Matchups

Beating an also-ran club is usually not cause for chest-thumping in the Bronx, but the New York Yankees were in a celebratory mood after winning Friday's series opener against the Chicago White Sox on Martin Prado's walk-off single with two out in the ninth. "It was the biggest win of the year, for sure," Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner said. New York, trailing Seattle by 3 1/2 games for the American League's second wild card, goes for its third straight victory Saturday afternoon.

The Toronto Blue Jays returned from a less-than-desirable road trip and promptly laid an egg in the opener of their nine-game homestand. Tumbling Toronto looks to apply the brakes and avoid its eighth loss in 10 outings on Saturday, when it hosts the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle contest of their three-game series. The Blue Jays need to find an answer for Evan Longoria, who homered among three hits and drove in three runs in the Rays' 8-0 rout on Friday.

Justin Verlander has been a rock for the Detroit Tigers for nearly a decade but suddenly questions abound about the reliability - and health - of the 2011 American League Cy Young Award winner. Verlander rejoins the rotation after missing the first start of his storied career and faces the host Minnesota Twins in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader. Verlander has been sidelined since lasting only one inning due to shoulder inflammation in his last start Aug. 11.

The Seattle Mariners are staying in the postseason race with a team built around its pitching staff but can show off some offensive skill on occasion. The Mariners attempt to clinch the three-game series when they visit the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. Seattle managed two hits over the first eight innings of Friday’s opener and went into the ninth down 3-0 before exploding for five runs thanks to some bloop hits and alert baserunning.

The surging Baltimore Orioles abruptly were stopped in their tracks after reports surfaced that third baseman Manny Machado is in need of right knee surgery and will be sidelined for the remainder of the season. After dropping the opener, the Orioles look to pick themselves up and even their three-game interleague series when they visit the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

The Washington Nationals had their 10-game winning streak halted in the series opener and attempt to start a new stretch of victories when they host the San Francisco Giants on Saturday afternoon. The Giants routed Washington 10-3 on Friday to prevent the Nationals from setting a franchise record for consecutive wins. Washington holds a six-game lead over Atlanta in the National League East while San Francisco is 3 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

The Houston Astros attempt to continue their success on the road and further damage the playoff hopes of the Cleveland Indians when the teams meet in the middle contest of their three-game series at Progressive Field on Saturday. Houston is 5-3 on its 10-game road trip, winning two of four at both Boston and two of three at the New York Yankees before using a ninth-inning rally to take the opener in Cleveland on Friday.

One night after their ace let them down, the St. Louis Cardinals turn to one of their most inconsistent pitchers. With Shelby Miller on the mound Saturday, the visiting Cardinals hope to avoid losing to the last-place Philadelphia Phillies for the second straight night. Philadelphia improved to 3-1 on its homestand with a 5-4 triumph on Friday thanks to three hits from Ben Revere and two RBIs from Ryan Howard.

The Atlanta Braves find themselves in the midst of the National League playoff race, and their starting pitching is the biggest reason why as the Braves play the third of a four-game series Saturday at the Cincinnati Reds. Mike Minor carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning in Friday’s 3-1 victory in 12 innings, the major-league leading 90th quality start by an Atlanta pitcher this season. The Reds continue to struggle, losing their seventh in a row Friday and finishing with only two hits.

Wily Peralta looks to become the major’s first 16-game winner when the Milwaukee Brewers host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday in the second contest of a three-game series. The right-handed Peralta went 11-15 last season in his first full major-league campaign but has developed into one of the best pitchers in the National League this season. Josh Harrison had a career-best five RBIs to lead Pittsburgh to a 8-3 win in the series opener.

The Kansas City Royals continue to draw skepticism in their drive toward a postseason berth due to an offense that struggles to hit the ball out of the yard. The Royals will try to follow up a two-homer outing with more long balls when they visit the Texas Rangers again on Saturday. The acquisition of Josh Willingham was supposed to solve some of those issues, and Willingham belted his second home run since joining the team in Friday’s 6-3 triumph.

Andrew Cashner will be on a big-league mound for the first time in more than two months when the San Diego Padres visit the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday. Cashner has been on the disabled list with right shoulder soreness and will be looking to recover his early-season form over the final 35 games. Arizona received 8 1/3 strong innings from Josh Collmenter in the opener to halt its six-game losing streak.

The Miami Marlins have already surpassed their run total from a season ago and try to continue their offensive explosion when they visit the Colorado Rockies on Saturday in the middle contest of a three-game series. Miami (64-63) sits in the middle of the pack with 520 runs after a 13-5 victory Friday kept it four games behind San Francisco for the final wild-card spot in the National League. The Marlins scored a major league-low 513 runs in 2013 - more than 100 less than the next club.

Justin Verlander has been a rock for the Detroit Tigers for nearly a decade but suddenly questions abound about the reliability - and health - of the 2011 American League Cy Young Award winner. Verlander rejoins the rotation after missing the first start of his storied career and faces the host Minnesota Twins in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader. Verlander has been sidelined since lasting only one inning due to shoulder inflammation in his last start Aug. 11.

The Los Angeles Angels came into the weekend with a chance to open up a big lead in the American League West but squandered their first opportunity. The Angels will try to even the three-game set when they visit the Oakland Athletics again Saturday. The Athletics got a great performance from Sonny Gray and held on for a 5-3 victory in Friday’s opener, tightening the division race to a one-game gap.

The Los Angeles Dodgers look to continue their dominance against the New York Mets on Saturday when the teams continue a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. New York has lost five straight in Los Angeles and 12 of its last 14 games overall against the Dodgers, who stand 3 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the National League West following back-to-back wins. Former Met Justin Turner has been a valuable cog for the Dodgers while batting .380 in 18 games this month.