Matchups

After beginning their second half of the season by winning the opener of 10-game homestand, the New York Yankees will test their mettle Saturday when they face the first of two All-Star pitchers. The Yankees will challenge Alfredo Simon on Saturday before taking on ace Johnny Cueto in Sunday's series finale. Jacoby Ellsbury, who is 4-for-6 in his career versus Simon, highlighted his 29th multi-hit game of the season with the go-ahead two-run homer in Friday's 4-3 victory.

Texas and Toronto followed similar paths to the All-Star break, so it was fitting that a former Blue Jay was a big reason why the Rangers started the second half of the season on the right foot. After helping Texas end an eight-game losing streak in the opener, J.P. Arencibia looks to haunt the host Blue Jays for the second time in as many games Saturday. Arencibia, mainly a catcher for the Blue Jays during four up-and-down seasons, joined the Rangers as a free agent in the offseason.

The Cleveland Indians showed off the quick-strike ability of their offense in the series opener and will go for another pair of wins when they visit the Detroit Tigers for a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. The Indians put up seven runs in the seventh inning on Friday to climb out of a 3-0 hole and improve to 9-4 in July. The American League Central-leading Tigers are losers of two in a row after winning five straight.

Matt Holliday looks to continue a recent surge when he leads the host St. Louis Cardinals into the second of three straight against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. Holliday's sluggish first half was one reason the Cardinals were slow to get going in 2014, but he has shown signs of turning it around. The left fielder hit a two-run homer and doubled in a run in St. Louis' 3-2 win in the series opener and is 8-for-20 with five extra-base hits in his last six games.

The Pittsburgh Pirates try to continue their hot play at home against the Colorado Rockies - the worst road team in the major leagues - on Saturday in the middle contest of a three-game series. Pittsburgh won for the 10th time in its last 12 home contests with a 4-2 victory on Friday, but received a scare when Starling Marte was hit in the head by an Adam Ottavino fastball in the seventh inning. Marte remained in the game, but left after the eighth and is questionable to play Saturday.

After missing most of the first half due to injuries, Washington Nationals' left fielder Bryce Harper appears determined to make up for lost time. Harper heads into Saturday’s contest against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers with two homers in his last four games, including a solo shot in Friday’s 4-2 loss. The 21-year-old, who hit .274 with 20 homers and 58 RBIs last season, went 3-for-4 in the series opener and raised his average to .260 with three homers in 35 games.

The Cleveland Indians showed off the quick-strike ability of their offense in the series opener and will go for another pair of wins when they visit the Detroit Tigers for a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. The Indians put up seven runs in the seventh inning on Friday to climb out of a 3-0 hole and improve to 9-4 in July. The American League Central-leading Tigers are losers of two in a row after winning five straight.

The Boston Red Sox got into a nice groove before the All-Star break and carried some of that momentum over to their first contest of the second half. The Red Sox attempt to clinch a second straight series win and triumph for the sixth time in seven games when they host the Kansas City Royals on Saturday. Boston is getting production from several rookies while also receiving contributions from veterans such as Jonny Gomes, who belted a go-ahead two-run homer in Friday’s 5-4 win.

Cole Hamels makes his first start of the second half for Philadelphia on Saturday against the host Atlanta Braves, appearing in what could be one of his last games in a Phillies' uniform. Hamels, who is signed through 2018 with a club option for 2019, is a target of teams looking to deal with the rebuilding Phillies. The Braves are not in sell mode approaching the July 31 trade deadline, moving past Washington into first place in the National League East after their 6-4 victory on Friday.

The Chicago White Sox look to clinch the series victory when they host the Houston Astros in the middle contest of their three-game set Saturday. Chicago rallied to take Friday's opener, overcoming a 2-0 deficit with a two-run homer by Dayan Viciedo in the sixth inning and Tyler Flowers' RBI double a frame later while four pitchers teamed up to retire Houston's final 22 batters.

The San Francisco Giants’ dormant offense could be waking up after producing 17 runs in the last two games sandwiching the All-Star break. The Giants look to continue their hot hitting when they visit the Miami Marlins on Saturday night for the middle contest of a three-game series. Buster Posey and Michael Morse each had three of San Francisco’s 13 hits in a 9-1 victory on Friday as the Giants raised their batting average to .226 in July and handed Miami its fifth consecutive defeat.

Evan Longoria has been the face of the franchise since Tampa Bay selected him with the third overall pick of the 2006 draft. The 28-year-old could etch his name into the Rays' record book Saturday when the club vies for a series victory against the host Minnesota Twins. Longoria, who ripped a three-run double to highlight Tampa Bay's 6-2 triumph Friday, sits one two-base hit and one RBI shy of matching Carl Crawford (215 doubles, 592 RBIs) for the franchise lead.

A pair of young first basemen drew a lot of attention on losing teams before the All-Start break and proved their first halves were no fluke in their first game back. After combining for three homers in the opener, Paul Goldschmidt and Anthony Rizzo look to carry their power-hitting stroke into Saturday when the Arizona Diamondbacks continue their three-game home set with the Chicago Cubs. Goldschmidt hit his 17th home run to spark a three-run rally in sixth inning as Arizona downed Chicago.

The New York Mets attempt to continue their surge as they visit the San Diego Padres for the middle contest of their three-game series on Saturday. New York completed the first half of the season with an 8-2 homestand and picked up where it left off by posting a 5-4 triumph over San Diego in the series opener. Travis d'Arnaud went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI singles, including one in the ninth inning that snapped a tie after the Mets squandered an early 4-0 lead.

The Oakland Athletics try to extend their season-high home winning streak to eight games when they meet the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday in the middle contest of a three-game series. It appeared Oakland's run would come to an end Friday when nemesis Manny Machado hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give Baltimore the lead, but Josh Donaldson's three-run homer in the ninth gave the Athletics a 5-4 victory and their 12th victory in 13 games at O.co Coliseum.

Los Angeles welcomes its newest addition Saturday when the Angels look to extend their winning streak to seven games against the visiting Seattle Mariners. Los Angeles bolstered its bullpen Friday by trading four minor league prospects for veteran closer Huston Street, who was named to the All-Star Game after recording 24 saves with a 1.09 ERA for San Diego. With Street’s arrival, the Angels’ Joe Smith (15 saves) is expected to serve as the team’s primary setup man.