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The runnin’ Cincinnati Reds will look to complete a three-game sweep of the host Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

The Reds have won four games in a row and seven of their past nine, often succeeding by pushing the limits on the basepaths.

The Royals will try to slow the Reds in an effort to end an eight-game losing streak.

Cincinnati ranks third in the majors with 69 stolen bases and has increased its pace in June, swiping a big-league-best 26 bases in 28 attempts.

Everybody seems to be getting into the act as five different players have at least three steals this month.

Uber-prospect Elly De La Cruz has contributed five stolen bases, without getting caught, in his first eight big-league games.

“I’m the fastest man in the world,” he proclaimed last weekend.

De La Cruz’s steal on Tuesday sparked a five-run second inning as the Reds stole three bases in the frame. That rally proved decisive in Cincinnati’s 5-4 win.

“It’s just a different level of speed,” Reds manager David Bell said of De La Cruz. “The speed is incredible, and it gives you more incentive to put the ball in play.”

It’s not just base-stealing that feeds Cincinnati’s need for speed. The Reds also excel at taking the extra base, as they lead the majors in scoring from second on singles, succeeding in 57 of 58 attempts.

The aggressive baserunning has led to stealing wins such as on Monday. TJ Friedl raced home from third on a 10th-inning grounder, barely scoring the decisive run in a 5-4 victory over the Royals.

“The Friedl slide, that’s part of our game,” Bell said. “The running, going on contact. TJ did exactly what you need to do to get his foot in.”

In the series finale on Wednesday, Cincinnati will send right-hander Ben Lively (3-4, 4.21 ERA) to the mound to oppose Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch (0-2, 4.41).

Lively is coming off a pair of losses in which he surrendered a combined 12 runs on 16 hits, including five home runs, in 13 2/3 innings. He has never opposed the Royals, and he has faced just one current Kansas City batter, when Matt Duffy went 1-for-2 against him in 2018.

Lynch has yet to pitch against the Reds, and he hasn’t squared off with any of their hitters.

Lynch hasn’t recorded a victory since Aug. 1, 2022, a 14-start drought. He has allowed three earned runs or less in each of his three outings this year, including his Friday start, when he gave up three runs in six innings during a 3-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Kansas City has scored just 31 runs while losing 11 of its past 12 games, topping four runs in a game just once in that span.

While the club hit some home runs early in the year, there have been fewer of late. The Royals hit just eight long balls in those 12 games.

Salvador Perez leads Kansas City with 14 homers, but besides his blasts on Sunday and Monday, the club has just one other home run since June 5.

The Royals also aren’t hitting with runners in scoring position. Through the first two games of the Cincinnati series, Kansas City is 2-for-19 in those situations.

“We haven’t been able to expand a lead or come back unless it’s a homer,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I don’t think it’s all for one reason, but just the combination of it has been frustrating to not be able to open a game up.”

–Field Level Media

With one of baseball’s more fearsome sluggers sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Houston Astros still displayed plenty of power while downing the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

Absent Yordan Alvarez and his club-leading 17 home runs, the Astros turned solo homers from Mauricio Dubon, Kyle Tucker, Martin Maldonado and Chas McCormick into a 6-1 interleague home victory in the series opener. Houston and Washington will play the middle game of the three-game set on Wednesday.

The Astros’ power display was impressive, but it still was somewhat lacking considering the team’s inability to deliver those blows with runners on base.

Houston finished 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Jose Abreu and Jose Altuve delivered RBI singles in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, with runners on second base. However, those hits came after Abreu was stranded at second following his leadoff double in the second inning, and the Astros left the bases loaded in the third.

Alvarez is on the 10-day injured list due to right oblique discomfort, but he is unlikely to return when first eligible on Monday.

“We just have to do what we can to try and score as many runs as we can,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “Yordan is a ways off, so we’ve got to carry on until he gets back.

“Power is great, but I’d rather have some power with some runners on base, but I’ll take it any time I can get it. We have to get better … at advancing runners. We’ve got some improvements to make, but winning ballgames in the meantime is what’s important.”

Framber Valdez (6-5, 2.36 ERA) has the starting assignment for Houston on Wednesday.

The left-hander had his four-game winning streak snapped on Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays after he allowed three runs on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts over five innings in a 3-2 defeat. Valdez was 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA during a five-start span that saw him record 39 strikeouts against six walks over 34 innings.

Valdez has faced the Nationals once previously, when he surrendered one run on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings in a 6-1 road victory on May 13, 2022.

Josiah Gray (4-5, 3.00 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Nationals on Wednesday.

While the right-hander is unbeaten over his past six starts, he has failed to record a victory in his past three outings, pitching to a 4.40 ERA while recording 14 strikeouts against nine walks over 14 1/3 innings.

Gray last lost on May 5 against the Arizona Diamondbacks when he allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts over five innings. He opened the season with losses in each of his first four starts.

Gray has made one career start against the Astros, losing against Valdez last year. He allowed six runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts over six innings.

On Tuesday, the Nationals made their first appearance in Houston since winning Game 7 of the 2019 World Series there. Left-hander Patrick Corbin, who started and took the loss on Tuesday, is the lone player currently on the active roster who participated in that series. He pitched three scoreless innings of relief in Game 7 to earn the victory.

“It was four years ago,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said, “but it brings out good memories.”

–Field Level Media

Jack Suwinski has shown impressive power during his young major league career for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 24-year-old Chicago native has been especially tough against his hometown Cubs.

Looking to continue his latest home-run surge on Wednesday night, Suwinski will try to help the National League Central-leading Pirates bounce back from losing the series opener to the host Cubs.

Suwinski hit two solo homers on Tuesday, among the few highlights for Pittsburgh during an ugly 11-3 loss at Chicago. The Pirates fell to 2-4 following a six-game winning streak.

Suwinski, who attended high school eight miles west of Wrigley Field, has a team-leading 15 home runs after recording his fifth career multi-homer contest Tuesday. In 162 career major league games, Suwinski has gone deep 34 times, and he has four homers in his past four games.

“For everyone on the outside, they see really big home runs. For us in the clubhouse, we see a lot of work behind the scenes, and it’s impressive,” teammate Connor Joe told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about Suwinski, who has a .924 OPS despite batting .253 with 66 strikeouts this season.

“Jack is diligent about his work. … Happy for him. Love to see him succeed and help the team.”

Suwinski has five home runs in 12 career games against Chicago, including one off Wednesday’s scheduled Cubs starter, Drew Smyly (5-4, 3.27 ERA).

The left-hander has lost his past three starts, pitching to a 5.51 ERA during that stretch. However, his teammates scored a total of six runs in those contests.

Smyly also has yielded seven hits in each of the last three outings, most recently giving up three runs, two earned, while walking three through six innings during a 3-1 road defeat against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.

He is 2-3 with a 4.60 ERA in nine career appearances (eight starts) vs. Pittsburgh. Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen have each homered twice against Smyly during their careers. Meanwhile, fellow Pirates Carlos Santana and Ke’Bryan Hayes are a combined 9-for-30 (.300) with four doubles against him.

With injuries having depleted Pittsburgh’s rotation, Osvaldo Bido is slated to make his major league debut on Wednesday. The 27-year-old right-hander went 3-4 with a 4.55 ERA in 12 appearances, 10 starts, for Triple-A Indianapolis this season.

He will face a Chicago club that has won three of four after losing four in a row. However, it’s uncertain if he will square off against Pittsburgh native Ian Happ, who clubbed his first homer since May 5, a three-run drive, and had four RBIs on Tuesday.

Happ is a career .317 hitter with 15 home runs and 47 RBIs in 83 games against the Pirates, but he exited in the eighth inning Tuesday due to calf tightness.

“We’ll see what the doctors say,” Chicago manager David Ross said of Happ. “(His calf) is a little tight. We’ll see how he feels (Wednesday).”

Bido likely will have to deal with Chicago outfielder Mike Tauchman, who had two hits Tuesday and is batting .387 in 10 home games since debuting with the club on May 19.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Angels have guaranteed themselves at least a split of their four-game series with the Texas Rangers entering Game 3 Wednesday night in Arlington, Texas.

The Angels, though, are looking to do more damage after rallying from multi-run deficits to claim the first two games.

“We feel like we’re just as good as those guys,” Angels outfielder Hunter Renfroe told Bally Sports West after Los Angeles’ 7-3 victory on Tuesday. “We’ve got all the talent in the world, and we’ve got to go out and show it. We’re playing good baseball right now.

“Once we get going, it’s going to be hard to stop us. We’ve got to keep going, keep trucking.”

The Angels, who have won three in a row and eight of their past nine, will give the ball to left-hander Reid Detmers (1-5, 4.79 ERA) on Wednesday.

Much like the team, Detmers is trending in the right direction. He earned his first win of the season in his latest start, when he held the Chicago Cubs to one run on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings on Thursday.

Detmers has faced the Rangers once this season, taking a loss on May 6. He gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over four-plus innings. In his career vs. Texas, Detmers is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA over six starts.

He will look for support from an improving Angels offense. Renfroe broke out of a 3-for-27 slump with a go-ahead homer on Tuesday. Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-2, his third straight multi-hit game, with three walks and two runs, while Zach Neto homered for the third time in his last three games.

The Rangers, meanwhile, will look to end a slide that has seen them lose five of their past six games.

Left-hander Andrew Heaney (4-4, 4.14 ERA) will make his 13th start of the season. He is coming off a loss at Tampa Bay on Friday, when he allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts over five innings. He made four consecutive quality starts before struggling in his past two outings.

Heaney pitched for the Angels from 2015-21, going 30-33 with a 4.51 ERA in 102 starts. He has faced his former team just once, in a relief appearance in 2021 as a member of the New York Yankees. He allowed two runs over two innings.

Assuming Heaney doesn’t go the distance, the Rangers aren’t sure what they will get out of their bullpen. Texas’ relief corps has the 24th-highest ERA in the majors (4.57), a number that rose after the bullpen gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings on Tuesday.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy isn’t panicking about the relievers yet, though, saying they have been “pretty good overall.”

“The bullpen has to tighten things up. It’s going to be important from this point on we continue to do the job down there,” Bochy said. “Probably going to play closer games.”

The Rangers also are seeking more timely hits. They went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position Tuesday and stranded 11 runners. On the plus side, Corey Seager and Nathaniel Lowe each had three hits and a homer in the loss.

–Field Level Media

The New York Mets weren’t very happy with the umpires Tuesday night.

Yet the Mets were even more displeased with themselves.

The skidding club will look to salvage a split of a two-game interleague series Wednesday night when it hosts the New York Yankees.

Justin Verlander (2-3, 4.85 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Gerrit Cole (7-1, 2.84) in a battle of right-handers who finished No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the 2019 American League Cy Young Award balloting as teammates with the Houston Astros.

The Yankees earned an eventful win in the series opener on Tuesday. Pinch hitter Josh Donaldson lofted a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, and the Yankees, who erased a four-run deficit, emerged with a 7-6 victory.

Donaldson’s key at-bat came one inning before Mets reliever Drew Smith was ejected due to having a sticky substance on his hand as umpires checked him as he neared the pitcher’s mound.

“I wish he could have got a warning,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “He hasn’t thrown a pitch yet. Clean his hand and then let him go at it. But that was their decision. I’m with my teammate. I will forever back him up.”

Smith is subject to an automatic 10-game suspension. Mets co-ace Max Scherzer served a 10-game suspension for the same reason from April 20-May 2.

“I think we’re all angry about this one,” Scherzer said.

Scherzer and his teammates were also unhappy with their performance before and after Smith’s ejection. Scherzer, who allowed one hit and one run in the first three innings, gave up five runs on six hits while getting just one out in the fourth as the Yankees took a 6-5 lead.

After the Mets’ Luis Guillorme tied the score with an RBI single in the fifth, Brandon Nimmo misplayed a sinking liner by Anthony Volpe into a double one batter before Donaldson’s go-ahead sacrifice fly.

The Mets loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but the Yankees’ Clay Holmes entered and struck out Lindor and Starling Marte to quell the threat.

“Tonight you can put the camera right on me — I’ve got to be better,” Scherzer said. “We’ve all got to be better. But if we’re going to win, we’ve got to win as a team. So everybody’s got to do their part to win as a team.”

The Yankees used a complete effort at the plate and from the bullpen to build the Tuesday win. Every starter had at least one hit — including Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu, who each homered after entering the game a combined 7-for-44 (.159) this month.

After Guillorme’s game-tying single chased Luis Severino, six Yankees relievers combined to blank the Mets on two hits over the final 4 1/3 innings.

“This was one of those fun ones,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “To have a lot of really cool big moments in that game and to have everyone have a hand in it, those are fun.”

Verlander will look to bounce back from a rough outing on Thursday, when he gave up five runs (four earned) over three innings as the Mets fell to the Atlanta Braves 13-10 in 10 innings. He is 9-7 with a 3.44 ERA in 23 regular-season starts against the Yankees.

Cole took a loss on Friday after surrendering two runs over six innings as the Yankees fell 3-2 to the Boston Red Sox. He is 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA in six career starts against the Mets.

–Field Level Media

The Colorado Rockies hope left-hander Austin Gomber can improve on his recent form as they attempt to complete a three-game road sweep of the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.

Colorado earned 10-inning wins at Boston the past two nights, prevailing 4-3 on Monday and 7-6 on Tuesday.

The Rockies scored three runs in the top of the 10th on Tuesday, then held on despite Rafael Devers’ second two-run homer of the night in the bottom of the frame to seal their third straight victory.

“It was a good team win,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “A lot of guys in a lot of different spots helped out.”

The Red Sox have lost their past five home games, and they are just 4-11 in their past 15 games in Boston. They have dropped five of the past seven contests overall.

“Keep playing hard, clean up a few things and go from there,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said following the Tuesday defeat. “We just have to play well. That’s it. Two extra-inning games, kind of a flip of the coin, right? … From my end, it’s not deflating.”

Gomber (4-5, 7.57 ERA) allowed 15 runs on 25 hits in just 10 2/3 innings over his past three starts. He walked eight and struck out eight during that span.

Gomber took the loss in his latest outing after he surrendered 11 hits — including three home runs — and seven runs in four-plus innings during a 9-6 defeat against the San Diego Padres on Friday. All three home runs came on four-seam fastballs.

The 29-year-old Florida native, who is in his fifth major league season, has not pitched against the Red Sox.

Rockies reliever Daniel Bard earned the win in each of the first two games in the series. The Red Sox selected Bard with the 28th overall pick in the 2006 draft, and he pitched for Boston from 2009-13.

“We’re pushing Daniel a bit because we think things are coming together for him,” Rockies manager Bud Black said of Bard, who has a 0.87 ERA in 20 2/3 innings over 20 appearances this season.

The Rockies haven’t swept an opponent since they won three straight against the Milwaukee Brewers from May 2-4.

Right-hander Garrett Whitlock (3-2, 4.78 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for Boston, and unlike Gomber, he’s trending in a positive direction. He is a 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in his past three starts.

Whitlock outdueled Gerrit Cole in his most recent outing, a 3-2 win against the New York Yankees on Friday. Whitlock yielded two runs (one earned) on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out six and issued one walk.

Whitlock replaced Corey Kluber in Boston’s rotation after Kluber, a two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, began the season with a 2-6 record and a 6.26 ERA in his first nine appearances. Whitlock has not faced Colorado during his career.

Despite Devers’ heroics on Tuesday, the Red Sox went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

The Wednesday game will be the third contest of a 10-game road trip for the Rockies, who will start a four-game series at Atlanta on Thursday before finishing the trip with three at Cincinnati.

The Red Sox are 0-2 to start a six-game homestand that concludes with a three-game visit from the New York Yankees this weekend.

–Field Level Media

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jose Berrios will look to continue his dominance of the Baltimore Orioles when the teams meet in the second game of a three-game series on Wednesday night in Baltimore.

The Blue Jays will try to bounce back from an 11-6 loss on Tuesday night. Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson homered in his third straight game, this time hitting a grand slam that broke the contest open in the third inning.

Berrios (6-4, 3.61 ERA) is 9-0 with a 2.92 ERA and his only career shutout in 12 career starts against the Orioles. He has 67 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 77 innings vs. them.

The right-hander is rolling overall as well, going 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA in his past four starts. During that run, Berrios has struck out 18, walked 12 and held opponents to a .202 batting average. In his past 11 starts, he is 6-2 with a 2.53 ERA.

Last time out, Berrios gave up two runs on four hits over six innings in a win against the Houston Astros on Thursday.

“I think execution, competence, really being convicted with a plan,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Berrios’ success. “I think he’s been awesome. I think when you’re going good and you have that string of quality starts, you feel a bit more free and a bit more comfortable with what you’re doing.”

Baltimore will counter Wednesday with right-hander Kyle Bradish (2-2, 4.25 ERA), who will make his 12th start of the season.

Bradish gave up three runs on six hits in five innings during his latest start, a no-decision against the host Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. He struck out a season-high 10 and walked one in a game the Orioles won 6-3. In his prior start, he allowed three runs on seven hits over four innings in a road loss to the San Francisco Giants.

“I’ve felt like I’ve thrown the ball well for the past month, but just call it a bounce-back — I was able to strike out some more guys,” Bradish said. “Still got to work on putting guys away in four pitches, but yeah, big confidence boost right there.”

Bradish is 0-2 with a 6.95 ERA in five career starts vs. Toronto, with all of those coming last year.

Henderson, the reigning American League Player of the Week, had three hits on Tuesday. He is 13-for-24 (.542) with four homers, 10 RBIs and six runs over his past six games.

“Really swinging the bat with a purpose, and he’s always had really good strike-zone awareness,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “He was in between a lot the first month or so, and he’s being more aggressive early in the count and doing damage on strikes, so it’s been fun to watch him progress.

Adam Frazier, Ryan O’Hearn and Aaron Hicks also homered in the series opener for the Orioles, who pounded out a season-high 17 hits in winning their fifth straight game.

Before the game, the Orioles placed first baseman Ryan Mountcastle on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Saturday due to vertigo.

The Blue Jays, who have lost three of their past four, got three hits apiece from Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk, while Cavan Biggio homered for the second straight game. Toronto scored four runs in the final two innings and ended the game with the bases loaded as it attempted to erase what once was a nine-run deficit.

“You just want those at-bats a little earlier in the game,” Schneider said. “Tonight wasn’t our night.”

–Field Level Media

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jordan Montgomery finally got a good feel for his changeup in his last start.

He earned his first victory in two months with six scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. Montgomery (3-7, 3.88 ERA) will now try to carry that success in Wednesday’s home start against the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium.

“Montgomery has a plus changeup,” Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “And it’s not easy to read out of his hand. And when you have a heavy fastball and you can manage it effectively at 90 (mph), 91, 93, 95 — that makes it a lot more difficult.”

The Cardinals had lost 10 consecutive games Montgomery had started before beating the Reds 7-4. Some of that was due to poor run support — including three shutout losses, like the 4-0 defeat to the Giants on April 24 in San Francisco.

That was Montgomery’s only previous game against the Giants. The left-hander allowed one unearned run on five hits in six innings while striking out six and walking one.

“He’s done a really nice job of giving us a shot for a W often,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “And we haven’t been able to reward him for that with some run support. The guy has given us a shot plenty of times. We just haven’t come through for him.”

But some of the failure was Montgomery’s inability to use his changeup to set up his fastball-sinker combination.

“It looks like say a slower fastball, but a way slower fastball,” Contreras said. “It looks like a fastball for sure, like a four-seam changeup. When it’s not good, it looks more like a faded changeup. You can see it out of the hand.”

The Giants won the first two games of this three-game series, 4-3 and 11-3. But they lost infielder J.D. Davis (sprained right ankle) and outfielder Mitch Haniger (broken right forearm) Tuesday.

David Villar and Luis Matos could be the replacements; both left early from Triple-A Sacramento’s game Tuesday.

San Francisco will start right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (4-6, 3.89), who is coming off a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Friday. DeSclafani issued a season-high four walks in that game.

“I’m just trying to work on some mechanical stuff in between starts and kind of still felt a little out of whack,” DeSclafani said. “Walks are not ideal. It’s tough. I’ve got to stop walking so many guys; but, for the most part, I thought I did a fine job competing.”

DeSclafani suffered an 8-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on June 4. He allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits and three walks in three innings.

He relied heavily on his slider in that game, so Giants catcher Patrick Bailey called more fastballs against the Cubs.

“We were kind of going back and forth calling the game,” DeSclafani said. “I think we all agreed that I needed to input the fastball more, and he helped do that. I thought it was a good usage of the heater and a good mix overall.”

DeSclafani earned a 7-3 victory over the Cardinals on April 26. He allowed two runs on six hits in six innings. He struck out six batters and walked one.

He is 8-5 with a 3.75 ERA in 19 career outings against the Cardinals, including 18 starts.

–Field Level Media

The Minnesota Twins will look to sweep a two-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday afternoon after walking it off with a thrilling ninth-inning comeback on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

The Twins took the series opener 7-5, winning it when Carlos Correa socked a two-run homer against Brewers All-Star closer Devin Williams to cap a four-run frame.

It was the first blown save for Williams this season, who came into the outing only having allowed one earned run this year in 21 appearances and 21 2/3 innings. Correa’s home run was the second of the inning after Michael A. Taylor led off the final frame with a blast to dead center.

“One of the reasons we do this is for nights like this,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, “to get a chance to watch your guys come through so big against one of the best pitchers in baseball. Sometimes you just need something huge, and we got something huge late.”

Correa said of coming through against Williams, “He’s one of the best in the game, and he’s been known for his changeup for a while now. So, yeah, it’s not easy to put together at-bats like that, but we did it.”

The Brewers, who were swept by the major league-worst Oakland Athletics last weekend, had the opportunity to end their skid on Tuesday. Now they have dropped five in a row.

“You have the game where you want it and the guy who’s done it every time this year,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “I know it doesn’t happen often, but it’s going to happen.”

The comeback gave Minnesota its third win in four games.

Milwaukee will send Colin Rea (3-3, 4.47 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday for his 11th start and 12th appearance of the season. It will be the first time Rea, a five-year veteran, has faced Minnesota.

Rea was solid his last time out, throwing five shutout innings at home against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. He struck out eight while allowing three hits and one walk. The right-hander has a 3-0 record and a 2.95 ERA in his last four starts.

Minnesota will hand the ball to Bailey Ober (3-3, 2.61), who will look to continue his strong first half of the season in his 10th start. It will be Ober’s first matchup against Milwaukee.

Ober’s last start came on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, when he got tagged with the loss after allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits in 5 1/3 innings. He fanned seven and walked two. It was just the third time this season that Ober allowed more than two earned runs.

The Wednesday contest will be unfamiliar territory for both pitchers and both lineups, as only one hitter on either side, Taylor for Minnesota and Owen Miller for Milwaukee, has faced the opposing starter. Miller is 1-for-2 vs. Ober; Taylor is 0-for-2 vs. Rea.

The Brewers won three of four meetings between the teams last year. After the current two-game set, the clubs will face off for two games at Milwaukee on Aug. 22-23.

–Field Level Media

Ramon Laureano ran his way into the difference-making score in the eighth inning, rookie Hogan Harris limited the Tampa Bay Rays to one run in seven innings, and the Oakland Athletics thrilled their largest home crowd of the season on a “reverse boycott” night with a 2-1 victory and a seventh straight win Tuesday.

With 27,759 mostly green-and-gold-clad fans — many donning “SELL” T-shirts as a message to owner John Fisher, who plans on moving the team to Las Vegas — creating a postseason-type ruckus, the A’s rallied from a 1-0 hole with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to stun the team with the best record in baseball for the second consecutive night.

Laureano singled to open the eighth against Colin Poche (4-2), advanced on a sacrifice bunt, then stole third and scored when pinch-hitter Carlos Perez’s grounder bounced off the glove of third baseman Isaac Paredes.

Harris (2-0) replaced opener Shintaro Fujinami after the latter’s scoreless first inning and allowed just four hits in seven innings, striking out two without walking a batter.

Astros 6, Nationals 1

Four players slugged solo home runs while rookie right-hander Hunter Brown recorded his second scoreless start of the season as Houston beat visiting Washington.

Mauricio Dubon, Kyle Tucker, Martin Maldonado (100th career homer) and Chas McCormick each went deep for the Astros, who won for just the second time in their last seven games. Brown (6-3) allowed four hits and three walks while recording four strikeouts over seven innings. Jose Abreu notched his 1,500th career hit and became the fourth player in franchise history to score 1,000 runs.

Nationals starter Patrick Corbin (4-7) allowed two runs on four hits in five innings. He walked five and fanned five.

Giants 11, Cardinals 3

Michael Conforto went 4-for-6 with three RBIs as visiting San Francisco defeated St. Louis but lost third baseman J.D. Davis (sprained right ankle) and left fielder Mitch Haniger (broken right forearm) to injuries.

Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer and Patrick Bailey added a solo homer for the Giants, who won for the sixth time in eight games. Giants starter Alex Cobb allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in four innings. Keaton Winn earned a four-inning save in his major league debut.

Jack Flaherty (3-5) allowed six runs on 10 hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, who lost for the 11th time in 14 games.

Orioles 11, Blue Jays 6

Gunnar Henderson had three hits, including a grand slam, as Baltimore hammered visiting Toronto for the Orioles’ fifth straight win.

Henderson, the reigning American League Player of the Week, has homered in three straight games. He is 13-for-24 (.542) with four homers, 10 RBIs and six runs over his past six games. Adam Frazier, Ryan O’Hearn and Aaron Hicks also homered for the Orioles, who pounded out a season-high 17 hits.

With his team staked to a big lead, Baltimore’s Dean Kremer (7-3) worked six innings. He gave up two runs on eight hits and struck out six without a walk. Toronto starter Chris Bassitt (7-5), who had given up just two runs over his past two starts spanning 15 2/3 innings, departed after allowing eight runs on 11 hits over three innings.

Dodgers 5, White Sox 1

Will Smith and David Peralta hit first-inning home runs, Tony Gonsolin went six scoreless innings and Los Angeles returned home to top Chicago.

Gonsolin (4-1) gave up two hits with six strikeouts as the Dodgers returned from a disappointing 2-4 road trip to Cincinnati and Philadelphia with the victory in the opener of a three-game series and a six-game homestand.

White Sox starter Lance Lynn (4-7) recovered from a wobbly first inning with four scoreless before he was charged with a run in the sixth. The White Sox dropped their third consecutive game following a 6-1 run and fell in the opener of a six-game road trip that includes a visit to Seattle.

Padres 6, Guardians 3

Gary Sanchez capped a four-run first inning with a three-run homer and Fernando Tatis Jr. added a solo shot an inning later as San Diego doubled-up visiting Cleveland in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove held the Guardians to three runs on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts over six innings to earn the win and improve to 4-2. Josh Hader picked up his 16th save with a scoreless ninth.

Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (2-2) immediately put himself in trouble by walking the first two hitters he faced — Tatis and Juan Soto. Tatis moved to third on Manny Machado’s flyout to right and scored on Xander Bogaerts’ sacrifice fly. After Jake Cronenworth singled, Sanchez lined the first pitch he saw from Bibee 396 feet to left-center for his sixth homer in 13 games as a Padre to make it 4-0.

Phillies 15, Diamondbacks 3

Bryson Stott went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs and Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a tape-measure blast to help Philadelphia bring Arizona’s six-game winning streak to a jarring halt in Phoenix.

Nick Castellanos doubled twice and drove in three runs and Alex Bohm and Bryce Harper knocked in two runs apiece as Philadelphia won for the eighth time in 10 games. The Phillies racked up 20 hits, including eight for extra bases.

Zack Wheeler (5-4) gave up one run and four hits over six innings for Philadelphia. Wheeler struck out seven and walked one. Corbin Carroll homered and Christian Walker went 4-for-4 for the Diamondbacks. Arizona starter Zach Davies (1-2) allowed six runs (four earned) and six hits in three innings.

Twins 7, Brewers 5

Carlos Correa hit a walk-off, two-run home run to complete a four-run, ninth-inning rally as Minnesota beat Milwaukee in Minneapolis.

Michael A. Taylor homered to lead off the ninth against Devin Williams, pulling Minnesota within 5-4. Edouard Julien walked and was replaced by pinch runner Willi Castro, who stole second and scored the tying run on Donovan Solano’s single to center. Correa then connected on a 1-1 changeup, sending it 408 feet to left, giving the Twins their third win in four games.

Williams (3-1) had allowed one earned run all season in 21 appearances, 21 2/3 innings, before Monday. He blew a save for the first time in 11 chances this year as Milwaukee lost its fifth game in a row.

Rockies 7, Red Sox 6 (10 innings)

Randal Grichuk collected two hits, including a two-run double in the top of the 10th inning, to help Colorado pick up a road victory against Boston.

Grichuk’s double came against Justin Garza (0-1) and broke a 4-4 tie. Coco Montes and Nolan Jones scored on the play. The Rockies extended their lead to 7-4 when Jurickson Profar drove in Grichuk with a sacrifice fly.

Rafael Devers hit his second two-run home run of the game to make it 7-6 in the bottom of the 10th, but the Red Sox stranded the tying run on second base. Daniel Bard (3-0) picked up the win by pitching a scoreless ninth inning. Pierce Johnson recorded the final two outs to earn his 12th save.

Yankees 7, Mets 6

Josh Donaldson delivered a tiebreaking pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the sixth inning for the visiting Yankees, who came back to beat the Mets in an eventful first meeting of the season between the Big Apple rivals.

DJ LeMahieu hit a two-run homer as part of a five-run fourth that the Yankees used to overcome a 5-1 deficit. Brandon Nimmo went deep for the Mets, while Jeff McNeil added two RBIs.

Mets reliever Drew Smith was ejected due to having a sticky substance on his hand before he threw a pitch in the seventh inning. Ron Marinaccio (3-3) earned the win, while Josh Walker (0-1) took the loss.

Angels 7, Rangers 3

Hunter Renfroe snapped a 3-for-27 slump with a go-ahead home run, the Angels’ bullpen delivered 4 2/3 scoreless innings and Los Angeles rallied for a win in Arlington, Texas.

Zach Neto homered and Shohei Ohtani had two hits and two runs for the Angels. Jimmy Herget (1-2) earned the win after throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Carlos Estevez got the final two outs for his 18th save of the season.

Nathaniel Lowe and Corey Seager each had three hits including a homer for the Rangers, who couldn’t hold onto a 3-1 lead. Reliever Owen White (0-1) took the loss in his major league debut.

Reds 5, Royals 4

The Cincinnati Reds scored big early then held on for a win against host Kansas City.

The Reds sent 10 batters to the plate in a five-run second inning, highlighted by three stolen bases. Elly De La Cruz sparked the rally, walking to lead off the inning, then stealing second and advancing to third on an error before scoring on Spencer Steer’s single to left field.

Kevin Newman’s RBI double put the Reds ahead to stay. Stuart Fairchild and TJ Friedl then added RBI singles to help build a 5-1 lead. Jordan Lyles (0-11) retired the final 14 batters he faced to finish six innings, allowing five runs on five hits and striking out four. Lyles’ 11 straight losses are a career high.

Cubs 11, Pirates 3

Ian Happ hit a three-run drive for his first homer in over a month and had four RBIs, while Jameson Taillon lasted a season-high six innings for his first home victory as host Chicago rolled over Pittsburgh.

Happ erased a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead in the first inning with a shot into the right field seats off Luis L. Ortiz (1-3) for his first homer since May 5. Meanwhile, Taillon (2-4) yielded a pair of solo homers to Jack Suwinski, plus one other run and six total hits.

The Cubs also got an eighth-inning, three-run homer from Christopher Morel as they won for the third time in four games. Ortiz was charged with four runs and also allowed six hits over 5 1/3 innings for the Pirates.

Mariners 9, Marlins 3

George Kirby pitched six strong innings and Mike Ford hit two home runs as Seattle defeated visiting Miami.

Cal Raleigh also went deep for Seattle. The Nos. 7-9 batters in Seattle’s order — Raleigh, Ford and Jose Caballero — went a combined 6-for-10 with a triple, three homers and nine RBIs.

Kirby (6-5) allowed one unearned run on three hits. The right-hander didn’t walk a batter and had a career-high 10 strikeouts. The Marlins’ Garrett Cooper hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning off Chris Flexen.

–Field Level Media