rest after allowing six runs on nine hits — including two homers — in three innings in a 6-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves on July 11.

Liberatore still is trying to build endurance as a starting pitcher after swinging between starting and relief work earlier in his career.

“This is a guy who likes to throw a lot,” Marmol said. “He recovers well. He’s feeling strong. He had that little bit of a hiccup where velocity wasn’t what it needed to be, and he was having trouble holding it for that outing. The next outing was a little better, and then after that, it was fine.

“But yeah, we’ll continue to monitor it. But at the moment, he feels good.”

Liberatore is 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in five career relief appearances against the Padres. This is his first career start against them.

–Field Level Media

Los Angeles’ Teoscar Hernandez is trending in the right direction at the plate as the visiting Dodgers prepare to face the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night in the second game of a three-game series.

Hernandez missed two weeks in May with an adductor strain. When he returned to the Dodgers’ lineup, he batted below .200 over a 48-game stretch.

But Hernandez had his first three-hit game since April when the Dodgers beat the Twins 4-3 on Wednesday, and he had a two-run homer and three RBIs during a 5-2 victory over Boston on Friday night.

“My timing is getting close to being as good as I want,” Hernandez said. “Now I’m not missing a lot of pitches in the strike zone — I’m putting it in play. That’s what I’m looking for. Just trying to get pitches in the strike zone and just put a good swing on it.

“The atmosphere here (Boston) is really good,” Hernandez continued. “I like when the fans get into the game. Obviously we got a lot of fans from LA (at Fenway Park). The Boston fans, they’re really good. This is why this is one of my favorite places to play. It gets me excited and takes everything out of me.”

Boston hasn’t scored more than two runs in five of its last seven games. The Red Sox were held to five hits during Friday night’s loss.

“It’s always hard (to play from behind),” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “It happened earlier in the season, but I think we keep grinding and we keep putting good at-bats and we were right back in the game until Teoscar hit that ball out of the ballpark (in the eighth). I think overall we didn’t win the game, but it wasn’t bad, to be honest with you.”

Mookie Betts wasn’t in the Dodgers’ lineup Friday. Manager Dave Roberts said Betts was in Tennessee to take care of a personal matter, but he is expected to be in Boston on Saturday.

“I think that he’ll be back (Saturday) night around game time,” Roberts said before Friday night’s game. “We’ll kind of see. He’s trying to make sure he gets back as soon as he can. I’m not sure if he’s going to be in the lineup, but he’ll be in town at some point.”

Betts went 7-for-15 (.467) with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs for Los Angeles when it played a three-game series in Boston two years ago. He was on the injured list when the Dodgers played the Red Sox last season.

Left-hander Garrett Crochet (11-4, 2.19 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for Boston on Saturday night. Crochet is 0-1 with an 0.00 ERA in three career appearances (7 2/3 innings) against the Dodgers. Two of those appearances came in relief.

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw (4-1, 3.27 ERA) is Los Angeles’ probable starter. Kershaw has never faced the Red Sox during the regular season but was 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in 11 innings against them in the 2018 World Series.

–Field Level Media

Royce Lewis is seeing results after starting a new pregame ritual.

For the past week, the Twins’ talented 26-year-old has sought out manager Rocco Baldelli for a conversation before the first pitch. Sometimes the discussions take place on the field while batting practice is underway, and sometimes they happen in Baldelli’s office.

Lewis will look to stay hot at the plate when the Twins play the Washington Nationals on Saturday evening in Minneapolis.

He doubled in the Twins’ 1-0 victory over the Nationals in the series opener Friday night. During his past five games, he is 8-for-18 with three doubles, three homers and six RBIs.

“I feel like I’ve been driving the ball,” Lewis said. “It’s just finally finding holes, per se. … I feel like I was the same, it’s just now they’re not catching it. I’m not getting robbed. I’m not hitting it right at the warning track in right-center field.

“Just picking better spots. Putting the ball in the air helps.”

The Nationals hope to experience similar success at the plate after they were shut out for the second straight game.

Washington left-hander Mitchell Parker (6-10, 5.00 ERA) will try to do his part on Saturday as he takes the mound for his 21st start of the season. Parker, 25, is looking for back-to-back victories after he held the San Diego Padres to two runs on five hits in six innings in his last outing, a 4-2 Nats victory.

This will be Parker’s second career start against the Twins. In his first matchup, he got the victory after allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings.

The Twins will counter with right-hander Joe Ryan (10-4, 2.63), who will make his 20th start. He has 132 strikeouts in 116 1/3 innings this season.

Ryan is aiming for his third victory in a row. He earned wins against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Colorado Rockies in his last two outings.

In his only previous start against the Nationals, Ryan earned the victory after pitching seven scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out six.

Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews remains sidelined because of a left oblique strain, but he is getting closer to returning. Crews has resumed baseball activities and took swings in the batting cage this week, and he could start a minor-league rehabilitation stint soon.

Crews, 23, hit .196 with seven home runs, 15 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 45 games before his injury. The Nationals have high hopes for the future of Crews, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB amateur draft.

“I’m very anxious (for him to return),” Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “He’s very anxious. He wants to play. He wants to come back.

“He’s going to be one of the leaders on our team. I’m looking forward to seeing him play and come back and be healthy.”

–Field Level Media

One key to the success of the Milwaukee Brewers this season is they’ve avoided long losing streaks and don’t savor victories very long.

“They turn the page really quick,” Milwaukee left-hander Jose Quintana said. “If we get a win, we’re on to the next step.”

The Brewers will need to turn the page on a rare loss when they take on the visiting Miami Marlins in the second game of their three-game series on Saturday evening.

Miami posted a 5-1 win in the opener on Friday as the Brewers were held to four hits while committing three errors.

Entering the series, the Brewers had won 12 of 13 games, including their final seven games before the All-Star break and the first four after the break to surpass the Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League Central.

The streak ended with a 1-0 loss at the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, but Milwaukee produced 17 hits in a 10-2 win against the Mariners in the series finale on Wednesday.

“These guys are amazing,” Quintana said. “They want to stay hungry all the time.”

Quintana (7-3, 3.49 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Brewers on Saturday after making his past two starts against the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

He did not receive a decision after allowing one run and two hits in six innings of his team’s 3-2 win in 10 innings in Milwaukee on July 9, and then earned the victory in Los Angeles after surrendering four runs and four hits in six innings of a 6-5 win last Sunday.

Quintana has made four starts in his career against the Marlins and is 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA.

The Marlins plan to start right-hander Janson Junk on Saturday. Junk (4-2, 3.09) has made six starts among his 11 appearances this season.

After tossing seven shutout innings in a 6-0 win against the Baltimore Orioles on July 12, he wasn’t as sharp in his most recent outing last Sunday against the Kansas City Royals, surrendering six runs (four earned) and six hits in five innings of a 7-4 loss.

“It wasn’t our cleanest game,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “We gave away too many extra outs. We didn’t take care of the baseball like we have been. It led to some extra stress on Janson.”

Junk hadn’t allowed an earned run through 18 consecutive innings before the Royals scored three runs in the fourth. The final four batters in the inning connected on the first pitch.

“They were attacking — I have to be better at realizing that,” Junk said. “It was just a lot of fastballs that missed too much of the plate, and the top of their lineup’s good. During that fourth inning, that was pretty much the bulk of it that did the damage.”

Junk said he simply has to execute his pitches better, especially with runners on base.

“When I want to go [inside], miss in. When I want to go away, miss away, instead of the ones that leak over a little bit and find barrel. That’s the biggest takeaway,” he said. “I thought my breaking stuff was good, but those early-count fastballs kind of killed me those two innings.”

Junk hasn’t faced the Brewers in his career.

–Field Level Media

The Colorado Rockies and host Baltimore Orioles are dealing with extremes heading into the second game of their three-game series on Saturday.

For a change, the Rockies are on the positive side when it comes to the emotional component.

The Rockies won their third straight on Friday with a 6-5 comeback victory in the series opener.

“It’s just a sign of a team that’s growing,” Colorado interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “We’re just trying to play consistent.”

The Orioles have had their share of frustrations this season, but this latest dose seems even more severe. After all, they homered four times in the first two innings and then couldn’t protect a four-run lead on Friday.

So they’re in a familiar situation going into the middle game of the series: trying to recover.

“That’s a bitter one right there,” Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “It feels like here lately we’ve thrown up some good numbers early in games on that last road trip, and we just haven’t been able to hang on. Part of that is pitching and part of that is not adding more runs as the game goes on.”

Baltimore lost for the eighth time in 10 games after dropping the first contest of a seven-game homestand.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers (3-1, 1.74 ERA) is set to make the start on Saturday for the Orioles. He has pitched in a game just once since July 13, picking up a 5-3 victory Sunday at Tampa Bay.

Rogers has pitched in seven big-league games this year, his 2025 start delayed due to offseason knee surgery. He has issued multiple walks in five of his outings. Rogers is 1-0 with a 5.06 ERA in two career starts versus the Rockies.

Despite Colorado’s record, the Rockies should have the attention of Baltimore’s pitchers, Mansolino said.

“It’s a really aggressive-swinging team,” he said. “I think it’s one of the higher chase rate teams, highest swing percentage teams.”

Right-hander Antonio Senzatela (4-13, 6.41) is listed as Colorado’s starter. He’ll want to avoid extending his majors-high loss total, which is something that’s bound to be related to surrendering 146 hits in 98 1/3 innings.

Senzatela won his last outing by working a season-high seven innings on July 19 against the Minnesota Twins. This next start will mark his 169th appearance in the big leagues, but the first time he’s matched up against the Orioles.

Some of the home-field advantage was nixed for the Orioles on Friday when the seats were cleared mid-game because of the potential for an approaching storm. There wasn’t an official delay to the game, however, and fans were later allowed to return to the seats.

On Saturday, both teams will be in their first full day since trading key contributors.

The Rockies sent third baseman Ryan McMahon to the New York Yankees for a pair of minor leaguers Friday.

The Orioles shipped reliever Gregory Soto to the New York Mets, also for minor leaguers in return, further diminishing a bullpen that lost closer Felix Bautista to the injury list this week.

Among other moves, the Orioles called up infielder Jeremiah Jackson, who could make his major league debut this weekend.

–Field Level Media

The Texas Rangers have won six of seven games since the All-Star break and will look to continue that roll when they clash with the sputtering Atlanta Braves on Saturday in the middle game of a three-game interleague series in Arlington, Texas.

The contest will be a meeting of right-handed starters, with Grant Holmes (4-9, 3.81 ERA) taking the mound for the Braves and Texas countering with Kumar Rocker (4-4, 5.66).

Texas took the series opener 8-3 on Friday behind five strong innings from starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, two RBIs that included a solo home run by Jonah Heim, and a run and an RBI from Sam Haggerty in his first game back from the injured list (ankle).

The Rangers won their fourth straight game, while Atlanta dropped its third consecutive contest.

Rocker has been eye-opening in his six starts since being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on June 15. He’s 3-0 and has surrendered more than two runs just once during that stretch. He pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit and three walks while striking out five in his latest appearance, a game the Rangers won 4-1 over the Detroit Tigers on July 19.

Rocker didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning against the Tigers in a solid bounce back from a no-decision in an 11-8 loss at the Los Angeles Angels on July 9 when he gave up six runs on six hits — three of them home runs — in 4 1/3 innings.

“(Kumar) has done a lot to get to where he needs to be,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said after Rocker’s most recent start. “I’ll be honest. I’m amazed at the difference in just one start from when he went down and when he came back up — I think he just grew as a pitcher. I love the way he’s made adjustments, gained awareness.

“He had that little bit of a hiccup there in Anaheim but besides that, he was right on. So I love the progress that he’s made.”

Rocker, a rookie, has not pitched against the Braves in his 15 major league appearances.

Holmes is in the hunt for his first win since June 21 after compiling an 0-3 mark over his past five starts, despite allowing more than three runs just once in that stretch. He took the 4-2 loss last Sunday at home against the Yankees. He allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings while striking out two in a 4-2.

Holmes said the Braves are sticking to a one-game-at-a-time mantra to try to work themselves back into postseason contention. They have a huge mountain to climb, however, as they start Saturday 10 games behind the San Diego Padres for the final wild-card berth in the National League.

“All we can do is just focus on today and play hard each and every day and come to the ball field and do your best and get your work in,” Holmes told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I wish you could win five games in one day, put five wins in the win column one day. But you can only win one game at a time, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Holmes has never faced the Rangers in his 47 major league appearances.

-Field Level Media

Arizona veteran right-hander Merrill Kelly will take the mound for what could be the final time with the Diamondbacks when he opposes Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney on Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

As the uncertainty that comes with the final days before the July 31 trade deadline intensifies, Kelly is among the players who could draw the most interest from contending clubs should Arizona become a seller instead of a buyer in the coming days.

The Diamondbacks, who snapped a three-game losing streak on Friday with a 1-0 victory in 11 innings over the Pirates, aren’t out of the postseason picture. But Arizona already has made one trade, which hints at the team looking more toward its long-term future when it dealt first baseman Josh Naylor on Thursday to the Seattle Mariners for two pitching prospects.

Kelly (9-5, 3.32 ERA) is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, as are several key Diamondbacks, including starting pitcher Zac Gallen and third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who drove in the winning run on Friday.

“I feel like it’s a little too early for a reaction,” Kelly said after the Naylor trade. “You know, it’s just part of the business, part of where we’re at. Obviously, there’s been a million speculations about what we’re doing. I think that [Thursday] is probably a signal, as far as you know what route we’re taking, but you never know. We’ll see what the front office has in store for us over the next couple days.”

Kelly, who has pitched all seven of his major league seasons for Arizona, is enjoying one of his better and more durable seasons, making 21 starts.

He has picked up wins in his past two starts. On Sunday in a 5-3 defeat of the St. Louis Cardinals, Kelly gave up two runs on three hits while striking out five. He issued four walks, however, just as he did July 13 when he beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-1.

Kelly is 3-0 with a 3.68 ERA in four career starts against the Pirates but did not face them when the teams met this season in late May in Arizona. The Pirates won two of three.

On Friday, the Pirates saw their three-game winning streak snapped as they were held to one hit — a second-inning triple from veteran Tommy Pham — over 11 innings.

Unlike the Diamondbacks, the Pirates are certain to be sellers if they make any trades in the next week.

Starting pitching is one of their biggest commodities.

Heaney, who is in his 12th season in the majors, could be a potential trade piece because he is on an expiring contract. But Heaney (4-9, 5.03) has struggled of late and is coming off one of his worst outings of the season where he matched a season high with seven runs allowed on nine hits and two walks in a 7-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

Heaney faced the Diamondbacks earlier this season and did not fare well. He allowed five runs on eight hits, including two home runs, walked three and struck out two over five innings in a 5-0 loss on May 26. For his career, Heaney is 1-1 with an 8.25 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against Arizona.

“When you fall behind, you don’t have much to get guys out with,” he said after the loss. “I guess, narrow margin of error. I’ve got to go make better pitches.”

–Field Level Media

The Cincinnati Reds are on the outside looking in when it comes to the National League playoff picture.

Cincinnati sits one game behind the San Diego Padres in the race for the final wild-card berth.

The Reds will look to potentially climb into that spot when they host the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday evening in the second contest of a three-game series.

Cincinnati inched closer to the inside of the cutoff line with a 7-2 win against the Rays in the series opener on Friday. Trailing 2-1 in the fourth, the Reds scored twice in their half of the frame before adding a pair of runs in both the sixth and seventh inning.

Cincinnati has won eight of its past 12 games with the trade deadline less than a week away.

“Obviously, we’re aware of the trade deadline looming and the boys want to play,” pitcher Nick Martinez said. “The boys want to win, and we want to make a push. We’re certainly playing like it.”

Tyler Stephenson helped fuel Friday’s win with two hits and three RBIs. He has gotten into a groove of late with nine hits in his last eight games.

“We talk about it in hitters’ meetings, those opportunities — just the small (things to) get them over and taking advantage of times guys are in scoring position,” Stephenson said. “That’s kind of where you can make or break in these games. The more situations you have, the more you can capitalize on those, chances are you’re probably going to win.”

Cincinnati will send left-hander Andrew Abbott (8-1, 2.13 ERA) to the mound to start Saturday’s game.

Abbott will face Tampa Bay for the second time in his career, a year minus a day after the first. He took the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits over four innings on July 27, 2024.

The Rays, meanwhile, will look to snap out of a funk that has seen them drop four of their past five games. Friday’s setback was their 11th loss in the past 14 road games.

The past month hasn’t been good to the squad, which is 6-15 since June 29. They held the first wild-card spot in the American League the day before that stretch began but have since dropped 1 1/2 games out of the third and final wild card.

“You’ve just got to find some momentum,” Rays center fielder Chandler Simpson said. “Really just banding together. Leaning on each other. Passing the baton. Just knowing that if one guy doesn’t do it, the next guy will pick him up.”

Injuries have started to take a bite out of Tampa Bay’s lineup.

Infielder Ha-Seong Kim was placed on the 10-day injured list with a back strain on Friday. Second baseman Brandon Lowe (ankle/foot tendinitis) was added to the IL earlier this week. The Rays then acquired Stuart Fairchild from the Atlanta Braves to replace Lowe, but he now finds himself on the IL as well, because of an oblique strain.

Right-hander Ryan Pepiot (6-8, 3.59 ERA) will start for Tampa Bay on Saturday. It will be his first career appearance against the Reds.

–Field Level Media