With their four-game losing streak over, the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays will use the heart of their rotation Saturday afternoon when they face the Los Angeles Angels in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Rays moved to 20-5 at home by rallying from a 2-1 fifth-inning deficit to win 8-5 over the Angels on Friday.

Tampa Bay tallied seven times in the seventh inning as Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda became the first Rays players to hit back-to-back homers this season.

“When we get hot, it’s hard to get us out,” Diaz, who also led off the game with a homer, said of teammate Aranda, who leads the AL with 42 RBIs.

Diaz tops the AL in batting average at .313. Starting pitcher Nick Martinez (5-1, 1.62) turned in his 11th straight start of allowing two runs or less with his seven-inning, two-run effort.

Rays middle infielders Ben Williamson (back strain) and Taylor Walls (left hamstring) have been nicked up, but Williamson returned Friday at shortstop and went 1-for-2, while Walls played shortstop in the ninth.

Without Walls for a bit, plus Jake Fraley and Jonny DeLuca, the latter two for over a month apiece, the club welcomed its infielders in the series opener.

“Our depth has been tested a little bit,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said on Friday’s pre-game show. “Those three guys are big parts of our club. They get there in different ways whether it’s great defense, big at-bats or timely hitting.”

Drew Rasmussen (4-1, 2.78 ERA) will make his 11th start for Tampa Bay on Saturday. The right-hander has won both of his decisions in a four-start May.

Against the Angels in one start and one relief stint in his career, Rasmussen is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in 6 1/3 innings.

The Angels won’t be able to rely on ace Jose Soriano, whose turn will come up when they return home next week to face the Colorado Rockies, and starter Reid Detmers (1-5, 4.57 ERA) will be counted on Saturday to try to even the three-game series.

The left-hander has lost his last four decisions but is coming off his best start this season in the Angels’ 2-1 win Sunday over the Texas Rangers. Detmers was masterful in yielding just one hit and one run, a homer by Jake Burger, and striking out a career-high 14 without a walk.

He is 1-0 with an 0.84 ERA in five career appearances (three starts) against the Rays. The win occurred on May 10, 2022, when the rookie tossed the 12th no-hitter in Angels history in his 11th major league start. He fanned two and walked one.

Third on the Angels with nine homers behind Mike Trout (13) and Zach Neto (10), Jorge Soler got the night off Friday on the Rays’ new turf field, while Jo Adell slid into the cleanup spot.

“With (Soler’s) legs, we communicated with him and felt it wouldn’t be the best idea to get him on turf,” said Angels manager Kurt Suzuki. “We gave Mike (Trout) a day off his feet and DHing. (Soler) will be back in there tomorrow.”

The Angels are 5-2 in their past seven games, but third baseman Nick Madrigal went 2-for-4 in his first game since June 1, 2024, when he played for the Chicago Cubs.

Last in the AL in hitting at .229, Los Angeles produced 10 hits in Friday’s loss.

-Field Level Media

In search of their major league-leading 40th win, the visiting Atlanta Braves will look to post another series win on Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds.

Since being shut out 8-0 by the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, Atlanta has combined to score 18 runs across its past two games, including an 8-3 victory over the Reds in the series opener on Friday. They are 16-2-1 in series on the season.

Spearheading the charge has been a resurgent Michael Harris II. Following an inconsistent 2025 campaign, the Braves’ center fielder is batting .308 with 13 home runs and 36 RBIs. Harris is 9-for-18 with two homers and seven runs driven in across the past four games.

“He’s just maturing as a player,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “He’s still only 25 years old. I just think you’re seeing that process happen before our eyes. He’s becoming a more mature baseball player. There’s a lot of wisdom that you gain playing in this league every day for several years like he has already. He’s just having a great year for us.”

Veteran left-hander Martin Perez (2-3, 2.70 ERA) will make his 12th appearance (eighth start) of the season for Atlanta on Saturday. The 35-year-old tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run, five-hit ball on Sunday in a 2-1 home loss to the Washington Nationals.

In his 15th season in the majors, Perez has filled in any role asked of him by Weiss. Perez, who was designated for assignment by the club on April 12 and re-signed three days later, has a 2.89 ERA in seven starts for the Braves.

“I can’t talk about him enough,” Weiss said of Perez. “He’s performed well in a variety of roles. He’s been a great pro for us.”

In two career appearances against the Reds, Perez is 1-0, combining to throw 13 scoreless innings across a pair of starts.

Cincinnati, meanwhile, has lost back-to-back games to see its struggles in May prolonged. The Reds are 9-16 this month after finishing April nine games above .500.

Brady Singer (2-4, 6.26) will try to snap a woeful stretch on the mound as he returns to the fray for Cincinnati. Singer is 0-3 with an 8.47 ERA in four starts in May. On May 17, he allowed five runs on seven hits across four innings in a 10-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. The struggling right-hander will return to the rotation after seeing his start skipped last time through.

“It’s baseball. It’ll punch you right in the gut more times than not,” Singer said of his disappointing month. “It’s obviously tough, but there’s a lot of season left. I’m excited for the next one and the rest of the season.”

The former first round pick is 16-16 with a 4.51 ERA in 42 starts since being traded to Cincinnati by the Kansas City Royals in November 2024 for infielder Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer.

Singer has posted a 1-3 record and a 5.48 ERA in four career starts against the Braves.

The Reds will host Singer’s former team, the Royals, for three games beginning Monday before traveling to St. Louis for a three-game series with the Cardinals, a National League Central division rival.

–Field Level Media

Erica Wheeler and Nneka Ogwumike helped the Los Angeles Sparks continue their recent surge and survive the first game without Kelsey Plum.

The Sparks hope to see another productive showing from the duo when they visit the league-worst Connecticut Sun on Saturday night in Hartford, Conn.

The Sparks (4-3) have scored at least 90 points in five straight games (4-1) after Wheeler and Ogwumike combined for 41 points in Friday’s 92-87 win at Washington.

Wheeler scored 14 of her season-high 21 points in the fourth quarter after totaling 33 points in the first six games.

Ogwumike returned from missing last weekend’s win over Las Vegas with a hand injury and totaled 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Plum will miss her second straight game after injuring her ankle in practice Tuesday. She will be re-evaluated again on Tuesday.

Aside from Wheeler and Ogwumike, the Sparks are hoping to see more productive showings from Cameron Brink and Dearica Hamby. Brink tied her season high with 16 points while Hamby contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

“Everybody’s got to do a little bit more,” Los Angeles coach Lynne Roberts said. “The toughness to win on the road without K.P (Plum), I’m incredibly proud of this group.”

Connecticut (1-8) is playing the first of two games in Hartford during its final season before moving to Houston. The Sun also will host the Dallas Wings in Hartford on July 2.

Five of Connecticut’s losses have been by double digits, including the past three, which were decided by a combined 55 points.

Aneesah Morrow has led the team in scoring in the past two games. She scored 13 points Wednesday when the Sun took a 71-61 loss at Portland.

“This has been a long road trip, I think we’re the only team that’s played nine games now this season,” Morrow said after Wednesday’s loss. “There’s a lot of adversity that we all hit as a team (and) individually throughout this whole process.”

Brittney Griner has missed the past four games with a rib injury and six games overall but was not on the injury report for Saturday’s game.

The Sun also will get Leila Lacan back from international commitments. Lacan averaged 10.4 points last season and will take the roster spot of Hailey Van Lith, who was waived Thursday.

–Field Level Media