Milwaukee’s William Contreras will aim to extend his torrid hitting stretch when the Brewers visit the Washington Nationals for the second game of a three-game series on Saturday afternoon.

Contreras had four hits and drove in three runs in the Brewers’ 6-1 win on Friday. That performance came after he collected four hits and four RBIs on Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 13-1 romp.

Contreras became the first player in Brewers history to have four hits in back-to-back games since Casey McGehee in 2010, and just the seventh all-time.

Over his past four games, Contreras is 10-for-17 with a home run, nine RBIs and six runs and has raised his batting average to .310.

Stopping Contreras will fall to Washington’s top starter thus far, Foster Griffin (3-0, 2.67 ERA), who will oppose Kyle Harrison (2-1, 2.28) in a matchup of left-handers.

The 30-year-old Griffin has allowed one earned run or less in three of his five starts. Last time out, he tossed seven shutout innings Sunday in a no-decision against the Chicago White Sox. He gave up two hits while striking out eight and walking two in a game Milwaukee won 2-1 in 10 innings.

“I really had a good sweeper today, really good changeup to the righties, and my cutter to both sides,” Griffin said after the game. “I feel like I was able to cut it away, cut it in, and then I could go soft away with pretty good command on my changeup to keep them off balance.”

Griffin defeated the Brewers on April 11, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing one hit in the 3-1 game.

Harrison has allowed two runs or less in each of his five starts. In his most recent outing, he threw six scoreless innings of one-hit baseball to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-0 last Sunday. Harrison struck out a career-high 12 batters and walked one. He retired the final seven hitters he faced, five via strikeout.

“That was a great day, but I can’t take that with me into the next one,” Harrison said. “You have to re-start.”

Harrison is 0-2 with a 4.26 ERA in four career starts vs. Washington.

Milwaukee starter Jacob Misiorowski was working on a gem Friday before leaving with a right hamstring cramp. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out eight, walked two and retired the last 12 batters he faced, the final four by strikeout.

“He pitched great for 5 1/3, and then he cramped,” manager Pat Murphy said. “We’ll see where it is tomorrow. We’re very hopeful.”

Tyler Black had two doubles for Milwaukee, which has won four of its past five games.

Daylen Lile broke up Misiorowski’s no-hit bid with a double in the seventh inning. He finished 1-for-3 with a walk.

“We’ve faced some really good arms,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “I think we’ve faced some number ones, and I think we’ve had some success against them. This just felt different. None of the guys we faced before were 102 [miles per hour] multiple times and sitting 101.”

The Nationals are only 3-11 at home this season, and the Brewers are 7-6 on the road.

–Field Level Media

There were encouraging signs from the Boston Red Sox’s offense on Friday night, and the team will look to build on that performance when it hosts the Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon.

Jarren Duran’s three-run home run was the big blow in Boston’s 3-1 victory Friday. The home run, Duran’s second of the season, erased a 1-0 deficit in the third inning.

Duran entered the game hitting .170. His home run came after Carlos Narvaez drew a walk in an 11-pitch at-bat and Caleb Durbin singled.

“Whenever a guy has an at-bat like that, you kind of wear down the pitcher, see some more pitches,” Duran said. “You always have to tip your cap to (Narvaez). That guy is a stud, and every time he goes to the plate he has a great approach.

“I just got a pitch I could handle,” Duran continued. “I was just trying to get the job done, just tie the game by getting an RBI from third base … just do my job, and I happened to run into a homer right there.”

Boston also received three hits — a double and two singles — from Roman Anthony, who began the game in a 4-for-31 slump. It was Anthony’s first multi-hit game since April 15, and his first three-hit performance since Opening Day. He entered the weekend hitting .209.

“He looked good today,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “He stayed off pitches out of the zone. I saw him chase a little bit in the last couple of games, which I’m not used to seeing with him. I think it was a big step in the right direction for quality.”

Despite the positive signs from Duran and Anthony, Friday’s game was the 18th time Boston has scored three runs or less in a game this season. The Red Sox are 4-14 in those games.

Right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (3-0, 2.00 ERA) will take the mound for Houston on Saturday. He’s 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two career starts against Boston.

Left-hander Connelly Early (2-1, 2.84 ERA) is Boston’s probable starter. He will face Houston for the first time.

The Astros were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 in Friday night’s loss. Houston scored on a solo home run by Carlos Correa, who had three of his team’s 11 hits.

“Today is one of those days where we pitched really well, then we don’t hit,” Correa said. “Sometimes we hit and we don’t pitch well. We’ve just got to find the perfect balance where we’re all in sync and just doing everything at the right time.”

Houston left at least one runner on base in seven of the nine innings.

“We were one swing away,” Houston manager Joe Espada added. “But we pitched really well. Mike (Burrows), Bennett Sousa and Bryan King gave us a shot. That’s all you can ask for. Mike settled down after that one inning (when Duran homered). Really pitched through some tough stretches there and gave us an opportunity, but just one swing away and sometimes that happens.”

–Field Level Media

Tampa Bay right-hander Griffin Jax may be taking a new step in his career on Saturday evening when the Rays meet the San Francisco Giants in St. Petersburg, Fla.

For the second time this season, the career reliever will make a start and perhaps get settled into what could be a new role.

Jax, 31, said he is aware of the possibility of pitching every fifth day.

“This is an organization that’s had some success doing this in the past,” said Jax, a third-round draft pick in 2016. “We’re going to see how I respond to increasing workload, but I think, all in all, it’s going to be the right decision.”

Jax (1-2, 6.35 ERA) has a 1.68 WHIP across 11 1/3 innings this season. He likely will open in front of fellow right-hander Jesse Scholtens after the club’s 3-0 shutout of the Giants on Friday night.

Jax has no record with a 1.23 ERA in eight career appearances against San Francisco.

The Rays and manager Kevin Cash could use the help on their pitching staff, though it has produced its two shutouts this season in the past three contests.

Tampa Bay’s rotation took a big hit Friday when the team announced that right-hander Ryan Pepiot would have season-ending hip surgery.

“It’s unfortunate,” Cash said. “It’s a guy that made (31) starts for us (last year) and that we were hoping was going to be available at some point. It just didn’t look like it was going to turn in the right direction.”

Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz, who had the game-winning RBI on Friday, left the series opener with left side tightness. He is day-to-day.

After being swept in its three-game series in Philadelphia, San Francisco arrived in the Tampa area at 2:30 a.m. ET — and the Giants played like it.

The Giants lost their fourth straight game and were shut out for the seventh time, tops in the majors.

San Francisco general manager Zack Minasian joined the team in Florida for the series and expressed his support for first-year manager Tony Vitello, adding that the season could eventually get pointed in the right direction.

“I try not to make too much out of three games; that’s a small sample,” Minasian said of the sweep in Philadelphia. “I wish I was thick-skinned enough to say I don’t worry about it, but I think it’s just the nature of these positions. You’re always wanting to do better as a front office. We always want to make a positive impact.

“But I think a lot of it goes back to the fact that there is preparation, a lot of hard work and you just hope and are confident that things will turn.”

The starting pitcher the last time the Giants won, right-hander Landen Roupp (5-1, 2.55 ERA) will look to end the team’s skid on Saturday.

Roupp beat the Miami Marlins last time out, 6-3 on Sunday, yielding three runs in 7 2/3 innings for his fourth consecutive win.

He has a 9.00 ERA without a decision in one start and one relief appearance against Tampa Bay.

–Field Level Media