If the Seattle Mariners have their way, Bryce Miller, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby will anchor their rotation for years to come, perhaps even facing the New York Yankees in the American League playoffs.

So consider this week’s three-game series between the teams in Seattle, which begins Monday, as potentially a sneak preview.

Miller (3-1, 1.15 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener against New York’s Domingo German (2-3, 3.75) in a matchup of right-handers.

Miller, the Mariners’ top pitching prospect heading into the season, was called up earlier this month, just as Gilbert was in May 2021 and Kirby in May 2022.

“The main thing that I learned from just watching Kirby and Gilbert the last couple years was me coming into big league camp this year for the first time, I was able to know that the year before, Kirby was in the exact same spot and the year before that, Gilbert was in the same spot and they’ve had success in the big leagues the last two years,” Miller said on Seattle Sports’ “Wyman and Bob Show” on Friday.

Miller is the first pitcher to go a minimum of six innings and yield no more than four hits in his initial five major league appearances since at least 1901. He has logged three scoreless outings, including his last game, a 6-1 win against the Oakland A’s on Wednesday. In that game, he yielded two hits and a walk while striking out six in six innings.

Miller has taken former AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray’s spot in the rotation after the lefty made just one start this season before undergoing Tommy John surgery.

“When you lose a guy like Robbie Ray and then you have a young guy come in like that and take the opportunity and run with it, it is just fantastic,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Great to see.”

The Mariners are 6-1 on their 10-game homestand after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Sunday thanks to Eugenio Suarez’s walk-off, three-run homer in the 10th inning.

The Yankees outlasted visiting the visiting San Diego Padres 10-7 on Sunday as Aaron Judge hit his AL-leading 15th homer of the season.

New York got a scare in the sixth inning when first baseman Anthony Rizzo was hit in the head in a collision with San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. while making a tag.

Rizzo left the game with what the Yankees termed a neck injury but apparently passed concussion protocols after the game.

“Rizzo’s good. (We’re) just being cautious there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He went through all the testing and was fine. We’ll just keep an eye on him (Sunday night) and (Monday).”

Boone said if Rizzo feels fine, he would be in the starting lineup in the series opener at Seattle.

While Miller will be facing the Yankees for the first time, the Mariners are somewhat familiar with German. He is 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA in three career appearances against them, including two starts.

German will be making his first start since May 16, having served a 10-game MLB suspension for excessive use of a grip-enhancing substance.

German told reporters he plans to use less rosin against the Mariners.

“You have to do something different because what I did before got me ejected from the game,” German said through an interpreter. “Probably go back to previous years before where I used it way less.”

–Field Level Media

After falling just short in a three-game series between two of baseball’s best teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers will return home Monday to face the Washington Nationals in the opener of a three-game series and a six-game homestand.

The Dodgers dropped an 11-10 decision Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla., losing for the second time in a three-game series against the majors’ top team. The lone Los Angeles victory in the series was a tight 6-5 triumph on Saturday, and the Dodgers went 4-6 on a season-high, 10-game trip that included stops in St. Louis and Atlanta.

The Dodgers won only one series on the trip, when they took two of three games from the Braves to briefly claim the top record in the National League. However, Atlanta moved back on top after Los Angeles’ issues in Tampa Bay, as the Dodgers’ starting pitchers strugled.

“It feels like we played a lot better than 4-6 in my opinion,” said the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, who had two hits and a run on Sunday. “A lot of games that could have been lost a whole lot of different ways, and we came back and kept fighting and fighting. Longest trip of the year. It’s over. I just like the fact we kept grinding every single game this whole road trip.”

The offense certainly needed to grind along. After Dodgers right-hander Noah Syndergaard gave up six runs in six innings to the Rays on Friday, left-hander Clayton Kershaw gave up four runs in five innings on Saturday. Then came the seven runs in two innings allowed by rookie right-hander Gavin Stone in the finale.

The Dodgers continue to muddle along without left-hander Julio Urias (hamstring) and right-hander Dustin May (forearm), while right-hander Walker Buehler still is working his way back after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery last August.

The Dodgers have a 4.44 ERA from their starting staff, which ranks 16th in baseball. They had a major-league-best 2.75 ERA from their starters last season.

Next up in an attempt to improve on those numbers is another rookie, right-hander Bobby Miller (1-0, 1.80 ERA). The 24-year-old made his major league debut on Tuesday at Atlanta and gave up one run on four hits over five innings en route to an 8-1 win.

The Nationals will counter with right-hander Trevor Williams (2-2, 4.32 ERA). He is coming off a 5-3 win against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday when he gave up three runs on three hits over 5 2/3 innings with a season-high three walks.

In six career appearances against the Dodgers (five starts), Williams is 0-1 with a 5.67 ERA.

The Nationals lost 3-2 to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday but won the three-game road series and have taken two of their past three series. However, they are just 5-7 dating back to May 16, getting swept in a three-game series by the Miami Marlins in that stretch.

“We left 11 guys on base (on Sunday),” said Nationals manager Dave Martinez, whose team went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. “We had opportunities and we just couldn’t capitalize. We’ve been swinging the bat well. (Michael) Chavis had a really good day. (Ildemaro) Vargas drove in a big run for us. We just left a lot of guys on base.”

The Nationals played their own scoreboard-busting game Friday when they earned a 12-10 victory over the Royals with an eight-run sixth inning and six hits from Luis Garcia.

–Field Level Media

Bullpen woes hardly are the only culprit behind the Chicago White Sox’s sluggish first two months.

Still, the club appears primed to take a big step toward solving the issue as the Los Angeles Angels visit Monday to open a three-game series.

Chicago closer Liam Hendriks on Sunday posted an Instagram message with Monday’s date and the words “See you soon on the Southside,” which could be a nod to his impending reinstatement from the injured list. Hendriks hasn’t pitched in 2023 after undergoing offseason treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Hendriks has thrown multiple live batting practice sessions to teammates following a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte.

“He’s filling up the zone and getting some outs,” said Chicago catcher Seby Zavala, who faced Hendriks on Friday in Detroit. “The stuff looks good. I think it comes down now to how he feels. You talk to him, he says he’s feeling good.”

The White Sox squandered a chance on Sunday to split their four-game weekend series against the Detroit Tigers as relievers Joe Kelly and Reynaldo Lopez faltered in the ninth and 10th innings, respectively.

Chicago rallied for four runs in the seventh inning to take a 5-4 lead but was unable to hold on. Eric Haase’s 10th-inning sacrifice fly was the difference for Detroit in a 6-5 victory.

Right-hander Michael Kopech (3-4, 4.24 ERA) will get the call for the White Sox in the first game of a six-game homestand. After pitching to a 7.01 ERA in five April starts, Kopech is 3-1 with a 1.99 ERA through five starts in May.

“I’m back to trusting my stuff,” Kopech said. “The first few starts of the season, I was kind of searching, trying to feel what it felt like to throw my stuff with confidence again. Now I feel everything working out front.”

After winning five of six to start a nine-game homestand, the Angels were swept by the Miami Marlins over the weekend.

Rookie Eury Perez and five Marlins relievers teamed on a five-hit shutout on Sunday in the series finale. That snapped Los Angeles’ streak of 94 straight games without a shutout loss, a mark that was tops in the majors and dated to Aug. 21, 2022.

Three of the Angels’ hits went for extra bases, including a Gio Urshela triple.

“We’re getting on a plane now and leaving this behind,” Los Angeles manager Phil Nevin said. “You know, it’s not a good taste in our mouth, obviously, after the way the homestand was going. At the end of the day, we won more than we lost, but … we didn’t play our best this weekend. That’s no secret.”

Righty Griffin Canning (3-2, 4.95 ERA) is set to start for the Angels as he seeks to win consecutive starts for the second time this season. Canning pitched seven shutout innings Tuesday to defeat the Boston Red Sox, scattering two hits and three walks while striking out five.

Kopech is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in three career appearances, including one start, against the Angels.

Canning won his only previous start against Chicago, pitching seven innings of five-hit, one-run ball with one walk and eight strikeouts on Aug. 18, 2019.

–Field Level Media

Atlanta Braves right-hander Michael Soroka and Athletics righty Paul Blackburn are slated to make season debuts Monday afternoon when clubs at the opposite end of the standings in their leagues open a three-game interleague series in Oakland.

Soroka hasn’t pitched in the majors since Aug. 3, 2020, a game against the New York Mets during which he tore his right Achilles tendon.

He had surgery, then tore the same Achilles tendon while rehabbing, causing him to miss not only the remainder of the 2020 season, but also the entirety of the 2021 and 2022 campaigns.

Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos announced Sunday that Soroka stamped himself fully healthy in eight rehab starts at Triple-A Gwinnett, during which the 25-year-old went 1-2 with a 4.33 ERA in 35 1/3 innings.

“Soroka is doing really well,” Anthopoulos said. “I saw his last start. He had two in a row that were good. We believe he’s ready to help our team.”

Soroka is 15-6 with a 2.86 ERA in 37 big-league starts over his three-year career. He has never faced the A’s.

The timing of Soroka’s comeback is perfect, potential batterymate Travis d’Arnaud noted before Atlanta’s 11-4 home win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday with the Braves currently missing Max Fried (forearm) and Kyle Wright (shoulder).

“It would help us tremendously. You’ve got another All-Star coming back,” d’Arnaud said. “It’s pretty special to think we have the starting-pitching depth to weather the storm like we have.”

Sunday’s win was Atlanta’s 32nd of the season, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for most in the National League. The NL East-leading Braves salvaged a 5-5 split on a homestand that featured visits from the Seattle Mariners and the Dodgers before the Phillies arrived.

The victory came in a nationally televised night game, which didn’t allow the Braves to land in Oakland after the cross-country flight until well into the California morning. To add insult to injury, the A’s scheduled a late-afternoon holiday start (5:07 p.m. PT).

Oakland will show up saddled with an 11-game losing streak but with a comeback story of its own in Blackburn. He hasn’t pitched since last August, when he was shelved for the season due to right middle finger inflammation. Blackburn ended the year 7-6 with a 4.28 ERA in 21 starts.

The 29-year-old cracked a fingernail scraping dirt out of his spikes during spring training, then developed a blister in his rehab. He also spent time on paternity leave when his wife gave birth to the couple’s second child on May 5.

Blackburn made a combined six rehab starts for Class-A Stockton and Triple-A Las Vegas, going 0-0 with a 7.50 ERA.

A six-year veteran, the San Francisco Bay Area native insists his return is more about providing a positive role model for his younger teammates during a season in which the A’s have the majors’ worst record by a wide margin.

“Being the older guy, it’s kind of my job to do that with younger guys,” he said. “At the end of the year … whatever our record is, is our record. But I hope everyone just kind of takes a step back and says, ‘You know what? I got better this year.'”

Blackburn pitched well in his only previous start against the Braves, allowing three hits and one unearned run in six innings during his major league debut on July 1, 2017. The A’s lost the game 4-3.

–Field Level Media

Two veteran pitchers very familiar with the opponent are scheduled to go head-to-head Monday when the Pittsburgh Pirates visit the San Francisco Giants for the start of a three-game series between teams with nearly identical records.

Both teams traveled into town Sunday night coming off narrow defeats. The Pirates took a 6-3, 10-inning walk-off loss at Seattle after the Giants saw a rally fall short in a 7-5 setback during their series finale at Milwaukee.

The Pirates (26-26) have lost four of five to drop to the .500 mark for the first time since they were 2-2, while the Giants have won 10 of 13 to stick their head above break-even at 27-26.

The opener’s pitching matchup will feature Pirates left-hander Rich Hill (4-4, 4.27 ERA) and Giants righty Anthony DeSclafani (3-4, 3.43) in what will be Hill’s 19th career start against San Francisco and DeSclafani’s 18th against the Pittsburgh.

The 43-year-old Hill (231 starts) and 33-year-old DeSclafani (161 starts) have combined for 392 career starts, only one of which has been against each other. That occurred on May 17, 2019, when Hill, pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, threw six shutout innings in a 6-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds, who got just four ineffective innings (four runs) from DeSclafani that day.

Hill, who has pitched for 12 different teams, has gone 8-2 with a 2.34 ERA in his career against the Giants. It’s his best ERA against any opponent.

This time around, he will be seeing a hot Giants team that put up 28 runs while taking three of four from the Brewers in their just completed meeting. Mike Yastrzemski and Blake Sabol homered in Sunday’s getaway day loss.

The seven runs allowed by the Giants on Sunday came after they pitched to a 2.27 ERA in their previous 13 games.

“I knew we were pitching well. I knew we were just playing good baseball. It’s what makes this game tough,” Giants starter Alex Cobb said after the loss. “You just hope this doesn’t put too much of a damper on the momentum we’ve created.”

Hill has experienced a roller coaster of a season, compiling a 1.16 ERA in his four wins and a 5.82 ERA in his four losses.

His past two starts have demonstrated those extremes. After shutting out the Detroit Tigers on one hit over six innings in an 8-0 win on May 17, he allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings during a 6-1 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

When it was noted that he had a season-high nine strikeouts against the Rangers, Hill had a message for the younger pitchers on the Pittsburgh staff that he is mentoring.

“You can look at strikeouts or whatever, but at the end of the day, it’s the score,” he said. “Coming out of that game at a 4-1 deficit, that’s not putting us in a position to win. If you want to look at it as a good outing, fair outing or whatever, in my mind, that’s not a championship mindset. You’ve got to hold yourself to a higher standard.”

DeSclafani is winless in his last four starts, during which he’s gone 0-3 with a 5.64 ERA. He is coming off a 7-1 loss on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins in which he allowed all seven runs (four earned) in five-plus innings.

DeSclafani has gone just 3-7 with a 5.13 ERA against the Pirates.

–Field Level Media

Colorado Rockies outfielder Jurickson Profar and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte own the two longest active on-base streaks in the majors.

Profar and Marte aim to continue their torrid play on Monday when the Rockies open a four-game series against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix.

Profar extended his on-base streak to 35 games in Colorado’s 11-10 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday. He reached base four times (3-for-8, walk, two runs) while playing in two of the three games against Arizona in late April.

Marte, in turn, pushed his run to a career-best 27 games in the Diamondbacks’ 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. He went 1-for-6 with a homer and two RBIs in two games during the April series vs. the Rockies.

Those two players aren’t the only ones getting it done at the plate, however.

Ryan McMahon homered in his third straight game on Sunday and drove in a career high-tying five runs to propel Colorado to its fifth win in seven games. McMahon is 8-for-15 with five extra-base hits (three homers, two doubles) and nine RBIs in his past four contests.

“I’m just trying to go out there and play good baseball — even when I’m going bad, I’m trying to do that,” McMahon said, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. “I like what I’m doing in the box and I’m repeating it better.”

Teammate Charlie Blackmon is riding a season-high, nine-game hitting streak and has reached base in 18 straight games.

Arizona’s Lourdes Gurriel Jr., in turn, has hit safely in 21 of his past 22 games.

Corbin Carroll belted a two-run homer to the opposite field on Sunday, much to the pleasure of Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo.

“When we do have an all-field approach, we start to become unpredictable and we can end up slugging as we did in a couple situations,” Lovullo said. “We’ll continue to press on with that message.”

A pair of rookie right-handers, Colorado’s Karl Kauffmann (0-2, 9.35 ERA) and Arizona’s Ryne Nelson (1-2, 5.02), will be tasked with keeping each team’s offense in check on Monday.

Kauffmann, 25, has endured his fair share of growing pains since being promoted from Triple-A Albuquerque. He allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings in both of his starts, including a 10-2 setback to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

“One of the most important things for me is the feeling that I belong here,” Kauffmann said. “Those first few innings I’ve had the past couple of outings kind of reiterates that to me. Now, it’s just trying to find a way to make those adjustments and get those hitters out the third time through.”

Kauffmann has yet to face the Diamondbacks in his young career.

Nelson, 25, emerged with his fourth straight no-decision on Tuesday despite allowing just one run on three hits in six innings against the Philadelphia Phillies.

He lost his lone career encounter vs. Colorado on April 30 after permitting a season-high six runs on nine hits in four innings during a 12-4 setback.

–Field Level Media

Among the season-high seven home runs the Houston Astros slugged in their 10-1 road win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday was the first of the season from veteran first baseman Jose Abreu.

Much has been made of the sudden lack of power from Abreu, whose previous home run came last Sept. 13 against the Colorado Rockies while he was with the Chicago White Sox.

Of his 244 career homers, a career-low 15 came in 2022, with that power drought extending into this season, his first with the Astros, who have won 14 of 17 games entering the opener of a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.

“Everybody was real happy,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said of seeing Abreu break out. “It’s been a long time for sure, so hopefully this is the start of something good.”

Rookie right-hander J.P. France (1-1, 3.43 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Astros on Monday. He took a loss against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday despite notching a career-high eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings while allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk.

France will make his first career appearance against the Twins. He has held the opposition to one earned run or none in three of his four starts.

Right-hander Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.82 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Twins.

He leads the majors in ERA, adjusted ERA-plus (236) and fielding independent pitching (2.02), and has yet to surrender a home run over 54 1/3 innings this season. Gray has recorded four consecutive no-decisions while producing 25 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings with a 3.72 ERA during that span. Minnesota dropped all four of the games, including a 4-3 setback to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday during which Gray allowed two runs on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts over five-plus innings.

Gray is 4-4 with a 2.90 ERA over 11 career starts against the Astros. On April 7, he allowed one run on four hits and one walk vs. Houston while recording a season-high 13 strikeouts over seven innings but did not factor into the decision during the Twins’ 3-2, 10-inning home victory.

With a 3-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, the Twins completed a six-game homestand with a 2-4 record. By dropping the rubber match of that series, Minnesota endured its fourth consecutive series defeat.

The Twins remain in first place in the AL Central despite dropping eight of their past 12 games. They were a season-high six games over .500 in mid-April but have been unable to put together a stretch of quality baseball, with their loss on Sunday serving as a microcosm of their recent issues.

“The defensive play just wasn’t good enough,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We’re just giving them outs on plays that are not difficult, not overly difficult plays. We also on the offensive end have the chance to really get something going and sometimes you shoot yourself in the foot over 162 games. We have to get over it.

“Before the next game, we do have some things that we certainly need to clean up.”

–Field Level Media

The Tampa Bay Rays’ potent offense probably isn’t what the Chicago Cubs, generous in allowing runs as of late, want to see.

Even with Marcus Stroman eying a third straight strong start, the Cubs face a daunting task by trying to keep the visiting Rays from handing them a fifth straight defeat on Monday in the opener of a three-game series.

Tampa Bay is a major-league-best 39-16 and leads the majors in several offensive categories, including runs (335), batting average (.273), on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.848) and homers (101). The Rays totaled 38 runs in taking four of their last five following Sunday’s wild 11-10 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“To come away with a win in a well-fought game like that is big for everybody,” Tampa Bay reliever Jason Adam said Sunday of the club continuing to find ways to win.

Isaac Paredes had three hits with four RBIs, while five others recorded two hits apiece on Sunday for Tampa Bay, which concluded a 7-3 homestand. Paredes is 7-for-20 with seven RBIs in his last five games.

Though the Rays have lost six of their last nine on the road, they pose a serious test for the Cubs. Chicago is 11-24 since opening 11-6 and has been outscored 35-11 during their current four-game skid. Chicago has an 8.00 ERA in those last four games, with its starters having allowed 17 earned runs and 29 hits over 17 1/3 innings.

Stroman (4-4, 2.95 ERA), though, has allowed three runs and seven hits with four walks over 14 innings to win his last two starts. Last Wednesday against the New York Mets, the right-hander gave up a two-run homer in the third inning, plus three other hits, while lasting a season-high eight innings during the 4-2 victory.

“I know how to pitch,” said Stroman, who is tied for the major league lead with nine quality starts. “I’m really good at what I do. And, it’s just a matter of getting to the point where (I’m at) mechanically, and just rolling start after start.”

Stroman, however, has had his issues with the Rays, going 5-8 with a 5.04 ERA in 16 career starts against them. He yielded eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings of an 8-2 home loss to Tampa Bay last season.

Josh Lowe is 2-for-3 with a double and a triple against Stroman and is batting .307 on the season. Meanwhile, teammate Wander Franco is 1-for-3 versus Stroman and is 10-for-19 (.526) with six RBIs in his last five contests.

Scheduled Tampa Bay starter Taj Bradley (3-1, 4.44) makes his sixth major league start since debuting April 12. The right-hander will look to rebound from the roughest start of his young big-league tenure, when he gave up four runs and nine hits through four innings of the Rays’ 20-1 loss to Toronto last Tuesday.

However, Bradley did strike out seven without a walk — giving him 34 strikeouts and four walks in 24 1/3 career innings.

Meanwhile, it’s uncertain if Tampa Bay reliever Pete Fairbanks (1.54 ERA) will be available after suffering an apparent hip injury in the bullpen on Sunday.

Chicago’s Patrick Wisdom clubbed a three-run and two-run homer during Sunday’s 8-5 loss to Cincinnati. He has 14 home runs on the season but is batting .225.

Teammate Christopher Morel hit safely in his first 13 games this season but is 1-for-14 in four games since.

–Field Level Media

After spinning their wheels during a 3-4 road trip through Ohio, the St. Louis Cardinals will try to regain traction at home against the Kansas City Royals beginning Monday afternoon.

The Cardinals are coming off a 4-3 walk-off loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday.

“At the end of the day, I felt our guys took some pretty good swings and weren’t rewarded,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “Came up short.”

Prior to hitting the road last week, the Cardinals had won 11 of 14 games to pull back into the National League Central race after an ugly 10-24 start.

Over the weekend, St. Louis dropped two of three to Cleveland, the Cardinals’ first series loss since May 5-7 against the Detroit Tigers.

The Cardinals will send Adam Wainwright (2-0, 6.33 ERA) to the mound in the opener of the two-game series against Kansas City. The Royals will start Josh Staumont (0-0, 4.76) in what figures to be a bullpen game.

Wainwright told Bally Sports Midwest, “Earlier this year we were finding ways to lose. Now we’re finding ways to win, we’re getting back on track.”

Wainwright will make his fifth start of the season after recovering from a groin muscle strain sustained while training with Team USA during the World Baseball Classic. He has allowed four or more earned runs in three of his four starts, but the Cardinals won the past three with big offensive performances.

In his most recent outing, Wainwright allowed the Reds to score five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings in Cincinnati’s hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park last Tuesday.

“Two outs, nobody on, again. Bloop hit, again. Followed by an extra-base hit, again,” the right-hander said after that game. “All the bloops were followed by an extra-base hit. Too many extra-base hits.”

Marmol shuffled his starting rotation to line up Wainwright to oppose the right-handed Royals hitters. Wainwright is 7-3 with a 3.61 ERA in 16 career appearances against the Royals, including 13 starts.

The Royals had lost three games in a row and seven of eight before edging the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Sunday. They rallied with solo homers by MJ Melendez in the seventh inning and Edward Olivares in the eighth inning, and then Michael Massey delivered a walk-off single in the ninth inning.

“The homers were huge, I mean that was the only offense we had,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “MJ had a tough at-bat before that, and then being able — I believe that was with two strikes, too — to hit it opposite field, that’s impressive power, too, 400 and something feet opposite field.

“And then (Olivares) was ready to hit. You saw a couple of his other at-bats where he was ready to hit early, took aggressive swings and then he expanded the zone the at-bat before. But to still be ready to hit right there on the first pitch was very impressive.”

Staumont will serve as Kansas City’s opener on Monday, with Mike Mayers (0-0, 2.45) in line to pitch multiple innings in relief.

Staumont is 2-0 with a 4.76 ERA in six career relief appearances against the Cardinals. Mayers has never faced St. Louis.

Kansas City made a roster change on Sunday, putting reliever Josh Taylor (left shoulder impingement) on the 15-day injured list to make room for left-hander Daniel Lynch, who started against the Nationals. Lynch got a no-decision after allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings in his season debut after recovering from a left rotator cuff strain.

–Field Level Media