Matchups

It's taken more than 2 1/2 seasons, but the New York Yankees are finally starting to reap the benefits of trading for Michael Pineda. The Dominican right-hander will make his fourth start since spending nearly four months on the disabled list as the Yankees clash with the host Toronto Blue Jays in the second of a three-game series on Saturday afternoon. The Yankees' 6-3 victory Friday was marred by a left ankle injury to center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who is listed as questionable.

The Detroit Tigers slowly are turning things around with five wins in their last six games, and will put their rotation and bullpen to the test when they visit the Chicago White Sox for a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. The Tigers got a big boost in a 7-1 victory in the series opener from Justin Verlander, who went seven innings to give the bullpen a little breather. Detroit sits one-half game behind the first-place Kansas City Royals in the American League Central.

Exactly one year ago, Javier Baez and Arismendy Alcantara were playing in Triple-A Iowa while Jorge Soler was getting untracked in Single-A. Fast forward to the present, the three rookies look to continue their momentum as the Chicago Cubs play a doubleheader against the host St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Soler homered twice, Alcantara also went deep and Baez ripped a go-ahead two-run double as the Cubs posted their fifth win in seven contests with a 7-2 triumph.

The Pittsburgh Pirates hope to continue gaining ground in the National League Central when they host the Cincinnati Reds in the middle contest of their three-game set Saturday. Pittsburgh pulled within three games of division-leading Milwaukee with a 2-1 triumph in the series opener on Friday as Josh Harrison tied the game in the eighth inning with an RBI triple and scored the go-ahead run on a single by Jose Tabata.

Chris Davis is having a horrific season but his power stroke has done damage over the last five games as Baltimore continues its run toward the American League East crown. Davis, batting .189, hit a grand slam in the opener of a four-game series with the Minnesota Twins – the second contest is Saturday – and has three homers and seven RBIs during the recent stretch. Baltimore’s 9-1 win was its fourth in five games while Minnesota has lost five of six.

Rookie Mookie Betts and the Boston Red Sox are enjoying quite the road trip. Betts and Boston look to continue their good fortune on Saturday when they visit the Rays in the second contest of their four-game series. After belting a solo homer on Monday, Betts blasted his first career grand slam four nights later as the Red Sox cruised to an 8-4 triumph and improved to 3-1 on their 10-game road trip.

Justin Upton won't be happy to see the calendar flip from August to September, unless the Atlanta Braves left fielder can stay hot at the plate. The Braves host the Miami Marlins on Saturday and Upton – who is hitting .329 with seven homers and 28 RBIs in his last 21 games – looks to continue building his case for National League player of the month while keeping the Braves in the playoff race. Miami outfielder Marcell Ozuna is also warming up, hitting .378 with 12 RBIs in his past 11 games.

The Detroit Tigers slowly are turning things around with five wins in the last six games, and will put their rotation and bullpen to the test when they visit the Chicago White Sox for a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. The Tigers got a big boost in a 7-1 victory in the series opener from Justin Verlander, who went seven innings to give the bullpen a little breather. Detroit sits one-half game behind the first-place Kansas City Royals in the American League Central.

Carlos Santana is making himself at home in Kansas City and strives to be a damaging force again on Saturday when the red-hot Cleveland Indians visit the Royals. Santana homered and had three RBIs as Cleveland posted a 6-1 win on Friday and is 14-for-26 with six homers and 13 RBIs in Kansas City this season. The Indians have won 12 of 17 games and are four games behind the Detroit Tigers in the American League wild-card race.

The injury-riddled Texas Rangers tied a major-league record Friday by using their 59th player, which goes a long way in explaining why they own the worst record in baseball. So it almost seems appropriate that the Rangers will need to make another roster move for Saturday's matchup at the Houston Astros after scheduled starter Miles Mikolas was a late scratch due to right shoulder fatigue. The Rangers scored 13 runs Friday to beat the Astros for only the second time in 10 meetings.

A pair of resurgent right-handers square off Saturday evening, when the New York Mets continue their three-game home series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Bartolo Colon has not only been terrific in his last six starts, but he also has outstanding numbers against the Phillies this season. He will be opposed by Jerome Williams, who has shined in three starts since Philadelphia claimed him off waivers earlier this month.

The final six weeks of the season are an evaluation period for teams no longer in postseason contention, and Jake Lamb is making his case for a larger role. Lamb and the Arizona Diamondbacks will try to ensure a series win when they host the Colorado Rockies in the second of a three-game series Saturday. Lamb bashed his second career home run Friday — an eighth-inning, go-ahead grand slam that gave the Diamondbacks a 5-2 victory.

Exactly one year ago, Javier Baez and Arismendy Alcantara were playing in Triple-A Iowa while Jorge Soler was getting untracked in Single-A. Fast forward to the present, the three rookies look to continue their momentum as the Chicago Cubs play a doubleheader against the host St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Soler homered twice, Alcantara also went deep and Baez ripped a go-ahead two-run double as the Cubs posted their fifth win in seven contests with a 7-2 triumph.

Yasiel Puig looks to snap a 0-for-19 slump Saturday when the Los Angeles Dodgers continue their three-game series against the host San Diego Padres, who have won three straight. Puig was held out of the starting lineup Friday, when the Dodgers fell 3-2 in 12 innings and saw their lead over San Francisco cut to 3 1/2 games in the National League West. Los Angeles shortstop Hanley Ramirez homered before leaving the game with an apparent leg injury and is listed as day-to-day.

The Los Angeles Angels have already ensured themselves of being in first place after Monday no matter what happens in the final two games of their showdown with the Oakland Athletics. The Angels will try to increase their lead in the American League West to four games when they host the Athletics in the third of a four-game series Saturday. Los Angeles won a battle of the bullpens in Thursday’s opener and got the better start in Friday’s 4-0 triumph.

The Milwaukee Brewers' postseason hopes appeared to take a major blow when Matt Garza suffered an oblique injury at the beginning of the month, but Mike Fiers has more than filled the void left by the right-hander. Fiers looks to win his fifth consecutive start as the National League Central-leading Brewers continue their three-game series at the San Francisco Giants. Fiers has been overpowering during his four-start run, compiling a sparking 1.29 ERA and 0.50 WHIP.

Pitching on the road hasn’t been a strong suit of this season for Stephen Strasburg, who looks to turn that around when the Washington Nationals visit the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. The Washington right-hander is just 2-8 with a 4.77 ERA and 1.37 WHIP on the road despite defeating the New York Mets in his last away outing Aug. 14. The Nationals made themselves at home in Seattle in the series opener by smashing a season-best six homers in Friday’s 8-3 victory.