Brian Keller’s dream to pitch in the major leagues is expected to become a reality on Saturday evening when he makes his debut for the Philadelphia Phillies against the visiting New York Yankees.

Keller has made eight starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2026, going 0-1 with a 2.23 ERA. Across two levels of the minors this season, the 32-year-old right-hander has a 2.06 ERA. Those numbers look pretty good to the Phillies now, as they have struggled to find production at the end of their rotation.

Thus, the team is expected to promote Keller to make Saturday’s start — or perhaps to pitch in bulk relief following an opener. In either case, it will be quite a moment for Keller, who has endured a roller coaster over the past decade.

“I wanted this so bad, a chance of playing in the big leagues,” he said recently. “I was not ready to give that up.”

Keller’s journey to the majors began in the Yankees’ farm system. He was a 39th-round pick by New York in the 2016 MLB draft. Since then, he also has pitched in the minors for the Boston Red Sox and Phillies, plus a stint in Japan and a long recovery from Tommy John surgery.

When he likely makes his MLB debut, he’ll face a Yankees team that has won four of its last five games. New York nipped Philadelphia 1-0 in Friday’s series opener as Cam Schlittler struck out 12 over 7 1/3 innings.

“They’ve got a great lineup,” Schlittler said. “They’re going to make you battle, and you’ve got to make the right pitches.”

Paul Goldschmidt’s solo homer in the fourth inning accounted for the only run of the game. New York totaled only three hits, while Philadelphia was limited to four.

The Phillies are 2-5 since the All-Star break and have scored more than one run in a game only three times during that stretch.

“We’ve been playing good teams,” Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “And we definitely would like to be playing better baseball. I think we’re just a little inconsistent right now throughout the lineup, not scoring enough runs, to be quite frank. Obviously the talent’s there. We feel good about our team. We’re not playing our best baseball right now.”

The Phillies will aim to bounce back against left-hander Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.40 ERA), who lasted only 4 2/3 innings Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates — and needed 99 pitches to record 14 outs. He gave up five runs, seven hits and a pair of walks in his team’s 8-5 victory.

“Wasn’t a great one for him; got hit around early on a night we’re up against it pen-wise,” New York manager Aaron Boone said of Weathers’ last start, “but I love the fact that he hung in there.”

Weathers has appeared in three games (two starts) against Philadelphia in his career, going 0-3 with a 9.53 ERA. He has given up six homers in 11 1/3 innings in those outings, including a homer to Kyle Schwarber in each of his last two games against the Phillies.

–Field Level Media

Catcher Nick Fortes has emerged as an unlikely force for the Tampa Bay Rays, who will continue their three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Fortes is 11-for-19 during a five-game hitting streak, including four hits with two RBIs in an 11-3 win over the Guardians on Friday.

The Rays reportedly are in the market for a catcher with the trade deadline approaching on Aug. 3, but Fortes’ play might change their plans.

“I’m just trusting the work and staying consistent with it,” said Fortes, who has a .281 batting average, four homers and 27 RBIs this season. “There’s going to be ups and downs, but you’ve got to continue with the same approach and routine, and that’s just kind of where I’m at right now.”

Tampa Bay owns the best record in the American League at 60-43 and is a major-league-best 36-15 at home.

Ryan Vilade hit a two-run homer and Richie Palacios added a three-run blast on Friday for the Rays, who pounded out 15 hits.

Cleveland trailed 5-1 after four innings and lost its third straight game. Right fielder Chase DeLauter extended his season-high on-base streak to 16 games with a first-inning walk before lining a double to right field in the fourth.

“I thought early in the game … we were getting some momentum going there,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “I thought we had some good at-bats. We just weren’t really able to get much, and then they kind of stretched the game out.

“Just kind of took the wind out of our sails. But, again, tough night. These nights happen. We’ll flush it and be ready to go tomorrow.”

Before Friday’s game, Cleveland activated outfielder/infielder Angel Martinez and left-handed reliever Tim Herrin from the injured list and optioned utilityman Daniel Schneemann and left-hander Will Dion to Triple-A Columbus.

Saturday’s pitching matchup will feature a pair of right-handers as Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee (4-9, 3.86 ERA) opposes Tampa Bay’s Nick Martinez (9-2, 2.59).

Bibee, 27, allowed two runs over six innings in a 13-4 home win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday. After going 0-7 with a 4.57 ERA to start the season, Bibee is 4-2 with a 2.88 ERA in his last eight starts since the beginning of June.

Yandy Diaz is 4-for-13 (.308) with a home run in his career against Bibee, who is 1-3 with a 3.82 ERA in five career starts vs. Tampa Bay.

The Rays will counter with Martinez, who tossed six innings of one-run ball in a 7-1 road win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

“He’s been huge for us all season long,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Martinez. “We needed a really good start, he gave us one. Pitched out of a couple jams there early on but then got on a roll where he was just super efficient, throwing all his pitches and letting the defense play behind him.”

Martinez, 35, has allowed three earned runs or less in 18 of his 19 starts this season.

Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez is hitless in eight at-bats against Martinez, who is 2-2 with a 5.66 ERA in seven career games (three starts) vs. Cleveland.

-Field Level Media

The Minnesota Twins will hand out Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett No. 34 jerseys to the first 10,000 fans who arrive for Saturday’s game against the Athletics.

Expect the team to play some highlights on the scoreboard of Puckett’s biggest hits, regardless of whether or not the Twins’ lineup is able to deliver some of their own in real time.

Minnesota will try to bounce back from a sleepy performance at the plate when it faces the Athletics in the second contest of a three-game set in Minneapolis.

The Twins are coming off a 2-0 loss against the Athletics in Friday’s series opener. Minnesota managed only two hits in the game: a double by Austin Martin and a single by Ryan Jeffers.

Twins manager Derek Shelton hopes that his hitters can bounce back one day later.

“We had (seven) walks, we had two hit-by-pitches, and we hit into (three) double plays,” Shelton said. “I think that was the story of the game. We just couldn’t get a big hit to break it open.”

Athletics right-hander Mason Barnett (1-0, 4.64 ERA) will try to maintain his team’s hot pitching in the second game of the series. He is slated to make his first start of the season and the sixth of his brief career.

Barnett has 21 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings out of the bullpen this season. This will be his first career appearance against the Twins.

Minnesota had not named its starting pitcher as of early Saturday morning. The Twins plan to save ace right-hander Joe Ryan for Sunday’s series finale.

Martin could get another turn in the Twins lineup after being one of the few players to stand out in Friday’s series opener. Shelton praised his patience at the plate as well as his contributions in left field, where he started alongside center fielder Byron Buxton and right fielder Luke Keaschall.

Martin is hitting .241 this season and boasts a .356 on-base percentage. He hit leadoff Friday with Buxton in the No. 2 spot and Jeffers batting third.

“Good at-bats tonight,” Shelton said. “Two walks and a double. He made two really good plays in the outfield. It was a good game from Austin.

“We played well defensively, too. We did a nice job. But, again, we couldn’t break through offensively.”

Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom will look to stay hot at the plate. He went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI on Friday, and he has three homers and eight RBIs in his past nine games.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay praised Soderstrom for his recent approach.

“‘Sody’ is a big part of this group,” Kotsay said. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself. He expects to get hits every time he’s up. (That was) a big hit.”

Another player who has stood out for the Athletics is left-hander Hogan Harris, who picked up his eighth save Friday. He has 61 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings.

Minnesota will try to gain ground in the American League wild-card race on Saturday as the team’s front office continues to evaluate whether to buy, sell or stand pat at the upcoming trade deadline. The Twins are three games out of the last wild-card spot.

–Field Level Media