It’s unclear if the Minnesota Twins will play Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Carlos Correa or Joey Gallo when they face the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

However, if the Twins pitch the way they did throughout their 1-0 win over Cleveland on Friday, it may not matter.

Buxton left the series opener on Thursday, a 7-6 Minnesota win, shortly after being hit by a pitch in the fourth inning.

Correa hurt his left foot while warming up between innings on Thursday and was replaced by Kyle Farmer in the top of the seventh — the same inning Kepler left the game with a migraine. Gallo was given Friday off, but Kepler returned to go 1-for-4.

Minnesota will look to seal the series victory on Saturday behind their ace, right-hander Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.94 ERA).

While Gray allowed just 10 earned runs over 25 1/3 innings spanning five starts in May (3.55 ERA), the Twins had little to show for it.

Minnesota went 1-4 in games Gray started last month and would have gone winless if it hadn’t rallied for a 7-5, 10-inning win against the Houston Astros on Monday in his latest outing. Gray allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks in six-plus innings.

Gray hasn’t been dominant against the Guardians, going 6-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 16 career starts. He faced Cleveland on May 6 and yielded three runs on four hits in five innings, with three walks and six strikeouts.

The Twins hope Gray can duplicate the start turned in by Bailey Ober on Friday. Ober allowed four hits and no walks with three strikeouts in six innings before Jovani Moran, Brock Stewart and closer Jhoan Duran combined to blank the Guardians over the final three innings.

After coming off the 10-day injured list before Thursday’s game, Minnesota’s Jorge Polanco hit a double off the right-field wall in the seventh inning on Friday to drive in the game’s lone run.

“We are just playing really good right now,” said Polanco, whose team took two of three games against the Houston Astros before winning the first two games against Cleveland. “Everyone here just competes, gives everything they have, and we just win.”

The Guardians went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position on Friday, and they stranded nine baserunners.

Cleveland will give the ball to left-hander Logan Allen (2-2, 2.72 ERA), who is coming off the best start of his brief career.

The 24-year-old rookie allowed just three hits while recording a career-high 10 strikeouts and walking two over seven innings in a 5-0 win over the host Baltimore Orioles on Monday.

“Anytime we look up and somebody’s pitching into the seventh, you’re generally feeling pretty good,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “But he’s learning on the job, and he’s doing a pretty good job of it.”

Allen got a no-decision on May 6 against Gray and the Twins. He allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three over 5 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

New York Mets right-hander Tylor Megill would be pleased if his second career start against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday goes as well as the first.

Megill allowed two hits in six scoreless innings on July 23, 2021, in a 3-0 victory over the visiting Blue Jays in the first matchup. It was Megill’s first major league win.

Megill (5-3, 4.67 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios (5-4, 3.86) in the second game of the three-game series.

Berrios has faced the Mets once in his career, when he was a rookie with the Minnesota Twins in 2016, and took the loss. He gave up two runs and four hits in four innings, with three walks and four strikeouts.

The Blue Jays will be going for their third straight series win on Saturday after posting a 3-0 victory on Friday.

The Mets had a string of eight consecutive home victories snapped. They swept a three-game set against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies to start the week.

The starters on Friday were both strong. Toronto’s Chris Bassitt pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, and New York’s Justin Verlander allowed one run in six innings. Verlander made 117 pitches, the highest total in the majors this season.

George Springer hit a home run on the second pitch of the game. It was his eighth homer of the season and the 54th of his career to lead off a game. He is tied with Alfonso Soriano for second on the all-time list for leadoff homers, behind Rickey Henderson’s 81.

Daulton Varsho added a two-run homer in the ninth against reliever Jeff Brigham. The blast came on a 3-0 count and was his ninth of the season.

It was a special night for Bassitt, who pitched for the Mets last season and signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent in December. His wife went into labor in Toronto on Friday, and a private flight was arranged to take him home when he was finished pitching.

He had to wait out a 91-minute rain delay at the start of the game. Asked if there had been consideration given to Bassitt not pitching, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, “He wanted to pitch tonight.”

One thing the teams have in common is that they have yet to play up to expectations this season.

The Blue Jays are waiting for players such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to reach their top form. Guerrero went 1-for-3 with a walk on Friday. He is hitting .286 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs, but he has just one homer and 15 RBIs in his last 23 games. Six of those RBIs came in the one game when he homered.

“I think Vladdy is really close,” Schneider said. “I think it’s going to come quickly when it does. I’m pleased with the progress he’s made, and again, he’s an exception. It’s just going to take one swing, one at-bat and he’s going to get rolling.”

The Mets are trying to take advantage of some recent good pitching.

“We’ve got to keep it going,” Mets outfielder Mark Canha said after the sweep of the Phillies. “We haven’t been as great as we should have been in the last couple of months.

“We’re making up a little bit of ground, but I think we’ve got to just keep going and keep looking ahead, not get too high on this one and not get too low when the lows happen. Just keep going, keep going.”

–Field Level Media

Miami’s Eury Perez and Oakland’s Luis Medina are a pair of rookie right-handers from the Dominican Republic. That’s where the similarities end, however.

Perez is tall at 6-8 — towering seven inches over Medina.

Perez (2-1, 2.84 ERA) has two victories in his first four career starts, while Medina (0-4, 6.83 ERA) is winless in five appearances, including four starts.

And Perez is on a contending young Marlins team (30-28), while Medina toils for the losingest team in the majors (12-47).

But that’s the matchup for Saturday afternoon as the Miami Marlins are set to host the Oakland A’s.

Oakland has lost all five games started by the 24-year-old Medina, although he has compiled two quality starts.

Miami is 2-2 when starting Perez, who is just 20 years old and has never gone longer than five innings.

Oakland, which has lost 13 of its past 15 games — and 12 straight on the road — lost the series opener 4-0 on Friday.

One bright spot for Oakland was outfielder JJ Bleday, who was Miami’s first-round pick in 2019.

Bleday is hitting .217 with a .714 OPS this season after going 1-for-3 with a double on Friday. His hit was one of only five for Oakland.

After the game, Bleday — who was on a championship-level program every year at Vanderbilt — was asked about the challenge of playing well even while his A’s team is on track to be historically bad.

“It’s tough,” he said. “You just have to keep doing your thing. Trust the process.”

In 65 career games with the Marlins, Bleday, 25, hit just .167 with five homers and a .586 OPS. It wasn’t what the Marlins were expecting out of the fourth overall pick in 2019.

So, the Marlins traded Bleday for lefty reliever A.J. Puk, who is on the injured list with nerve irritation in his pitching elbow after a solid start (3-1, 3.07 ERA).

Bleday said baseball is a constant game of “catch and mouse,” especially in the majors.

“In Triple-A, I made some adjustments — hitting the fastball, hitting line drives, cutting down on strikeouts and keeping my plate discipline up,” he said. “Now, I’m trying to adjust to how pitchers are attacking me lately.”

The Marlins, who have won five of their past seven games, are powered by second baseman Luis Arraez, who leads the majors with a .374 batting average.

Right fielder Jesus Sanchez did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Marlins on Friday, going 3-for-4, including a two-run, opposite-field homer to left field off a 98 mph fastball.

But Marlins manager Skip Schumaker took the time to praise left fielder Bryan De La Cruz, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

For the season, he is hitting .299 with an .807 OPS.

“Sometimes the box score doesn’t reflect how good some of the at-bats are,” Schumaker said. “De La Cruz has been taking good at-bat after good at-bat.”

–Field Level Media

The Houston Astros not only slugged their way past Los Angeles Angels ace Shohei Ohtani in a 6-2 victory on Friday, but the lineup made him labor — particularly with two outs — a development that could be construed as a positive down the line.

The teams play the third game of their four-game series on Saturday in Houston, with the Astros having won the opening two contests.

On Friday, the Astros strung together three consecutive two-out singles in the fourth inning and had three batters reach safely in succession with two outs in the fifth. Houston came up empty in the fourth, but Alex Bregman produced an RBI single in the fifth that stretched the lead to 3-0.

For the fifth successive inning, Ohtani retired the first two batters in the sixth. However, Chas McCormick stroked a two-out single and Corey Julks followed with a two-run home run as Houston pulled away.

“I think it was a matter of us fouling off pitches and him not making his pitches like he normally does,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said of Ohtani, against whom the Astros fouled off 19 pitches. “If it was that easy, you’d just make everybody do it.

“Sometimes it’s your night. This guy is one of the best around. He wasn’t as sharp as we’ve seen him in the past.”

Cristian Javier (6-1, 2.97 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros as they attempt to clinch the series on Saturday.

The right-hander has won each of his past four starts, including a 10-1 victory on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics when he allowed one run on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts over five innings. Javier has a 1.96 ERA during that four-game stretch with 24 strikeouts against seven walks in 23 innings.

Javier is 4-1 with a 2.65 ERA over nine career appearances (five starts) against the Angels. He earned a 5-4 victory over the Angels on May 10 after allowing two runs on three hits and one walk with a season-high 11 strikeouts over six innings.

Patrick Sandoval (3-4, 3.42 ERA) will make the start for the Angels on Saturday.

The left-hander absorbed the 2-0 loss against the Miami Marlins on Sunday, allowing two runs on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts over six innings. Sandoval has surrendered two or fewer earned runs in seven of 10 starts this season.

Sandoval is 0-4 with a 7.55 ERA in eight career appearances (seven starts) against Houston, which selected him in the 11th round of the 2015 draft and traded him to the Angels in July 2018 in exchange for catcher Martin Maldonado.

In his most recent start against Houston, Sandoval did not factor into the decision on May 8 after allowing four earned runs on seven hits and no walks with two strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.

For the second time in the series, the Angels failed to deliver at the plate on Friday, repeating their 2-for-12 effort with runners in scoring position from Thursday. After stranding 13 runners in the series opener, Los Angeles left eight runners on base on Friday.

“I feel like we’re getting a lot of guys on, just missing that one big hit,” Ohtani said. “We had a couple situations with runners on and couldn’t come through. We have to come through with those big hits with runners on base.”

–Field Level Media

Mookie Betts and Max Muncy homered during a six-run first inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to an 8-4 victory over the visiting New York Yankees on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.

Betts added a second home run amid a four-hit night and J.D. Martinez also went deep, extending his hitting streak to 16 games, as the Dodgers came out on top in the duel of historic franchises who were facing each other for the first time since 2019.

Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw (7-4) matched his season high with nine strikeouts over seven innings while allowing two runs on four hits and one walk. Freddie Freeman went 0-for-5 as his 20-game hitting streak came to an end.

Josh Donaldson hit two home runs and Giancarlo Stanton also hit one for the Yankees as they each returned from long stints on the injured list caused by hamstring issues. Luis Severino (0-1) was tagged for seven runs on nine hits over four innings.

Astros 6, Angels 2

Yordan Alvarez and Corey Julks slugged two-run home runs off Shohei Ohtani while Framber Valdez twirled seven shutout innings as Houston beat visiting Los Angeles.

Valdez, who outdueled Ohtani when the two went head-to-head on May 9, was splendid again in the rematch. He gave up five hits and a walk, and he fanned seven. Valdez (6-4) retired the Angels in order in the first, second, fifth and sixth innings and struck out Ohtani and Mike Trout after allowing a pair of baserunners in the third.

Ohtani (5-2) walked one batter and struck out six in six innings, but he allowed a season-high nine hits while matching his season worst with five runs allowed. He also served up multiple homers for the fourth time this season.

Blue Jays 3, Mets 0

George Springer and Daulton Varsho hit home runs, Chris Bassitt pitched 7 2/3 sharp innings and visiting Toronto defeated New York.

Bo Bichette and Whit Merrifield added two hits each for Toronto in the opener of a three-game series. The game was delayed by 91 minutes at the start because of rain. The Blue Jays earned their fourth win in five games while the Mets saw their three-game winning streak end.

Bassitt (6-4) allowed three hits and no walks while striking out eight. The right-hander pitched for the Mets last season and signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent in the offseason. Mets right-hander Justin Verlander (2-3) allowed one run, five hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out eight.

Rangers 2, Mariners 0

Jon Gray won his fifth straight start in impressive fashion, throwing seven scoreless innings in leading Texas to a shutout victory over Seattle in Arlington, Texas.

Gray (6-1) finished his 82-pitch night having allowed two hits and one walk while striking out five. He has a 0.79 ERA during his five-start win streak. Texas closer Will Smith pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out Mariners star Julio Rodriguez to end the game and earn his 10th save.

Mariners starter Luis Castillo (4-3) was the hard-luck loser after allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts over seven innings. He didn’t yield a hit until Robbie Grossman singled with one out in the fifth. Texas has now won 10 of its last 13 games. Seattle has lost three of its last four.

Twins 1, Guardians 0

Jorge Polanco’s run-scoring double in the seventh inning lifted Minnesota to a shutout victory over visiting Cleveland in Minneapolis.

Polanco went 1-for-4, while Bailey Ober pitched six strong innings to lead the Twins to their third straight victory.

Will Brennan went 2-for-3 and Myles Straw went 2-for-4 for the Guardians, who went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position to lose for the third time in their past four games.

Cubs 2, Padres 1

Jameson Taillon allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings, Dansby Swanson homered and Chicago defeated host San Diego in the opener of a four-game series.

The Cubs scored single runs in the third — on Ian Happ’s fielder’s choice grounder — and the fifth — on Swansby’s sixth homer of the season. Taillon (1-3), whose ERA was 8.04 entering the game, outdueled Padres right-hander Michael Wacha. Taillon gave up one run on three hits. Mark Leiter Jr. struck out Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth in the ninth to earn his third save.

Wacha (5-2), who was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for May earlier in the day, gave up the two runs on three hits in 4 2/3 innings. He issued five walks. The Padres scored in the sixth on Xander Bogaerts’ infield single.

Diamondbacks 3, Braves 2

Merrill Kelly pitched seven strong innings and Arizona beat Atlanta in Phoenix for its season-high sixth straight win.

Kelly (7-3) allowed two runs on five hits — two of them home runs by Eddie Rosario — while walking three and striking out eight. Miguel Castro pitched the ninth and earned his sixth save.

Braves starter Charlie Morton (5-6) worked seven innings and gave up three runs on six hits. Rosario had three of Atlanta’s seven hits.

Pirates 7, Cardinals 5

Ke’Bryan Hayes and Josh Palacios homered during a six-run seventh as Pittsburgh came back from a five-run deficit to down visiting St. Louis.

Hayes also hit an RBI single and Carlos Santana added a two-run double for the Pirates, who have won three straight. Pittsburgh starter Roansy Contreras allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings. Yohan Ramirez (1-0) got the final out of the seventh.

Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado each hit a two-run homer, and Nolan Gorman hit an RBI single for the Cardinals, who have lost four of six. St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty allowed one run and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. Giovanny Gallegos (1-3) gave up four runs and three hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Brewers 5, Reds 4 (11 innings)

Andruw Monasterio made a key diving stop of a sharp grounder in extra innings and Milwaukee pitching held Cincinnati to only three hits in 11 innings as the visiting Brewers edged the Reds before a record crowd at Great American Ballpark.

After the Brewers scored twice on fielder’s choice groundouts in the top of the 11th inning, Monasterio dove to stop Stuart Fairchild’s grounder to second base for the second out with a runner at third. Curt Casali brought home the run with an RBI double, but Bryse Wilson got the final out for his third save in four chances.

The Reds missed a chance to close within two games of first place in the National League Central before a crowd of 44,073, the largest regular-season attendance in the 20-year history of Great American Ball Park (capacity 43,891).

Marlins 4, Athletics 0

Edward Cabrera struck out 10 batters in six scoreless innings to lead host Miami to a win over Oakland.

Oakland, which has the worst record in baseball at 12-47, has lost 13 of its past 15 games. Oakland has also fallen in 12 straight road contests. The A’s managed just five hits — including one by former Marlins first-round pick JJ Bleday.

Jesus Sanchez went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer to lead Miami’s offense. Luis Arraez, who entered the day leading the majors with a .382 batting average, went 0-for-4. He is now batting .374. The Marlins won for the fifth time in their past seven games.

Nationals 8, Phillies 7

Lane Thomas hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning as Washington recovered after blowing a six-run lead to defeat visiting Philadelphia.

Jeimer Candelario drove in three runs and Luis Garcia homered for the Nationals, who began a six-game homestand following a 3-3 road trip. In the bottom of the eighth, Alex Call drew a two-out walk, stole second and came home on Thomas’ hit.

The Phillies lost their fifth game in a row despite Nick Castellanos smacking two home runs and hitting a two-run single to finish with five RBIs. He also hit a one-out double in the ninth, but pinch runner Dalton Guthrie was stranded at second. Starter Zack Wheeler was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings.

White Sox 3, Tigers 0

Tim Anderson scored a run and knocked in another, and five pitchers combined on a shutout as host Chicago blanked Detroit.

Andrew Benintendi and Eloy Jimenez drove in the other runs for the White Sox. Starter Mike Clevinger, activated from the 15-day injured list after recovering from wrist inflammation, gave up three hits and a walk while striking out six in five innings. Keynan Middleton (1-0) picked up the victory and Kendall Graveman notched his fifth save.

Detroit starter Reese Olson (0-1), making his major league debut after being promoted from Triple-A Toledo, had a no-hitter through five innings. He gave up two hits in the sixth and was charged with the loss. Olson allowed one walk and struck out six batters in five-plus innings. The Tigers went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Rockies 7, Royals 2

Ryan McMahon homered and later drove in the go-ahead run in the six-run eighth inning to help visiting Colorado beat Kansas City in the opener of a three-game series.

Elias Diaz had two hits and two RBIs for the Rockies, who were coming off being swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Rockies starter Chase Anderson gave up two runs and four hits in six innings, struck out two and walked one. Brent Suter (4-0) pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning to earn the win.

Edward Olivares and Drew Waters homered and MJ Melendez had two hits for the Royals, who have dropped five of seven. Kansas City starter Jordan Lyles allowed one run and two hits in five innings, striking out eight and walking one. Lyles, who remains 0-9, was in line for his first win in 12 starts this season before the Rockies rallied.

Orioles 3, Giants 2

Gunnar Henderson broke a seventh-inning tie with a home run, Dean Kremer combined with three relievers on a six-hitter and visiting Baltimore opened a three-game interleague series with a victory over San Francisco.

Kremer (6-2) was pulled after six innings with a 3-2 lead after having allowed both Giants runs and five of their six hits. Baltimore closer Felix Bautista pitched through a two-out double by Casey Schmitt in the ninth for his 15th save.

Logan Webb (4-6) took the loss for the Giants despite seven sharp innings in which he allowed three runs and just four hits. He walked one and struck out six.

–Field Level Media

The National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers look to build on the momentum from Friday’s dramatic 11-inning win when they visit the upstart Cincinnati Reds on Saturday in the second of a four-game set.

The Brewers send right-hander Colin Rea (2-3, 4.89 ERA) to the mound for his 10th appearance (and ninth start) of the season.

In his last start Sunday vs. San Francisco, Rea earned the win in Milwaukee’s 7-5 victory. He allowed the Giants four runs on five hits over six innings with no walks and six strikeouts.

Rea is 3-0 with a 5.06 ERA in three career games (two starts) against the Reds. He last faced them in a relief stint on Aug. 30, 2020 at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds, who have lost two in a row after winning five straight, counter with right-hander Graham Ashcraft (3-3, 5.55). Ashcraft snapped a personal three-game losing streak in his last start, surrendering three runs on five hits over five innings in Cincinnati’s 8-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. He walked three and fanned six.

After going 2-0 with a 2.10 ERA in five April starts, Ashcraft struggled in May. He went 1-3 with a 9.21 ERA in six starts. Ashcraft is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in three career starts against Milwaukee, all coming in 2022.

Cincinnati rookie shortstop Matt McLain had a rough night Friday. He committed the first error of his career error in the fourth inning, throwing away a likely inning-ending double play ball when his toss to Jonathan India sailed into right field.

At the plate, McLain was 0-for-5, snapping his 10-game hitting streak, in Cincinnati’s 5-4 loss in 11 innings.

The Reds announced Friday that star first baseman Joey Votto will return to Triple-A Louisville to begin a new rehab assignment on Saturday. Votto’s rehab from left shoulder surgery on his rotator cuff and biceps last August hasn’t progressed as planned.

The 39-year-old Votto hasn’t played in games for Louisville since his rehab assignment was stopped on April 15 after he batted .184 (7-for-38) in 10 games, with one home run, five RBIs, six walks and 21 strikeouts.

“I’ve just been feeling really good with the live work,” Votto said Friday. “At some point, you’ve got to come back and help the team. It’s good. I’m excited to be back. I’ve missed playing with the guys. Going on the road, I was able to work with our bullpen arms that throw. I was able to continue hanging out with the guys, staying in the flow of in-season competition.”

Meanwhile, Reds outfielder TJ Friedl missed his third straight game since straining his left hamstring in Tuesday’s win over the Boston Red Sox.

Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames (concussion) stayed back in Wisconsin on Friday, still recovering from being struck on the head by a foul ball during a game against the San Francisco Giants on Milwaukee’s last homestand.

Instead of flying with the Brewers to Cincinnati for pregame workouts, Adames drove to Appleton, Wis., to work with the Class-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, with a decision from the Brewers on a possible minor league rehab coming over the weekend.

“Everything has gone great,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said before Friday’s game. “He’s got no symptoms, so he’s progressing. It really doesn’t change the schedule he’d be on. We just figured, don’t fly. This can go fast, but every step has to be no symptoms.”

Milwaukee outfielder Tyrone Taylor (elbow) was scratched from Friday’s lineup against Cincinnati. Taylor missed the start of the season while recovering from a sprained right elbow and continues to experience discomfort.

–Field Level Media

In one sense, there is not much in common between the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals entering their Saturday matchup in the nation’s capital.

The Phillies are in yet another slump. The Nationals have won their past two games, topping the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia.

“These guys are relentless and doing little things,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez said of his players. “We’re playing good.”

However, both the Phillies and Nationals hold 25-32 records. It’s not supposed to be that way for the Phillies, in particular.

Philadelphia has lost five in a row, though the club wiped out a six-run deficit to pull even late in the Friday night contest before losing 8-7.

“This game is a really humbling game,” Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos said. “It forever owes you nothing. It doesn’t matter how hard you worked the year previous or what you had in the past. You have to come and earn your meal every single night.”

Lane Thomas had the game-winning hit in the eighth inning in the series opener, going 1-for-4. His 15-game hitting streak ended in Washington’s previous game.

“He has been really good,” Martinez said of Thomas. “He just broke his streak a couple of days ago, and for him to come back and get that big hit for us was huge.”

The Nationals will have left-hander MacKenzie Gore (3-3, 3.57 ERA) as their starter on Saturday. Washington went 0-6 in Gore’s six May starts, though he was charged with losses in only two of those games. In his latest outing, he went seven innings and gave up one run while striking out a career-high 11 in a no-decision at Kansas City on Sunday.

Gore pitched twice — once in relief, once as a starter — last year for the San Diego Padres against the Phillies, and he tossed a combined eight scoreless innings.

With the lefty on the mound for Washington, it’s likely that Drew Ellis will start for Philadelphia. The right-handed hitter played in his second game with the Phillies — his first start — on Friday night and went 1-for-3 with a walk before being lifted for a pinch runner.

The Phillies didn’t designate a starting pitcher for Saturday until after the Friday game. They will go with left-hander Matt Strahm (4-3, 3.20 ERA) to begin the game in what appears to be a bullpen day.

Since getting moved to the bullpen in early May, Strahm has pitched more than two innings just once, when he lasted 2 1/3 innings at San Francisco on May 17. In his lone start in the past month, he gave up two runs in two innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 23.

In three career appearances (one start) covering 8 1/3 innings against the Nationals, Strahm is 0-1 with a 6.48 ERA.

Martinez said the Phillies can put up runs in a hurry, so he’ll stress to his team to tack on as many runs as possible.

“You look over there and I look up and down that lineup, there are no easy outs over there,” Martinez said.

Former Washington shortstop Trea Turner, facing the Nationals for the first time since joining the Phillies, went 1-for-5 in the series opener. Castellanos carried the Philadelphia offense with four hits, two of them home runs, helping him produce a five-RBI night.

–Field Level Media

As the Pittsburgh Pirates work to stay above .500, designated hitter Andrew McCutchen is poised to hit a milestone or two in the ongoing weekend series against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.

McCutchen was the face of the Pittsburgh franchise earlier in his career. He is a five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger winner and the 2013 National League MVP.

Now he is back with the Pirates after spending five years with four other teams. McCutchen doesn’t man center field as he did earlier, mostly serving as the DH, but he has been feted by Pittsburgh fans and has expressed warm feelings about being back.

In the Pirates’ series-opening, 7-5 win on Friday, McCutchen went 2-for-4 with two singles. That leaves him three hits shy of 2,000 for his career. He is also one double away from 400 and five homers away from 300.

“If I stay healthy, I’m going to reach all of them,” McCutchen told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “That’s the way I look at it — stay healthy throughout the season and I’ll reach all of those. … It’ll happen, and I’ll celebrate when it does.”

While Pittsburgh is celebrating a long-time veteran, the Cardinals are embracing a rising star.

Jordan Walker, the organization’s top-rated prospect, was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Friday, started in right field and went 1-for-5.

Walker began the season with St. Louis and tied a big-league record for players 20 or younger with a 12-game hitting streak to start his career. Eventually, he was sent to Memphis to work on his game and because the Cardinals had a glut of outfielders. Walker turned 21 last week.

His call-up came as St. Louis put Lars Nootbaar (back) on the 10-day injured list a couple days after listing him as day-to-day.

That means the Cardinals’ starting outfield on Friday consisted of Walker and two converted infielders, Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan.

“That’s baseball,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “You figure it out.”

On Saturday, St. Louis left-hander Jordan Montgomery (2-6, 4.48 ERA) and Pittsburgh right-hander Luis L. Ortiz (1-2, 4.35) are expected to start.

Montgomery is tied for the team lead with five quality starts but is 0-6 with a 5.03 ERA over his past nine starts. Most recently, Montgomery allowed two runs in five-plus innings against the Cleveland Guardians in a no-decision on Sunday.

“Just started finding a little momentum,” Montgomery said. “Just kind of attacking hitters. Got in good counts and just got some quick outs. Much better curveball. Changeup is getting there. Step in the right direction.

“I’ve just got to keep throwing. I can only control so much of (whether I get wins). Going to keep going out there and keep us in it.”

Montgomery is 1-2 with a 2.95 ERA in three career starts against Pittsburgh.

Ortiz, who lost his first two starts of the season, picked up his first major league win on May 22 against the Texas Rangers, then followed with a no-decision his last time out, on Sunday at Seattle.

Against the Mariners, Ortiz gave up three runs on five hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out six.

Ortiz has faced the Cardinals once, when he gave up six runs in two-thirds of an inning and took a loss on Oct. 1, 2022. Saturday will be a rematch, as Montgomery started got the win in that contest after allowing two runs in six innings.

–Field Level Media