Chase Burns worked six strong innings, and the Cincinnati Reds took advantage of a critical fifth-inning fielding error to top the visiting Houston Astros 3-1 on Saturday and snap a season-worst eight-game losing skid.

The Reds set the table for a rubber match on Sunday for this three-game interleague series. Cincinnati did so by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth against Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (4-1), who suffered his first defeat in five starts this season.

Arrighetti was perfect through two innings and worked around a leadoff walk to Will Benson in the third. He closed that frame with a strikeout of TJ Friedl.

After catcher Christian Vazquez erased Elly De La Cruz trying to swipe second base, Arrighetti fanned Sal Stewart to end the fourth immediately. De La Cruz notched the first hit off Arrighetti by bouncing a single into center field.

Leading 1-0, Arrighetti fanned Nathanel Lowe to open the fifth before the Reds rallied, starting with a Spencer Steer single. Benson worked his second walk against Arrighetti before the game pivoted when right fielder Cam Smith dropped a Jose Trevino fly ball. That loaded the bases for Matt McLain, who delivered a two-run single to left, scoring Steer and Benson for a 2-1 lead.

Three batters later, De La Cruz slapped a single to left, plating Trevino. Zach Cole threw out McLain at the plate to end the inning, but the damage was done. Arrighetti recorded a pair of outs in the sixth before departing. He allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Burns (4-1) retired the side in order only once, doing so in the top of the third, and he matched his season low with two strikeouts. But he induced Isaac Paredes to ground into an inning-ending double play in the first and stranded runners in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, with Cole and Yordan Alvarez left at second base in the second and sixth.

Branden Shewmake smacked his third home run with two outs in the fifth to break the scoreless tie, but Burns held firm. Brock Burke, Graham Ashcraft and Pierce Johnson combined for three scoreless innings of relief for Cincinnati.

–Field Level Media

Daniel Rios scored on a penalty kick in the 94th minute as CF Montreal outlasted visiting Orlando City FC for a dramatic 2-0 victory on Saturday.

Montreal (4-7-0, 12 points) won for the third time in four games (2-1-0) by finally scoring in the final minutes after creating numerous chances.

Rios scored his first goal in MLS competition for Montreal after Orlando’s Robin Jansson was called for a foul by tackling Luca Petrasso’s legs.

On the ensuing penalty kick, Rio send the ball into the upper right corner as he lifted a right-footed shot over goalie Maxime Crepeau’s diving attempt.

Rios scored his clutch goal after scoring in Montreal’s 5-0 win over Calgary Blizzard SC in the opening round of the Canadian Championship on Wednesday.

After Rios scored, Dagur Thorhallsson tallied in the eighth minute of stoppage time by putting a right-footed shot from the middle of the box into the upper right corner.

The late goals were among 25 shot attempts for Montreal. Montreal saw 11 shots get blocked, but six attempts were on target.

Thomas Gillier made four saves, but he also was aided by his defenders. Not long before the clutch goal by Rios, Dawid Bugaj blocked a shot by Duncan McGuire in the 88th.

Orlando (3-8-1, 10 points) was unable to win a third straight contest after pulling off an unlikely comeback over Inter Miami last week. The Lions have not won in Montreal since Decision Day in the 2021 season.

Crepeau, a Quebec native, made three saves and his teammates finished with nine shot attempts. He kept the game deadlocked by denying Petrasso’s header off a corner kick in the 58th.

Before the dramatic goals, Montreal missed the net four times in the first half and also saw Wikelman Carmona get denied in the opening minute. Montreal also saw Ivan Jaime miss the net after making a 1-on-1 move in the box in the 18th.

In the initial minutes of the second half, Petrasso hooked a shot to the left and Victor Loturi missed the net in the 59th before misfiring on a header eight minutes later.

–Field Level Media