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Giants-Nationals Preview


(AP) -- Even with Max Scherzer being virtually unhittable of late, the Washington Nationals might be a bit more excited about the solid return of their other standout right-hander.


Finally healthy and pitching well, Stephen Strasburg will look to win his third straight start since coming back from injury and remain undefeated against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday in the second of a three-game series at Nationals Park.


Strasburg went 2-2 in five April starts before struggling in May, going 1-3 with a 10.13 ERA and reaching the fifth inning once in five outings.


He was placed on the disabled list with neck tightness after facing five batters at Cincinnati on May 29 and returned June 23 with five shutout innings in a 3-1 home win over Atlanta - part of a club-record 48 straight scoreless innings by the starters.


The hard-throwing Strasburg (5-5, 5.49) was just as good Sunday in the opener of a doubleheader at Philadelphia. In his deepest start since April 19, he went seven innings and gave up two runs with a season-best nine strikeouts in a 3-2 victory.


"It's good to be back getting into a game and getting into a routine," said Strasburg, who has a 1.50 ERA and two walks in 12 innings since returning. "My fastball command was good. Everything is off the fastball and I was locating it pretty good today."


The most important element of Strasburg's strong outing may have been his pitch count, which was a season-high 113. The former No. 1 draft pick was a workhorse for Washington (44-36) last year with a career-high 215 innings and an average of 96.9 pitches per start.


"He pitched great," manager Matt Williams said. "It's nice that he's healthy. It's important for him to stretch it today and also important for our whole team."


He has a tough act to follow after Gio Gonzalez worked seven outstanding innings in a 2-1 victory Friday. Clint Robinson took care of all the offense Gonzalez would need with a two-run homer in the seventh.


Strasburg has had little trouble with the Giants (42-39), going 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA in five regular-season starts, although a 7.14 run-support average hasn't hurt his chances.


He also pitched well against them Oct. 3 in the opener of the NL division series, allowing two runs - one earned - in five innings of a 3-2 defeat. The Nationals lost that series in four games and the lone pitcher they beat was Madison Bumgarner, who took the loss in Game 3 despite tossing seven innings of three-run ball.


Bumgarner (8-4, 2.99) will take the hill opposite Strasburg looking to win back-to-back outings for the first time since a three-start streak May 15-26. The left-hander, however, has been a hard-luck loser during a solid stretch.


He has a 2.03 ERA in his last four starts but lost the first two because San Francisco was shut out by Arizona and Seattle. Bumgarner also walked away without a decision June 23 against San Diego even though he allowed two runs and struck out a career-best 14.


The Giants finally made some contact and plated six runs in Bumgarner's previous start. He went 7 2-3 innings after a shaky first and allowed two runs in a 6-3 win over Colorado on Sunday - and he also helped himself with his eighth career homer.


"That's a special moment," he said. "Anything to help us put runs on the board."


Bumgarner is 2-3 with a 2.60 ERA in seven regular-season starts against the Nationals, but San Francisco has provided one run of support over his previous three.




The Giants lost, 5-4, to the Marlins on Thursday, and they were swept in the three-game series. San Francisco has lost four straight road games for the second time this season (also in April); they last lost five or more consecutive road games last August.


The Nationals lost to the Braves yesterday, 2-1, on a walkoff single by Cameron Maybin off Max Scherzer. Despite the defeat, the Nats still have the best record in the majors since June 19 (9-3, .750) and they also have the best record in one-run games for the season (13-8, .619).


The Giants are hitting .284 (397/1400) on the road this season, which is best in the majors and almost 20 points better than the next-highest club (Royals - .266). It would be the highest mark by a National League team since 1the 2004 Padres hit .288 away from home.


Matt Duffy is hitting .294 (68/231), which is third among rookies this season (Yasmany Tomas - .318, Billy Burns - .315). The last Giants' rookie with a higher batting average before the All-Star break was Gary Matthews in 1973 (.316; minimum 225 PA for both).


Bryce Harper has walked in 18.1 percent of his plate appearances (56/310), which would be the highest walk rate in franchise history — the current leader is Ken Singleton, who had a 17.8 walk percentage in 1973 (minimum 3.1 PA per team game).


In his last nine home starts, dating back to last August 21, Gio Gonzalez is 5-1 with a 1.88 ERA (12/57.1), and he has allowed two runs or fewer in all but one of those outings.

Blue Jays-Tigers Preview


(AP) -- Though their latest slide has ended, the main concern facing the Detroit Tigers is the health of star Miguel Cabrera.


With the two-time AL MVP expected to land on the disabled list, the Tigers move on by trying to build on a needed victory Saturday against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.


Cabrera was 2 for 2 with an RBI before he suffered a strained left calf in Detroit's five-run fourth inning in Friday's 8-6 victory. Among the major league leaders in batting average (.350), RBIs (54) and OPS (1.034), Cabrera limped off the field on his own power then underwent an MRI.


"I'm not optimistic at all," said manager Brad Ausmus, who noted that Cabrera was to be further evaluated Saturday. "When Miggy says he can't play, it is serious, because Miggy plays through everything."


Cabrera has played all but two games for the Tigers (40-39), who broke out after being swept in a three-game series by Pittsburgh. Cabrera's injury came the same night catcher Alex Avila went 0 for 2 while playing for the first time since going on the DL May 9 with a knee injury.


"I can't sit here and say we'll be fine, because (Cabrera's) the best hitter in baseball, at least in my eyes," outfielder J.D. Martinez said. "But if you look at our lineup, we've still got a lot of weapons."


Martinez is one of them, batting .366 with 11 home runs and 26 RBIs in his last 17 games.


Detroit's starting pitchers have a 6.04 ERA in the last eight games, but Anibal Sanchez took a no-hitter into the eighth before he allowed four of Toronto's six runs in that inning.


"That's the mentality of this team," said Toronto catcher Dioner Navarro, who had three RBIs. "We can score a bunch of runs in the blink of an eye, but it is tough to dig yourself out of that hole."


The Blue Jays (42-40) lead the majors in runs (447) and slugging percentage (.447) but face David Price, who is 6-0 with a 3.07 ERA in his last eight starts against them.


Jose Bautista is batting .319 with five homers when facing Price (7-2, 2.62 ERA), and Danny Valencia, hitting .377 against lefties, is 12 for 17 with three doubles in this matchup.


Price, however, is 3-0 in his last five starts and had a 1.41 ERA in his previous seven before allowing four runs and six hits in six innings while not factoring in the decision of Sunday's 5-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox.


R.A. Dickey (3-8, 4.85) is 0-5 with a 5.79 ERA in seven road starts this season but 3-0 with a 2.14 ERA as a starter at Comerica Park.


The right-hander yielded three runs for a second straight outing Monday over six innings of a 3-1 loss to Boston. He also gave up three more walks, raising his total to 40 - third most in the majors.


"I'm in a stretch where I'm pitching just good enough to lose," Dickey said. "I feel like I'm capable of more."


Rajai Davis is 5 for 8 with two doubles against Dickey, and should be back in the lineup after sitting Friday. Davis is batting .306 during a 10-game hitting streak


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Toronto lost the final game of a four-game series against the Red Sox, 12-6, in Toronto on Thursday, losing the series, 3-1, in the process. The Blue Jays begin a 10-game road trip on Friday and have scored 5.19 runs per game on the road this season, the most by any team in baseball.


Detroit moved back to .500 on Thursday (39-39) after losing its third game in a row to Pittsburgh, 8-4. The Tigers hit a home run in the loss and have hit at least one home run in each of their last 10 games -- the longest active streak in baseball and tied for the second-longest streak in the American League this year (Texas, 12, May 15-27).


This is the first meeting between the Blue Jays and the Tigers in 2015. Toronto scored 5.5 runs per game against Detroit in 2014 and won five of the six meetings, including a three-game sweep in Detroit.


Drew Hutchison won his last start (last Sunday against the Rangers), giving up no earned runs and striking out eight in 5.2 innings. Hutchison is 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA and 19 strikeouts over his last three starts.


Anibal Sanchez did not earn a decision last Saturday against the White Sox, giving up four earned runs and striking out seven over 7.0 innings. Sanchez is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA and 26 strikeouts in his last four starts.


Over his last nine games, J.D. Martinez is hitting .359 (14-for-39) with eight home runs, 16 RBI and a 1.349 OPS. Martinez hit 11 home runs in June, the second-most home runs hit in the month in the American League (Albert Pujols, 13).

Rays-Yankees Preview


(AP) -- Up until their series-opening victory over Tampa Bay, the New York Yankees hadn't been alone in first place as late as July since winning the AL East in 2012.


Remaining there entering the second half of the season could require another home win Saturday, something the Rays have been handing out daily as of late.


New York (43-37) came back from a pair of multirun deficits in Friday's 7-5 win with Mark Teixeira tying the game in the eighth inning on a three-run homer before Brian McCann connected for a three-run walk-off shot in a four-run 12th.


Teixeira was 2 for 5 with four RBIs to break out of a 2-for-24 slump, but all of that came on the road. He's 11 for 30 in his last eight at Yankee Stadium.


Alex Rodriguez and Chase Headley have followed that trend. Rodriguez is 16 for 36 on a 10-game home hitting streak after a 4-for-23 road trip, while Headley has a 13-for-37 mark in eight at home after a 5-for-27 trip.


In all, the Yankees are scoring 7.2 runs per game and batting .319 on a 13-4 run at home as opposed to 2.9 and .223 marks during a 9-18 road stretch.


They're chasing a 13th win in 20 tries against the Rays (42-40), who have dropped six straight for the second time and 10 of 12 since moving 10 games over .500 on June 20.


Grady Sizemore is 9 for 22 on the slide, but Steven Souza Jr. is 0 for 24 in nine games. The rookie will be back in the lineup after pinch-hitting in the last two contests.


Tampa will try to turn things around against Michael Pineda, who matched the longest start of his career with an eight-inning complete game in Sunday's 3-1 loss in Houston.


Two of the runs were earned and Pineda (8-5, 4.08 ERA) gave up seven hits with eight strikeouts and no walks, but he's got more work to do to recover from an eight-start span in which he's gone 3-5 with a 5.44 ERA.


"I thought he had good stuff from the beginning," manager Joe Girardi said. "I thought all three pitches were effective today and it's unfortunate because he pitched a really good game. Most days we're going to score more runs than that and he's going to win."


Souza (3 for 6 with a home run) and James Loney (4 for 9) have hit him well, but Evan Longoria is 1 for 17.


Nathan Karns (4-4, 3.26) hasn't pitched more than six innings in any of his last nine starts, but he's kept the Rays in most of them. The right-hander, who is 1-1 with a 1.54 ERA in his last four starts, gave up two runs and nine hits in six innings of Monday's 7-1 home loss to Cleveland.


His previous two opponents have taken perfect games through at least 6 1-3 innings, and he's received two runs of support in 29 innings over his last five outings. Karns is focusing on what he can control, and right now that happens to be an improved changeup.


"I have a good feel for it and I'm excited that I'm finally clicking with three pitches," Karns told MLB's official website. "... I'm getting the results I want out of a changeup. Whereas previously, it was just more of a slower pitch, a lateral movement. Now I'm getting two-plane break, down and away. ... The best thing about it, it looks like a fastball out of my hand."


On the road, he's 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and .173 opponent batting average in five starts. He's faced the Yankees three times, all this year, and is 1-0 with a 3.07 ERA.


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Tampa Bay could not avoid getting swept in the finale of its four-game series against Cleveland, losing 5-4 in 10 innings on Thursday. The Rays have now lost eight of their last 11 games and are averaging 2.45 runs per game since June 21 -- the fewest runs per game in the American League over that span (since June 21).


New York escaped a three-game sweep by the Angels in Los Angeles with a 3-1 win on Wednesday. The Yankees return home and have won 12 of their last 16 home games -- their .750 home winning percentage is the best in the American League since May 25.
The Rays return to the Bronx for the second time this season after losing two of three games to the Yankees in late April. Tampa Bay is 14-8 at Yankee Stadium since the start of 2013 and its 2.74 ERA on the road this season is the lowest in baseball.


Chris Archer lost his last start against Boston on Sunday, giving up more than three earned runs (five) for just the third time this season. Archer is 6-0 with a 0.90 ERA and 49 strikeouts in six road starts this season.


Masahiro Tanaka surrendered a career-high six earned runs last Saturday against the Astros, allowing three home runs for the second straight game. Tanaka is 8-4 with a 2.88 ERA in 14 career starts at Yankee Stadium.


Brett Gardner is in the middle of a nine-game hit streak, batting .462 (18-for-39) with two home runs, nine runs scored and a 1.292 OPS during the streak (since June 22). Gardner is batting .323 (10-for-31) with a home run, six RBI and eight runs scored in 10 games against Tampa Bay this season.

Padres-Cardinals Preview


(AP) -- Despite a season-high losing streak, the St. Louis Cardinals still sit atop the MLB standings largely thanks to an imposing starting staff.


They've rarely had any trouble winning when Carlos Martinez takes the mound, which he'll do Saturday against a San Diego Padres team looking to capture its first four-game series in St. Louis in a decade.


St. Louis (51-28) dropped its first two against San Diego (39-43) and has now lost four in a row for the first time since August. The Cardinals managed only four hits in Friday's 2-1 defeat and are in danger of their first five-game losing streak since a seven-game slide July 26-31, 2013.


Martinez (9-3, 2.80 ERA), who has proven himself capable of turning the tides, owns the best ERA (1.35) among qualifying NL starters since May 20 after holding the Chicago Cubs to a run and two hits over six innings Sunday in a 4-1 win. The right-hander has rattled off eight straight quality starts as the Cardinals have improved to 13-3 when he takes the mound.


"He's just looking untouchable," first baseman Xavier Scruggs told MLB's official website. "He always had the fastball in the minors when I was playing with him, but now he has a whole arsenal that is just disgusting. It's nasty."


Starting pitching, however, has hardly been St. Louis' concern, as the rotation has notched 10 consecutive quality starts and owns a 1.94 ERA in that span. The Cardinals supported the staff with 27 runs through six wins to begin that stretch, but have given their starters only six total runs in four games since - a stretch in which they're 1 for 34 with runners in scoring position.


Peter Bourjos, Yadier Molina, Kolten Wong, Randal Grichuk and Mark Reynolds are a combined 11 for 71 (.155) since Tuesday.


Martinez will face a Padres offense that did just enough in Friday's win. Jedd Gyorko had both RBIs in his fourth game back from Triple-A, and Yangervis Solarte extended his extra-base hitting streak to four with a triple.


"If we want to be the team we think we can, these are the games we have to win," Gyorko said. "We have to be able to come in and win games like this. I would find it hard to believe this wasn't a playoff atmosphere the way this was played tonight. ... It comes down to getting that big hit."


Looking to win a four-game series in St. Louis for the first time since May 5-8, 2005, San Diego will go with Odrisamer Despaigne (3-6, 4.94), who is 1-6 with a 5.68 ERA in 10 starts since May.


The right-hander has been plagued both by home runs - he ranks toward the bottom of the majors with 1.42 homers allowed per nine innings since joining the rotation full time - and a lack of run support. The Padres failed to score in Despaigne's first four losses and have given him only four runs in four starts since.


Despaigne, who is 0-2 with a 10.24 ERA in two career starts against St. Louis, lasted 5 2-3 innings Sunday in a 6-4 loss to Arizona, allowing five runs while striking out six.




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The Padres were shut out, 7-0, by the Mariners at home yesterday, getting blanked for the second straight game, and losing their third consecutive contest overall. San Diego has been shut out 13 times in 2015 -- most of any MLB club.


St. Louis lost, 7-1, to the White Sox at Busch Stadium last night, and has now dropped back-to-back home games for just the second time this season (also May 15-16 vs. Tigers). The last time the Cards lost more consecutive games at Busch Stadium was nearly a year ago during a four-game losing streak, July 20-August 1.


Tonight marks the first meeting of the season between San Diego and St. Louis. Including taking three of four from the Friars at Busch Stadium in 2014, the Cardinals are 8-2 at home vs. the Padres since the beginning of 2012.


Tyson Ross went 6.0 innings and allowed just two runs (both earned) last Friday vs. the D-backs, earning the victory, and recording back-to-back wins for the first time of the season. Ross is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals.


Tim Cooney is making his second career MLB start tonight after lasting just 2.1 innings and allowing three runs (all earned) in his first outing earlier this season on April 30 vs. the Phillies. Cooney is the only St. Louis rookie pitcher who has made a start in 2015.


Matt Carpenter went 0-for-4 last night, and is now hitting just .100 (3-for-30) in his last nine games. Carpenter has a .386 career batting average vs. the Padres -- second best of any MLB player since he joined the league in 2012 (minimum 50 AB).

Phillies-Braves Preview


(AP) -- The Atlanta Braves' starters haven't allowed an earned run in four of the last five games, and the man who began that run seems ready to get a streak of his own underway.


The competition should do little to deter Alex Wood on Saturday night as he takes the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field.


The Braves (39-41) opened the three-game series with Friday's 2-1 win, and Julio Teheran's unearned run in seven innings dropped the rotation's ERA to 1.19 through the full turn. The club has won four of those games, three straight overall and three in a row versus the Phillies (27-55).


At the plate, Juan Uribe has provided the staff with nearly all the support it's needed, going 8 for 22 with four home runs in six games.


Philadelphia has dropped eight of nine and five in a row after being swept in four at home against Milwaukee, and its winning percentage is under .333 this late in a season for the first time since being 36-74 entering play on Aug. 6, 1997. The Phillies last completed a season winning fewer than a third of their games in 1961 (.305).


Wood (5-5, 3.17 ERA) turned in his first scoreless start of at least six innings in Sunday's 2-1 win at Pittsburgh. The left-hander gave up five hits in 7 1-3 innings while matching a season high with eight strikeouts against no walks.


Unsurprisingly, he called it his best start of the year and compared it to how he felt at his best last season, and his catcher agreed.


"He was pretty much in control the whole game," A.J. Pierzynski told MLB's official website. "He had all three of his pitches working and he was moving his fastball around. He was ahead in the count. That's what he can do. When he's right, he can dominate lineups. Today you saw a glimpse of what he can do."


The next step might be duplicating it at home. Wood is 0-3 with a 5.00 ERA in five starts at Turner Field. The location hasn't much mattered against Philadelphia with a 2-2 record and 2.60 ERA in six career starts, though Wood did last just 4 1-3 innings while allowing three runs and nine hits in a 5-2 home loss May 4.


Carlos Ruiz (6 for 9), Freddy Galvis (4 for 7) and Ben Revere (6 for 12) have done the most damage against him.


Kevin Correia is seeking his first win in his fifth start since signing with the Phillies last month. The right-hander gave up three runs - one earned - and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings of Sunday's 3-2 home loss to Washington.


Correia (0-2, 3.60) hasn't been fooling many with a .329 opponent batting average, and the 34-year-old is yet to make it through six innings. That's probably because opponents are batting .412 with a 1.332 OPS on their third time through the lineup.


The Phillies made two errors against the Nationals and he walked three batters.


Correia said it's key to avoid reaching that third time through the order so early while an NL lineup is still entirely intact.


"I think it's more innings later where you're facing guys for the second, third time that you might not have been later in the game," Correia said. "It's huge for me, because they're going to see more of what you're featuring the third time around."


Any time through the order could be a struggle against Kelly Johnson, who's 10 for 30 with five home runs off Correia. Uribe (8 for 20 with a home run), Chris Johnson (4 for 10) and Nick Markakis (3 for 6) have also had success.


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The only time the Phillies have faced the Braves in Atlanta this season (May 4-6), the Braves won two of the three games and scored almost double the amount of runs Philadelphia did (18-10). Atlanta recorded a .323 team batting average in the series, its second-highest batting average in a single series this season (.365 batting average in a three-game series versus the Nationals from April 27-29).


The Phillies lost to the Brewers, 8-7, in 11 innings on Thursday, Philadelphia's 54th loss of the season. Prior to this season, the last time the Phillies lost 54 or more games prior to the All-Star break was when they lost 61 games in 1997 (their most losses prior to the All-Star break in a single season since the All-Star Game was established in 1933).


The Braves beat the Nationals, 2-1, on a walkoff hit by Cameron Maybin on Thursday, his second career walkoff (also June 7, 2014 for the Padres versus the Nationals). Atlanta totaled just five hits in the win, its fourth win with five or fewer hits this season after totaling five such wins in all of 2014.


Ryan Howard has hit three home runs versus the Braves this season (all three of the home runs the Phillies have hit against Atlanta). Howard's 50 career home runs versus the Braves are the second most by any player versus any team since Howard entered the league in 2004 (David Ortiz has hit 53 home runs versus the Blue Jays over that span).
Adam Morgan got the start, pitched 5.2 innings and allowed just one run while striking out six in his MLB debut versus the Cardinals on June 21. Prior to Morgan, the last Phillies pitcher to get the start, pitch at least five innings and allow one or fewer runs while striking out six or more in his MLB debut was Cole Hamels at Cincinnati on May 12, 2006 (five innings, zero runs allowed and seven strikeouts).


Julio Teheran gave up a home run in each of his first four career appearances versus the Phillies, posting a 5.79 ERA in 18.2 innings versus Philadelphia over that span. Since then, Teheran has allowed just one home run in 30.2 innings versus Philadelphia, posting a 1.17 ERA in his four starts versus the Phillies over that span (since April 16, 2014).

Astros-Red Sox Preview


(AP) -- The second half of the schedule for the Houston Astros has started much like the stellar first - with a victory.


Now they have a chance to record their longest win streak in two months Saturday afternoon against the Boston Red Sox, who will lean on their hottest pitcher.


Houston (48-34) won game No. 82 on Friday 12-8 in 10 innings, as Jose Altuve drove in two runs, Jon Singleton had three RBIs and Carlos Correa tallied three hits, including his sixth home run.


The Astros, who lead the AL West by five games, did not win their 48th game in 2014 until Aug. 8, and not in 2013 until Sept. 9.


"This is an aggressive team," Red Sox manager John Farrell told MLB's official website. "They're built around the home run, they're aggressive on the basepaths, and you look at the way their pitching has emerged both in the rotation and the bullpen, that's why they're in first place."


Another strong performance from Collin McHugh (9-3, 4.51 ERA) could help the Astros win six in a row for the first time since a season-best 10-game run April 24-May 3.


The right-hander was excellent for the second consecutive start Sunday, limiting the New York Yankees to one run and two hits over eight innings in a 3-1 victory. He's won his last three outings and has a 1.69 ERA in his past two.


"It's not just like he logged innings (Sunday), he logged innings while using his best stuff," manager A.J. Hinch said. "That's a tough lineup to get through and a lot of damage that could be done. Just a really, really good pitching performance."


He faces a Boston lineup that has been very productive recently despite Friday's defeat. The Red Sox (37-45) have totaled 20 runs and 30 hits in their last two games, batting .349 in that time.


Hanley Ramirez has homered in each contest, David Ortiz has five RBIs and Xander Bogaerts is 6 for 10 with four runs.


Clay Buchholz (6-6, 3.48) will look for a similar level of offensive support Saturday while also continuing a very impressive string of starts. The right-hander, who ranked last among qualifying pitchers with a 5.34 ERA in 2014, has won his last three outings, posting a 0.82 ERA while striking out 15 and walking two.


He matched his longest start of the season Monday with eight innings and five hits allowed in a 3-1 win at Toronto.


"He's been on a really strong run through the entire month and tonight tops off the month he's had," Farrell said. "He was outstanding."


Buchholz has gone seven starts spanning 48 innings without allowing a home run, and has only surrendered five in 101 innings this season.


Last season's struggles did not apply to Houston, as Buchholz dominated the Astros in two outings. He pitched a three-hit shutout on July 13, then allowed two runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts on Aug. 15.


Buchholz is 2-0 with a 1.52 ERA in three career starts against Houston.


Altuve is 1 for 12 against Buchholz, an .083 average that ranks as his second-worst against any pitcher with at least 10 at-bats. However, the second baseman is batting .395 during an 11-game hitting streak, and is 9 for 15 with six RBIs in his last three meetings with the Red Sox.


The Astros are 3-9 all-time at Fenway Park.


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Houston won its fourth game in a row on Wednesday, beating Kansas City, 6-5. The Astros are now 28-16 at home -- their .636 home winning percentage is the highest in the American League this season.


The Red Sox's first eight batters reached base safely on their way to an eight-run first inning and a 12-6 win over the Blue Jays on Thursday. The last team in the American League to score eight runs in the first inning was the Astros on June 12, 2015 (in Houston, all eight runs scored versus Felix Hernandez).


The Astros and the Red Sox last played at Fenway in August 2014 and split their four-game series. Since 2003, Boston is 9-2 with a 3.34 ERA when Houston travels to Boston.
Dan Straily is making his first start of the season and his first start as a member of the Houston Astros. Straily was 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA and 17 strikeouts in his last three minor league starts for AAA Fresno.


Justin Masterson is making his second start since returning from the DL. Last Sunday, Masterson gave up no earned runs and struck out six in 5.0 innings at Tampa Bay.
Jose Altuve is batting .368 (14-for-38) with two home runs, 10 runs scored and six stolen bases over his 10-game hitting streak. This is Altuve's sixth hitting streak of 10 games or more since 2013.

Orioles-White Sox Preview


(AP) -- If confidence has been an issue for the last-place Chicago White Sox, it should be less of a problem now after three straight wins against division leaders.


The White Sox seek their first four-game streak in more than six weeks Saturday when they continue a three-game series against the slumping Baltimore Orioles.


After starting their eight-game trip with four losses in six games, the White Sox (35-42) received outstanding performances from starters Chris Sale and Jose Quintana in back-to-back wins over major league-leading St. Louis. John Danks followed suit Friday against Baltimore, tossing seven innings and getting all the support he needed from Jose Abreu's team-leading 14th home run in a 1-0 victory.


Melky Cabrera and Avisail Garcia each had two hits for Chicago, which has won seven of 11 after losing a season-high eight in a row. The White Sox have a chance for their first four-game streak since capturing six straight May 12-18.


Danks' outing continued a trend of stellar starting pitching at home for the White Sox. Their starters have thrown nine consecutive quality starts at U.S. Cellular Field, posting a 1.57 ERA and striking out 62 in 63 innings.


Baltimore (42-38) has lost four of five - it fell a game behind the New York Yankees into second in the AL East after Friday - and was blanked for a second straight day after Thursday's 2-0 home loss to Texas. The Orioles, who averaged 5.9 runs during a 17-6 stretch before the shutouts, haven't been held without a run in three straight since July 29-31, 1957.


"This is why this game is so hard," said Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez. "You can be doing really good, and then all of a sudden you can't score."


Adam Jones and Matt Wieters - the Nos. 3 and 4 hitters - combined to go hitless in eight at-bats Friday. Jones is hitting .156 and Wieters is batting .125 over their past nine games.


Offensive support has been anything but a problem for Chris Tillman (6-7, 5.67 ERA), who ranks among the AL leaders in run support (6.81). Despite posting a 5.13 ERA in his past five starts, he is 4-0 during that span while receiving 13.67 runs on his behalf.


After surrendering six runs in 1 1-3 innings at Toronto on June 21, the right-hander rebounded in a big way Sunday night against Cleveland. He pitched seven innings of four-hit ball and struck out six without a walk in an 8-0 victory.


"I was able to command the fastball and make some good pitches early on," Tillman said. "That's key to getting deep in a ballgame."


He's won his last two starts against Chicago, yielding one run and four hits in 15 innings with 14 strikeouts.


Cabrera is 7 for 22 with a homer and two doubles against Tillman.


Jeff Samardzija (5-4, 4.56) will try to atone for a dismal outing earlier this season against the Orioles. Samardzija was roughed up for six first-inning runs en route to an 8-2 loss in an empty Camden Yards on April 29. The right-hander did pitch five innings, allowing eight runs and 10 hits as his ERA in two career starts versus Baltimore reached 8.25.


Samardzija has been much more effective lately, going 1-0 with a 3.49 ERA in his last four starts. He carried a 4-0 lead into the eighth inning Sunday at Detroit before allowing four runs - the big blow coming on Victor Martinez's bases-clearing double with one out on his final pitch.


Manny Machado hit one of his two home runs off Samardzija in the April win and is 5 for 6 lifetime in this matchup.


---------------------------------------------


Baltimore has won six of its last seven meetings with the White Sox, including two out of three this year. Chicago hasn't scored more than four runs in any of its last 15 games in the series (2.6 runs per game), with Baltimore winning 11 of those contests.


Baltimore dropped three out of four games versus the Rangers at home this week, its first series loss in nearly a month (June 1-3 at Astros). The Orioles are still an MLB-best 19-8 (.704) since June 4.


The White Sox wrapped up an eight-game road trip with a two-game sweep of the Cardinals on Tuesday (2-1) and Wednesday (7-1). It was just the second time the Cardinals -- who have the majors' best record at 51-27 -- have been swept in a series this season, and first at home.


Melky Cabrera has homered twice in his last three games, after hitting just one home run in his first 72 games played this season. He's batting .361 (13/36) over his last nine games, with five RBI and a 1.064 OPS.


Adam Jones is hitting .391 in day games this year (36/92) but just .238 at night (41/187). That's the largest batting average difference in the majors between day and night, where day is better (+.153; min. 3.1 PA/Team G).


Ubaldo Jimenez averaged an MLB-high 5.5 walks per nine innings last season (min. 100 IP), but has lowered that rate to 2.8 per nine this season. That improvement (-2.7) ranks as the largest in the majors from one season to the next by any pitcher since Brandon Webb from 2004 to 2005 (-2.8; min. 100 IP first season and 50 IP the next).

Mariners-Athletics Preview


(AP) -- With no health issues stemming from his latest outing, Felix Hernandez hopes his recent trend of inconsistency has passed.


Looking to record consecutive quality starts for the first time since the end of May, the Seattle Mariners ace tries to continue his success against the host Oakland Athletics on Saturday.


Hernandez (10-4, 3.05 ERA) allowed a total of 19 runs in three June outings and just one in his other three, adding up to a 5.51 ERA that was his worst in any month since August 2013.


He gave up four runs and nine hits over 6 2-3 innings of a 4-1 loss to Kansas City on June 22, then yielded one hit and struck out eight over six scoreless innings Sunday before cramping forced him to leave a 3-2, 10-inning defeat in Anaheim.


"Other than heat exhaustion, nothing (was wrong with him)," manager Lloyd McClendon said.


Hernandez wasn't upset that McClendon pulled him after 96 pitches.


"He is always right," Hernandez said. "I was a little tired. The weather was way too hot. I got a lot of cramps, in my legs, too. He made the right decision. There's nothing wrong with me."


Hernandez is 10-2 with a 2.64 ERA in 20 starts at Oakland, and hasn't suffered a losing decision there in the 14 outings that followed his last Sept. 19, 2008 - the longest such streak by a visitor at the Coliseum.


He allowed three runs and eight hits in five innings of an 8-7, 10-inning win at Oakland (37-46) on April 12 - the Mariners' sixth straight victory and 10th of 11 when Hernandez starts there. On May 10, he gave up a pair of solo homers to Marcus Semien and recorded his 2,000th strikeout in seven of a 4-3 victory to improve to 5-0 with a 2.54 ERA in his last eight overall against the A's.


"It's Felix Hernandez - he's going to do that to a lot of teams this year," said Oakland's Stephen Vogt, who is 7 for 12 with a home run against him.


Hernandez looks to help Seattle (37-43) build on a 9-5 victory Friday when Nelson Cruz hit one of the Mariners' four two-run homers. Seattle has homered 17 times in the last 12 games after hitting six in its previous 19.


Cruz has hit two of his 21 homers in the last three after recording one over his previous 29 contests. He's batting .344 with three home runs and seven RBIs in eight games against the A's this season.


Oakland's Kendall Graveman (5-4, 3.47), though, has a 1.50 ERA while lasting at least seven innings in his last five outings. He allowed five hits over seven scoreless innings of Monday's 7-1 victory over Colorado.


The right-hander is 4-2 with a 2.01 ERA in eight starts since he was recalled from Triple-A Nashville, where he spent a month after posting an 8.27 ERA in his first four outings.


"I think the confidence factor is definitely there," he said. "It's something I felt when I was at spring training. Then I lost it a little bit when I started the season here. To go back down to Nashville and work with those guys and be productive down there, and then come back and contribute here, has been great."


This will be his first start against the Mariners, whom he faced twice out of the bullpen last season.


The A's have dropped six of eight to Seattle, but Semien is batting .382 with seven RBIs in those games.


--------------------------------------------




The Mariners beat the Padres, 7-0, at Petco Park yesterday, recording their second straight whitewash, and their fourth in the last 14 games overall -- second most of any MLB club since June 17 (Cubs -- 5). Seattle has never posted shutouts in three straight games.


Oakland beat Colorado, 4-1, at O.co Coliseum on Wednesday, taking two of three from the Rockies and improving to 19-13 in its last 32 games -- third best in the AL since games of May 28. The A's have allowed one or fewer runs 12 times in their last 37 contests.


The M's have defeated the A's five straight times, with four of those wins decided by a single run. Dating to May 5 last season, Seattle has won seven of its last 10 contests in Oakland.


Roenis Elias allowed a career-high seven earned runs in 3.2 innings eight days ago vs. Kansas City, taking the loss, and falling to 2-4 with a 6.21 ERA in his last six outings. Elias is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in two career starts vs. the A's (both at O.co Coliseum).


Scott Kazmir went 7.0 innings and allowed three runs (all earned) last Saturday vs. the Royals, and including that setback, is 2-5 with a 3.47 ERA in his last 10 starts overall. Kazmir (4-4, 3.35 ERA in 13 career starts vs. Seattle) has a 1.63 ERA at O.co Coliseum this season -- second lowest of any qualifying AL starter at home this season (Dallas Keuchel -- 1.24).


Billy Burns had a double and a triple in the same game for the first time in his career yesterday, giving him 22 multi-hit contests since being called up May 2 -- tied for second most in MLB (Jason Kipnis -- 23). Burns is 3-for-10 (all singles) in four career games vs. the M's.

Marlins-Cubs Preview


(AP) -- Justin Bour is doing his best impersonation of Giancarlo Stanton as the Miami Marlins continue to win without arguably the top slugger in the majors.


The rookie has homered in each of Miami's four straight victories and the last three proved to be game-winning shots for the Marlins, who look to match their season-high win streak Saturday night against the Chicago Cubs.


Bour had a solo home run in Tuesday's 5-3 victory over San Francisco, hit a walk-off three-run blast in a 6-5 win the next day and put Miami (35-46) ahead with another three-run shot in a 5-4 victory Thursday to complete the sweep.


Then, in the opener of this three-game series Friday at Wrigley Field, Bour's homer broke a 1-all tie in the sixth inning and gave the Marlins a 2-1 win.


He's the third player in major league history to hit a go-ahead homer that turned out to be the winning RBI in three games in a row, joining Baltimore's Jim Gentile in 1962 and Atlanta's Javy Lopez in 2003.


No Marlin has ever gone deep in five straight and six rookies have done it since 1914, including Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers this year.


"He's taking great swings, made the adjustment," manager Dan Jennings said. "The league adjusted to him, he's made the adjustment back, and it's fun to watch him right now in the zone he's in."


Miami has won five of six since losing Stanton for four to six weeks with a hamate fracture in his left wrist. Stanton leads the majors with 27 homers and has 67 RBIs.


Christian Yelich is also hot for Miami, homering Friday to make him 10 for 18 since Stanton went down.


"It was a solid team win today and we've been playing really good baseball," winning pitcher Tom Koehler said. "Hopefully, it's something that will continue."


The Cubs (42-36) saw the lineup struggle again as they scored two runs or fewer for the ninth time in 10 games. Chicago, though, entered off a three-game sweep after holding the New York Mets to one run. The team has a 2.19 ERA in the last 13 contests.


"We have not been scoring a lot of runs but we've been playing well," manager Joe Maddon said. "... I think (the offensive struggles) sometimes bring out the best in the starters."


The Cubs will have a new starter Saturday in Clayton Richard, acquired from Pittsburgh on Friday. The left-hander hasn't been in the majors since having shoulder surgery in 2013 while with San Diego.


Richard went 4-2 with a 2.09 ERA in nine starts for the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis.


He'll be opposed by Jarred Cosart (1-3, 4.12), who will make his first start since mid-May. The right-hander came off the disabled list June 25 after a bout with vertigo and made his first career relief appearance the next day against the Dodgers.


Cosart went four innings, allowing two runs and six hits with three walks.


"I just felt really out of sync, out of whack there," he told MLB's official website.


------------------------------------------




Miami is coming off a home, three-game sweep of the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants. The Marlins won the three games against the Giants by a total of four runs. It was the fourth time in franchise history that the Marlins have swept a series from the defending World Series champion: also September 24-26, 1996 vs. Atlanta (3 games), August 7-9, 2009 at Philadelphia (3 games) and May 24-26, 2011 at San Francisco (3 games).


The Cubs are coming off a three-game sweep at Citi Field against the New York Mets. It was Chicago's second three-plus game series sweep of the season, and both have come against the Mets. The Cubs won four straight versus New York at Wrigley Field from May 11-14. Miami has now won five straight games against NL East teams, and is 12-5 on the season against the NL East despite not scoring more than six runs in any of the 17 games.


Christian Yelich has at least one hit in all six career games at Wrigley Field, and is hitting .429 (12-for-28) with two home runs and four stolen bases in six career games on the Northside of Chicago.


Anthony Rizzo leads the Cubs in batting average (.297), doubles (24), home runs (15), runs batted in (45) and stolen bases (12). He is the only player in the majors leading his team in these five categories. In the live-ball era (since 1920), only three Cubs have led the team in these five categories over an entire season: Babe Herman -- 1933, Ernie Banks -- 1955 and Derrek Lee -- 2005.


Tom Koehler was 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA in June with a 23 strikeouts against only five walks. Koehler went at least 6.2 innings in all four June starts. Six of the 10 runs Koehler allowed in June came via five home run balls.


Jason Hammel's 2.92 ERA is a career best 15 starts into a season. His previous low ERA through 15 starts was last season with the Cubs when he had a 2.99 ERA through 15 starts. In 32 career starts with the Cubs, Hammel is 13-8 with a 2.95 ERA; In 170 other MLB starts, Hammel is 48-62 with a 4.85 ERA with Tampa Bay, Colorado, Baltimore and Oakland.

Brewers-Reds Preview


(AP) -- The NL Central-worst Milwaukee Brewers aren't showing signs of slowing down offensively as they attempt to reel in the fourth-place Cincinnati Reds.


The Brewers hope to keep swinging hot bats as they try to extend their longest winning streak in 15 months Saturday night at Great American Ball Park.


Jonathan Lucroy, Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez had three hits apiece Friday to help Milwaukee (34-48) win its sixth in a row and match a season-high run total in a series-opening 12-1 victory.


Gomez hit his first career grand slam and tied his career high with five RBIs while Gerardo Parra and Aramis Ramirez added solo shots. Parra is batting .390 in his last 15 games, Braun has gone 16 for 33 in his past eight, Ramirez is 8 for 15 in his last five and Lucroy has gone 11 for 20 in his past four.


"We know we can hit," Gomez said. "It just seems like, this whole year, we were never able to put it together. When we get five or six guys extremely hot, we know we can make some runs."


The Brewers have batted .356 and averaged 7.5 runs during their longest win streak since a nine-game run in April 2014. They're hoping to keep it going as they look to move within three games of the Reds.


Cincinnati (36-42) has faded by losing five of seven, posting a 6.55 ERA in its last five games.


The Brewers rank near the bottom of the majors with 188 walks, but it would serve them well to take a patient approach against Reds starter Josh Smith (0-1, 5.63 ERA).


After allowing four runs and walking six over three innings in his big-league debut at Pittsburgh on June 23, Smith showed improvement but continued to struggle with his command Sunday. The right-hander gave up three runs - one earned - and four hits while walking four more over five innings in a 7-2 road loss to the New York Mets.


"The key for Josh is to work ahead and challenge more in the zone," manager Bryan Price told MLB's official website. "His ball-strike ratios need to come up and he needs to be in more advantageous counts."


Jimmy Nelson is searching for consistency after yielding four runs over five innings in Monday's 7-4 win at Philadelphia. He wasn't able to build on his prior outing when he allowed one run and two hits over eight innings in a 4-1 home win over the Mets.


Nelson (5-8, 4.45) has a 5.87 ERA over his last four starts.


The right-hander faces the Reds for the third time this year. He allowed one run over eight innings but did not factor in a 2-1 home loss April 22 before giving up seven over 2 1-3 in a 9-6 road defeat five days later.


Jay Bruce homered off Nelson in the most recent matchup. Joey Votto and Todd Frazier, however, have gone a combined 2 for 11 lifetime against him.


Votto is 2 for 23 over his past seven games after going 0 for 3 Friday.


The Reds had won nine of 11 at Great American Ball Park while scoring 5.6 runs per game before managing just six hits off Mike Fiers and Tyler Cravy in the opener.


-------------------------------------------




The Brewers are riding a season-high five-game win streak. Milwaukee's previous high win streak this season was three. The Brewers have not won six-plus games in a row since winning nine straight from April 4-13, 2014.


Since May 29, the Cincinnati Reds are 12-4 at home. That .750 winning percentage is the best in baseball in that time frame. The Brewers and Reds have played seven times this season, and despite the fact that Milwaukee has outhit Cincinnati, 56-53, the Reds have won five of the seven meetings. The Reds have won nine of the last 13 meetings against the Brewers in Cincinnati.


Adam Lind is hitting .405 (17-for-42) with three home runs and 13 runs batted in in his last 12 games. Lind has driven in at least one run in a career-high six consecutive games. The last Brewers' player to drive in a run in seven-plus consecutive games was Prince Fielder -- seven straight from April 6-14, 2011. The club record for consecutive games with an RBI is nine done three times: George Scott in 1975, Cecil Cooper in 1982 and Carlos Lee in 2005.


Todd Frazier is one of three MLB players leading his team in runs (54), hits (87), doubles (22), home runs (25) and runs batted in (54). The other two are Nolan Arenado, Colorado and Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona. Frazier has homered in four straight series versus Milwaukee.


Mike Fiers has gotten a little better each month this season: April 0-3, 5.79 ERA, .358 OppBA; May 1-2, 3.82 ERA, .260 OppBA; June 2-2, 3.57 ERA, .248 OppBA. The Brewers have won three of Fier's last four starts, and this season on the road against NL Central opponents Fiers is 2-1 with a 1.53 ERA in three starts (2 of the 3 at St. Louis).


Michael Lorenzen made his major-league debut at Great American Ball Park against the Brewers on April 29 and took the loss after allowing three runs (in 5.0 innings) on three solo home runs by Adam Lind, Khris Davis and Ryan Braun. Since then, Lorenzen has had four starts at home and is 1-0 with a 2.73 ERA in four consecutive quality starts.

Twins-Royals Preview


(AP) -- Offense remains elusive for the Kansas City Royals, but they at least finally have something positive to build on this week.


Following a spirited comeback victory, the Royals look to further increase their AL Central lead over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.


Lorenzo Cain had three hits and scored the tying run in the eighth then the winner on Jarrod Dyson's ground ball in the 10th to help Kansas City (45-32) snap a four-game skid with Friday's 3-2 victory.


"We definitely need this win," said Cain, who is batting .387 with 10 RBIs in his last 17 contests. "We lost four in a row and it was definitely tough to go through."


Owners of a 4 1/2-game division lead over Minnesota (42-38), the Royals have totaled nine runs and been shut out twice in the last five games. They had 10 hits Friday, but went 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position and are 5 for 39 (.128) in that five-game span.


Kansas City, however, has yielded two runs in each of the first two of this four-game series.


Joe Blanton (2-1, 3.14 ERA) allowed two runs, seven hits and struck out 11 without a walk over 11 innings to win his first two starts of the season last month. In his third, he was tagged for five runs, five hits and walked four in 2 2-3 innings of Monday's 6-1 loss at Houston.


"I take pride in not walking guys," said Blanton, who walked three in his first nine appearances. "I can't think of too many games where I walked that many guys. You throw some borderline pitches that don't go your way.


"Other than that, trying to fight command issues makes it that kind of day."


Blanton, who didn't pitch in the majors last season, is 5-6 with a 4.50 ERA in 11 starts against the Twins.


Joe Mauer is batting .407 (11 for 27) against Blanton, who also gets his first look at touted Minnesota prospect Miguel Sano.


In his first two career games, Sano is 3 for 8 with an RBI in the series.


Minnesota tries to avoid a fifth loss in six games to the Royals behind Mike Pelfrey (5-5, 3.81), who gave up five hits in seven innings of a 3-0 victory at Kansas City on April 22, but is 0-3 with an 8.85 ERA in his last four starts. The right-hander matched a season high by yielding eight runs with nine hits over two-plus innings of an 11-7 loss at Cincinnati on Monday.


"Your goal is to attack, attack, attack," he said. "I got away from that. I got away from a lot of things that made me successful to date. I got my butt kicked."


Pelfrey gave up eight runs and 11 hits in 3 2-3 innings of an 11-7 defeat at Texas on June 13 then allowed a run over eight of a 2-1 victory over St. Louis five days later.


"I think if I were younger, it would drag on with me a little longer," he told MLB's official website. "I understand that falling behind into bad counts and leaving balls over the middle isn't a good recipe. I just need to eliminate that and be better next time out."


Cain and Alex Gordon are each 4 for 9 when opposing Pelfrey. Omar Infante is hitting .233 this season but .410 (16 for 39) against him.


-------------------------------




The Royals are 15-6 against the Twins at Kauffman Stadium since the beginning of the 2013 season -- the third-best home record by an AL team against another (minimum 15 games) over that span.


Only three of the Twins' last 16 games have been against American League opponents (2-1 vs. White Sox and 5-8 vs. National league over stretch).


Kansas City's 94 straight wins when leading after seven innings is the longest active streak in the majors and the longest streak in franchise history.


The top two spots in the Twins' lineup have hit 26 home runs this season, which matches the home run output from their #3-6 hitters.


Phil Hughes has walked just six batters over his last 10 starts, while receiving at least six runs of support on five occasions during the 10-start stretch.


Brian Dozier leads all MLB second basemen with 156 extra-base hits since the beginning of the 2013 season. Dozier's 14 home runs from the first batting slot in 2015 are tied with Kirby Puckett in 1986 for the most by a Twin from the leadoff spot prior to the All-Star break.

Angels-Rangers Preview


(AP) -- Hector Santiago says he's looking forward to some time off during the All-Star break, but the Los Angeles Angels left-hander might not get that rest after all.


Santiago is just hoping to receive the offensive support the Angels provided in the series opener against the Texas Rangers when he tries to lead the visiting Angels to their sixth win in seven games Saturday night.


The 27-year-old Santiago (4-4, 2.58 ERA) has made a strong case for his first Midsummer Classic, limiting opponents to one or no earned runs in nine of 15 starts. His ERA and .214 opponent batting average are also among the top marks in the AL.


Santiago now looks to contribute to a rotation that has a 1.87 ERA during a 6-2 stretch after Garrett Richards allowed one run over 7 2-3 innings in Friday's 8-2 victory.


"I think the way he's pitching, there's no doubt that he's gonna get All-Star consideration," manager Mike Scioscia told MLB's official website of Santiago.


Santiago allowed one run and three hits in seven innings in Sunday's 3-2, 10-inning home win over Seattle. However, he's winless in his last six starts while receiving just 12 runs of support. His 2.37 run-support average since April 26 is among MLB's lowest.


He yielded one run over seven innings in a 10-2 win at Texas on April 15, but didn't get any support while allowing one earned run over 5 1-3 innings in a 5-4, 11-inning home loss to the Rangers on April 26.


Santiago is 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA in five career starts in Arlington.


Adrian Beltre has gone 7 for 20 with three home runs in the matchup and Prince Fielder is 7 for 21 with a double. Elvis Andrus and Shin-Soo Choo are both 4 for 19 against him.


Fielder had two hits Friday, leaving him 16 for 39 (.410) over a 10-game hitting streak against the Angels.


Josh Hamilton, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, doubled and struck out twice while facing his former team for the first time. He was replaced in left field by Ryan Rua in the eighth inning.


"There's no searching or closure for me. It's over. I've moved on. I'm in Texas now," Hamilton said. "I've got a great group of guys here. I had a great group of guys in Anaheim."


The Rangers, who have scored two runs in each of their last three, missed an opportunity to move into sole possession of second place in the AL West. They haven't dropped five in a row at home since April 15-May 1.


Wandy Rodriguez has gone 5-0 with a 2.23 ERA in eight road starts, but he's trying to find a way to replicate that success in Arlington after going 0-3 with a 7.11 ERA over his last five starts there.


In his only outing versus Los Angeles (42-38) since 2007, Rodriguez (5-3, 3.91) allowed one run over five innings but did not factor into the decision in a 3-2 road defeat in his season debut April 24.


Albert Pujols has gone 12 for 49 (.245) with one home run when facing Rodriguez, though he's only seen him three times since the start of the 2012 season.


Erick Aybar had a career-high five hits Friday, David Freese added three and Kole Calhoun had four RBIs in Los Angeles' 18th win in 23 meetings. Aybar is 19 for 44 (.432) over his last 13 games.


---------------------------------------------


The Angels lost on Wednesday versus the New York Yankees, 3-1, breaking a four-game winning streak. Los Angeles has scored four runs or fewer in 11 straight games, the longest such streak for the Angels since scoring four runs or fewer in 13 straight games in 2008. The Angels have won four consecutive series at Texas, winning 11 of the last 13 there (since the beginning of 2014).


The Texas Rangers won 3-of-4 at Baltimore, finishing with a 2-0 shutout on Thursday. Yovani Gallardo extended his scoreless inning streak to 29.1. The Rangers have lost five straight games against the AL West, all versus Oakland, and are 11-20 this season against the AL West.


Kole Calhoun (8-for-14, .571), C.J. Cron (10-for-20, .500) and Mike Trout (9-for-21, .429) have combined to go 27-for-55, .491, versus Texas this season. Albert Pujols has four career multi-homer games at Globe Life Park, including his three home run effort for the Cardinals in Game 3 of the 2011 World Series.


Only Albert Pujols (18) has more home runs in the American League than Mitch Moreland's 13 since May 17. J.D. Martinez of the Tigers also with 13 home runs since May 17.


Garrett Richards has won five consecutive starts versus the Rangers with a 2.16 ERA and zero home runs allowed. The last pitcher to win 6+ consecutive starts versus Texas was Bartolo Colon with 12 straight wins with the White Sox and Angels from 2003 through 2007. Richards has thrown 51.1 consecutive innings versus Texas without allowing a home run. The last time the Rangers hit a home run off Richards was April 5, 2013 in Arlington by Adrian Beltre.


Chi Chi Gonzalez has a 2.59 ERA through his first six career starts. The only two pitchers in franchise history with a lower ERA through their first six career starts (relief appearances ignored) were Alexi Ogando (2.17 in 2011) and Yu Darvish (2.54 in 2012).

Indians-Pirates Preview


(AP) -- Even though they faced a Pittsburgh Pirates club that was on a roll offensively, the Cleveland Indians continued their impressive run on the mound in the series opener.


Now they're giving the ball back to the rookie right-hander who got their five-game winning streak started.


Cody Anderson looks to build on a pair of outstanding performances in his first two starts on Saturday at PNC Park and help the resurgent Indians match their longest run of the season.


Cleveland (38-41) has posted a 1.57 ERA during its streak after Trevor Bauer and four relievers struck out nine and limited the Pirates to just three hits in Friday's 5-2 win.


Pittsburgh (45-34) had been seeing the ball well heading into this three-game interleague series, batting .358 with five home runs and 10 doubles while totaling 22 runs in three victories at Detroit.


After they snapped the Pirates' seven-game interleague win streak, the Indians will try to keep their bats quiet and tie their six-game run from May 19-24.


"We've got to just take it one day at a time and that's what we've been doing during this streak," outfielder Michael Bourn said. "Just come back tomorrow and keep the train moving."


Anderson got it started by retiring the first 19 batters and allowing one run and two hits over eight innings in Monday's 7-1 win at Tampa Bay. He also gave up six hits over 7 2-3 but did not factor into the decision in a 1-0 home win over the Rays on June 21.


Anderson (1-0, 0.57 ERA) is likely to stick in the rotation for a while if he continues to pitch well.


"It's been a rush," the 24-year-old told MLB's official website. "I've been able to settle in."


The Pirates have won nine of 14 and averaged 5.07 runs when facing rookie starters.


They'll try to continue that trend for Jeff Locke (4-4, 4.55), who has surrendered two earned runs or less in his last four starts. However, he hasn't made it past the fifth inning in the previous two.


The left-hander didn't receive much help from the offense Sunday while allowing one run over five innings in a 2-1 home loss to Atlanta. He's been at his best at home, going 1-1 with 2.43 ERA in his last six starts.


"I need to be more aggressive in the strike zone," said Locke, who will get his first look at Cleveland.


Brandon Moss delivered the big blow for the Indians on Friday with a second-inning two-run homer. It was his second in three games and team-leading 14th on the season.


Bourn went 2 for 3 with three RBIs in his return from a one-game suspension for making contact with an umpire May 16 versus Texas. He padded the lead with a two-run single in the eighth inning.


Jason Kipnis went 0 for 3 to snap a nine-game interleague hitting streak, but did draw a pair of walks to reach safely for the 25th time in 27 overall.


Andrew McCutchen provided the only highlight in the opener with a two-run home run in the fourth inning for Pittsburgh, which is looking to avoid its first three-game home skid since April 22-24, 2014.


Neil Walker went 1 for 4 after going 14 for 26 over his previous six games, while Jordy Mercer was 0 for 3 after batting .469 in his prior seven. Starling Marte went 0 for 4 after hitting .438 in his previous eight.


----------------------------------------


The Pirates are 12-6 all-time in home games versus the Indians and are 5-1-0 in home series versus Cleveland all-time, with their only home series loss against Cleveland coming in their first ever home series versus the Indians (lost two of three home games versus the Indians from September 1-3, 1997).


The Pirates swept the Tigers in Detroit earlier this week, totaling 48 hits over the three-game series, their most in a road three-game series since totaling 48 hits in a three-game series at Colorado from May 11-13, 2004.


The Indians swept the Rays in Tampa Bay in a four-game series earlier this week, Cleveland's first four-game series sweep on the road since sweeping the Twins at Minnesota from September 26-29, 2013.


Andrew McCutchen has posted a .324 career batting average in interleague games, the fourth-highest batting average in interleague games among active players with at least 400 plate appearances in interleague play. However, McCutchen has recorded a .213 career batting average versus the Indians, his lowest career batting average versus any opponent he has at least 50 plate appearances against.


Among all players (active or not) with at least eight starts in interleague games, Trevor Bauer's 1.71 ERA in interleague play is the fifth lowest while his .1720 opponent batting average is the second lowest (David Cone -- .1718). Bauer has made four career starts versus NL Central teams, posting a 1.80 ERA and .159 opponent batting average over those four starts, but has never faced the Pirates.


Through four home starts this season, Charlie Morton is 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA. However, Morton allowed four runs (all earned) over six innings pitched in his last home start (June 27 versus the Braves) after allowing a total of two runs over his first three home starts of the season (in 21.1 innings pitched). Morton has not lost a home start since August 10, 2014 versus San Diego.

Rockies-Diamondbacks Preview


(AP) -- Chase Anderson and Kyle Kendrick met in Colorado less than two weeks ago and the results were memorable - for the six players who hit home runs off the starting pitchers.


Ballhawks beware: The two share the mound again Friday night in Arizona as the Diamondbacks try to take the first two of a four-game set.


After Thursday's 8-1 win, the Diamondbacks (38-41) have taken six of nine in the season series while scoring 7.6 runs per game with a .338 average.


Paul Goldschmidt is batting .433 in his last 26 games against the Rockies, David Peralta is hitting .407 in the season series and A.J. Pollock is 11 for 26 in the last six meetings.


The Rockies (34-45) seem entirely incapable of keeping up with that given they've scored five runs in four games and are batting .201 in a 1-5 span. Carlos Gonzalez is in a 3-for-24 slump and 3-for-22 rut against Arizona, but Troy Tulowitzki remains on a career-best 15-game hitting streak while reaching base in a career-best 30 straight.


Anderson (4-2, 3.66 ERA) earned the decision in Sunday's 6-4 win in San Diego, but he allowed four runs and five hits in seven innings. Three of those were home runs, and six of the 13 hits he's allowed in the last two games have left the yard. The right-hander had given up three home runs in 79 1-3 innings over his first 13 starts.


"I feel like it was just six bad pitches in the last two outings," Anderson told MLB's official website. "I've just got to learn from the mistakes I made because I know I can pitch at this level and we have a good defense, I need to utilize those guys more than I have."


The first of those came in a 10-5 loss in Colorado on June 23 with Anderson giving up a career-high eight runs in 4 2-3 innings. It dropped him to 3-3 with a 6.00 ERA in six starts against the Rockies with three straight losses and an 11.40 ERA.


Wilin Rosario (6 for 8 with a home run), Tulowitzki (3 for 8 with a home run) and Nolan Arenado (3 for 11 with two home runs) have done the most damage.


Even with all the recent struggles, Anderson's ERA isn't two-thirds of Kendrick's.


Kendrick (3-10, 6.07) is a loss off the major league lead and finds himself back as one of three qualifying pitchers with an ERA over 6.00 after giving up five runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings of Sunday's 6-3 loss in San Francisco.


It followed a victory over Anderson in which he gave up four runs and eight hits - three homers - in six innings. Unlike Anderson, Kendrick can't call it an anomaly. The right-hander has surrendered seven in three starts and 23 for the season, which leads the majors by four. His rate of 2.15 per nine innings is on pace to be the highest since Jose Lima gave up 2.20 in 2000 for Houston.


When he faced the Diamondbacks on April 28, Kendrick matched a career high by allowing eight runs and 10 hits in 4 1-3 innings of a 12-5 defeat at Chase Field to fall to 0-2 with an 8.88 ERA in five career starts at the park.


Aaron Hill (8 for 17), Peralta (4 for 9 with a home run), Pollock (4 for 9 with a home run), Welington Castillo (4 for 10 with a home run) and Goldschmidt (4 for 10) have all hit him well.


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The Diamondbacks have punched out at least nine hits in each of their last 11 games against the Rockies -- the longest active such streak by any MLB team against one opponent.


The Rockies are averaging nearly two runs per game fewer on the road (3.49) than at home (5.44) this season. That 1.95-run differential is the second largest in the majors (Yankees 2.00).


The Diamondbacks, who have punched out double-digit hits in three straight games for the first time since May 29-31, have punched out double-digit hits in four straight games just once (May 12-16, 2015) since the beginning of the 2014 season.


The Rockies have punched out more than 10 hits just twice away from home since May 4 -- a span of 24 games. Over that span, every other MLB team has punched out more than 10 hits at least four times on the road.


Paul Goldschmidt has successfully reached base (via hit, walk or HBP) in each of his last 36 games against the National League -- the longest active streak in the majors.


Over his last 11 games against divisional opponents, Nolan Arenado is batting .400 (18/45) with nine home runs, 22 RBI, 16 runs scored and an OPS of 1.506.

Mets-Dodgers Preview


(AP) -- Even after losing three straight starts for the first time ever, Clayton Kershaw might be in line for a shut-down performance.


He'll look to remain undefeated against the slumping New York Mets on Friday night when they visit the Los Angeles Dodgers.


Kershaw (5-6, 3.20 ERA) can't be blamed too much for the longest losing streak of his career - during which he's also extended his streak of quality starts to seven. The left-hander is averaging 2.6 runs of support while going 1-3 in his last five, and he's received three runs of support or fewer in 11 of 16 outings this year.


Dingy defense didn't help Kershaw's cause his last time out, either. Errors by Andre Ethier and Joc Pederson cost him two unearned runs in addition to the one earned he surrendered over seven innings in Saturday's 3-2 loss at Miami.


"I think winning, in general, is what Clayton's all about," manager Don Mattingly said. "I don't know if it's weighing on him. He may show frustration at the time, but when he gets away from it, I think he knows he pitched really well and gave us a really good chance to win."


Kershaw, who ranks second in baseball with 77 wins since 2011, had dropped back-to-back starts eight times in his previous seven seasons.


"It never feels good to lose," he told MLB's official website. "But I'm fine."


He's 5-0 with a 1.62 ERA in seven starts versus New York, allowing one earned run over 23 innings against them at Dodger Stadium.


The Mets (40-40) totaled one run and 15 hits while suffering a three-game sweep to the Cubs this week. They're averaging a major league-worst 1.6 runs per game since June 17, dropping 10 of 14.


Curtis Granderson is the only Met batting better than .163 while playing more than seven games in that stretch, and he's hitting .364 over his last 11. Lucas Duda is 5 for 35 with 16 strikeouts in his last nine and 0 for 4 off Kershaw with three strikeouts.


"They are so tense and so tight and so worried about making a big out instead of walking up there like they're going to get a hit," manager Terry Collins said. "We got to lighten it up, so I said just for heaven's sakes play the game with some fun, with some energy, with some enthusiasm."


Los Angeles (45-35) closed its 10-game trip by winning six of eight, including a 4-3 victory at Arizona on Wednesday. Howie Kendrick is 14 for 28 with eight RBIs during a seven-game hitting streak, while Jimmy Rollins, batting a career-worst .212, is at .295 over his last 11 contests.


The Dodgers will face Noah Syndergaard (3-4, 3.59), who threw a season-high eight innings Friday versus Cincinnati to end a four-start winless streak. He limited the Reds to one run in a 2-1 victory, after which Collins said it was the rookie's best performance "without question."


"And against a very, very good lineup," he said. "Very, very good outing."


Syndergaard is 0-3 with a 6.52 ERA in four road starts.


The Dodgers have won 13 of the last 16 meetings, including four of six last season.


Adrian Gonzalez is 25 for 64 (.391) with four homers, six doubles and 18 RBIs in his last 16 games versus New York.


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The Dodgers are 13-3 (.813) versus the Mets since July 1, 2012, the highest win percentage by any team versus any opponent over that span (minimum 15 games).


The Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks, 4-3, on Wednesday, outscoring Arizona 4-0 in the first three innings of the game. Los Angeles has outscored its opponents by 30 runs (113-83) in the first three innings this season, the second-best differential in MLB (Toronto is +32). The 83 runs the Dodgers have allowed in the first three innings are the fewest allowed by any team this season.


The Mets were swept by the Cubs earlier this week, scoring just one run over the three games. Prior to that series versus the Cubs, the last time the Mets scored one or fewer runs over a three-game span was when they scored one run over a three-game span from July 4-7, 2009 (first two games at Philadelphia and third game versus the Dodgers).
Kike Hernandez had three hits on Wednesday, falling a home run shy of the cycle in the process. In his previous 28 at-bats, Hernandez totaled just four hits (.143 batting average over that span).


Rookie Noah Syndergaard has struggled versus NL West teams, going 0-2 with a 9.90 ERA and .426 opponent batting average against NL West opponents compared to a 3-2 record with a 2.11 ERA and .215 opponent batting average versus all other teams.


Clayton Kershaw took the loss in his last start (June 27 at Miami), his third straight start with a loss (the longest streak of his career). Kershaw allowed three runs in the loss and has now allowed 44 runs in 16 starts and 107 innings pitched this season after allowing just 42 runs in 27 starts and 198.1 innings pitched in 2014.