Bryan Reynolds is on a torrid hitting stretch as the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Minnesota Twins on Saturday afternoon.

Reynolds’ two-run walk-off homer on Friday extended his hitting streak to seven games and spared the Pirates from a three-game losing streak.

The Twins, who have dropped three in a row, will turn to right-hander Bailey Ober (6-2, 3.92 ERA) on Saturday.

Until Reynolds delivered with his 422-foot blast over the wall in left field, the Pirates were held scoreless for five innings. Reynolds has had four multi-hit games during his hot streak and is hitting .500 (12-for-24) with two home runs and five RBIs during his last seven games.

“It’s like a movie,” Reynolds said after the game, when asked what it’s like to round the bases after a walk-off home run. “It’s pretty sick.”

The hit salvaged a 6-5 victory for Pittsburgh in Jared Jones’ return to its rotation 20 months after his last start in the majors. Right-hander Mitch Keller (5-2, 3.64 ERA) will try to follow up as he looks to build off a quality start last Sunday against Toronto.

Keller, who is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in three career starts against the Twins, gave up one run on four hits with three walks and struck out five over six innings to help the Pirates secure a 4-1 win.

It was a much-needed performance for Keller after he had surrendered a combined 10 earned runs in his two prior starts.

Ober will try to give Minnesota some length after the Twins’ bullpen was tested in Friday’s loss.

With Taj Bradley going only four innings while making his return from injury, five Minnesota relievers combined to keep Pittsburgh scoreless from the fourth inning on until Reynolds’ heroics.

Bradley was making only his second start since returning to the rotation and threw 87 pitches.

Taylor Rogers surrendered the Reynolds’ home run. It was the first run Rogers allowed in nine appearances. It was his first blown save since Sept. 23 of last year.

“All the bullpen guys doing well… to kind of go wreck that, it stinks a little extra,” Rogers said.

The Twins placed rookie lefty starter Kendry Rojas on the 15-day injured list before the game after he was scratched from Thursday’s start with left elbow soreness. Minnesota optioned righty reliever Travis Adams to Triple-A St. Paul, and recalled lefty Kody Funderburk. Cody Lawyerson, who was reinstated from the injured list Friday, pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Ober gave up four runs on seven hits — including two home runs — and struck out three over five innings last Sunday in a rain-soaked 6-5 win at Boston. The Twins have won Ober’s past three starts and four of his last five.

Ober will make only his second start against the Pirates. He gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings in that prior encounter on June 9, 2024.

To make room for Jones on their roster, the Pirates designated reliever Justin Lawrence for assignment.

–Field Level Media

San Diego right-hander Michael King will look for a bounce-back outing when the Padres visit the Washington Nationals on Saturday afternoon.

King (4-3, 2.76 ERA) leads Padres starters in ERA, innings pitched (62) and strikeouts (63) and has given up two earned runs or less in eight of his 11 starts this season.

He was masterful in a May 18 outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, tossing seven shutout innings in a 1-0 win. King struck out nine and walked two. But his most recent start was his worst of the season, as he gave up four runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings Sunday in a 5-2 loss to the Athletics while striking out four and walking four.

“He just wasn’t quite as sharp as what we normally are accustomed to,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said after the game. “Four walks, some hits and just kind of deep in counts and stuff like that. So not his day today, but get him back out there next time and he’ll be just fine.”

King is 0-0 with a 4.91 ERA in three career appearances vs. the Nationals, who will counter Saturday with left-hander Foster Griffin (6-2, 3.63).

After a pair of subpar outings in which he gave up a combined 14 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings, Griffin turned in one of his best efforts of the season. On Sunday, he threw six shutout innings in a 2-1 win at the Atlanta Braves. He allowed three hits, struck out six and walked one.

“I feel like I had my backdoor stuff going pretty good,” Griffin said. “And I know when I have that early, it’s probably going to be a good day. I was able to keep that going throughout the game and mix speeds.”

Griffin has never faced the Padres, who on Friday snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-5 win in the series opener.

San Diego rallied from a 4-1 third-inning deficit. Jackson Merrill’s two-run homer in the seventh gave the Padres the lead, and Mason Miller’s four-out save locked it down.

Merrill had not homered since May 4.

“I’ve been working with my teammates,” Merrill said. “They’ve been picking me up all the time. We’ve been playing good baseball. It just felt good to hit a ball that hard for the first time in a while.”

Miller retired Luis Garcia Jr. with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning en route to his 17th save. San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. had three hits, while Ty France had two, including a home run.

Curtis Mead and Keibert Ruiz homered for Washington, which has lost two straight games and opened a six-game homestand.

“The big thing for me was when we were ahead [in the count], we didn’t finish,” manager Blake Butera said. “We didn’t strike out a ton of guys. Felt like they did a really good job of spoiling some pitches.”

Five Washington pitchers combined for five strikeouts.

Mead hit his fourth home run in the last six games and is batting .320 with six RBIs during that span.

–Field Level Media

Milwaukee reliever Abner Uribe made news for the right reasons Friday night in the Brewers’ 5-4 win against the Houston Astros.

In the opener of a three-game interleague series, which will continue Saturday afternoon in Houston, Uribe escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning that allowed the Brewers to win in 10 innings. Milwaukee has won four games in a row and eight of its past 10.

Uribe was suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball for gestures toward the St. Louis Cardinals’ dugout on Tuesday. He appealed the suspension and was available for Milwaukee on Friday.

Uribe worked around an error, a hit and an intentional walk that loaded the bases with one out and the top of the Astros order due up. He struck out Brice Matthews before getting Isaac Paredes to pop out to end the threat.

Uribe opted not to comment on the suspension or his appeal following the victory. He downplayed the distraction from the situation, instead noting the normal steps he took on Friday.

“The mentality was the same as any other day,” Uribe said. “I go to the bullpen, do my routine and prepare myself to be ready for the game.

“We’re not paying any attention to that. We don’t want to distract ourselves from what our goal is here. We want to stay focused on the game and on winning games. I think we did a good job of going out there and showing that.”

Rookie right-hander Brandon Sproat (1-3, 5.84 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Brewers on Saturday. He allowed three runs on four hits and four walks with a career-high-tying seven strikeouts across four innings in a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers last Sunday.

While Sproat has logged only one quality start in eight starts this season, the Brewers are 5-3 with him as their starter.

Sproat will start against the Astros for the first time in his career. He is 0-1 with a 5.47 ERA in five interleague appearances (four starts).

Right-hander Peter Lambert (3-4, 3.79 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros on Saturday. He snapped a two-start skid last Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts across five innings in an 8-5 victory. Lambert had logged six-plus innings in three consecutive starts but went 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA in that span.

He is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against the Brewers. In his most recent outing against Milwaukee on July 3, 2024, Lambert worked 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Colorado Rockies, allowing two hits with two strikeouts in a 3-0 home loss.

After seemingly bouncing back following a woeful start to the season, Astros reliever Bryan Abreu issued consecutive four-pitch walks to open the eighth inning and was charged with the run that allowed the Brewers to pull even at 4-4 on Friday. Abreu had logged nine consecutive scoreless appearances before Friday after posting a 12.54 ERA in his first 11 games this season.

“We’ve got to create consistency in throwing strikes and staying ahead of hitters,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “That’s been the story for him this year. When he gets ahead, he’s extremely effective.

“His stuff is really good. We just have to get him to throw the ball more in the zone.”

–Field Level Media