The top two teams in the MLS bid to continue their historic starts when the Vancouver Whitecaps visit the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.

The Earthquakes and Whitecaps are the only teams in MLS history to win eight of their first nine matches, and Vancouver’s plus-20 goal differential (26-6) is the largest in league history through 10 games. The Quakes are plus-19 (26-7) through 11 matches.

San Jose (9-1-1, 28 points) is in first place in the Western Conference thanks to a 1-0 road victory over the Whitecaps (8-1-1, 25 points) on March 21. Beau Leroux scored the lone goal in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.

“It’s two teams having unbelievable first parts of the season,” Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen said. “Combined with two losses for the two teams in (21) games and one of them is because we played each other.

“It should be an exciting game for the league. We’ll try to make it as exciting as possible.”

Earthquakes coach Bruce Arena isn’t sure the result of the first match matters when the teams convene on Saturday.

“I’m not sure it applies to this match a whole lot,” Arena said. “We played real well against a good team. We scored a great goal and we hung on for a one-goal victory. What I take away from that is if we have a better feel for their team that we did going into that game but that doesn’t mean we’re going to be better off this time around.”

San Jose had won six straight MLS matches before playing to a 1-1 tie against host Toronto FC last Saturday. Leading goal scorer Preston Judd scored the tying goal in the 13th minute, his seventh of the season.

Judd saw how Vancouver advanced to the MLS Cup final last season before losing to Inter Miami and believes the Earthquakes can make a similar push.

“Yeah, I think at this point in the season, it’s a big game for us,” Judd said. “We’ve shown that we’ve exceeded the expectations others set for us, and this is another opportunity to make a statement and show that we’re a real contender. We’re going to challenge for the Cup this year.”

Vancouver had a four-match MLS winning streak snapped last Saturday when it tied the host Los Angeles Galaxy 1-1. Mathias Laborda scored the equalizer in the 81st minute.

Now comes the rematch against the Earthquakes, with the Whitecaps highly motivated to return serve.

“It’s going to be tough but it’s supposed to be tough,” Sorensen said. “That’s how it is. We’re ready to go there and play the way we always try to play.”

Brian White leads the Whitecaps with eight goals.

–Field Level Media

The Cincinnati Reds activated left-hander Nick Lodolo off the injured list for the first time this season and he will start in Friday’s home game against the Houston Astros.

In a corresponding move, the Reds optioned right-hander Jose Franco to Triple-A Louisville.

Lodolo, 28, had the start to his season delayed by a blister on his left index finger. His return to the major leagues comes as the Reds are on a seven-game losing streak.

In 29 appearances (28 starts) for Cincinnati last season, Lodolo was 9-8 with a 3.33 ERA and finished the season with two complete games and one shutout. Over four seasons with the Reds, he is 24-22 with a 4.06 ERA in 76 appearances (75 starts). He finished sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2022.

Franco, 25, made his major league debut March 30 and has a 4.30 ERA in eight relief appearances.

–Field Level Media

The Jets stayed true to their commitment to keep Breece Hall in New York, signing the running back to a three-year deal, according to multiple reports Friday.

The deal is worth a total of $45.75 million with an annual payout of $15.25 million, making him the third-highest paid player at his position, per NFL Network, behind the Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley at $20.6 million annually and the San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey at $19 million.

Hall, who turns 25 on May 31, acknowledged the deal on X, re-posting the news and writing, “Shoutout everyone in my corner. Lot of work left to do. God Bless.”

The Jets had applied the non-exclusive franchise tag to Hall in early March but also said at the time that a long-term contract was the priority for both sides.

The non-exclusive version of the tag guaranteed Hall $14.293 million for 2026 but meant Hall could negotiate with other teams, and a transition franchise tag would have paid Hall $11.323 million for one season but would have made him more attractive to another team considering an offer sheet.

“Ideally, we’d find a way to get a deal done and keep Breece around,” Jets General Manager Darren Mougey said at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February. “I think I’ve said that for the last year since I’ve got here. Breece is a good player. We want to find a way to keep him around.”

Hall has rushed for 3,398 yards and 18 touchdowns in his first four seasons since the Jets selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Iowa State.

He amassed a career-high 1,065 yards in 2025, becoming the first Jets player since Chris Ivory in 2015 to surpass 1,000 rushing yards.

Hall also has 188 receptions for 1,642 yards and nine scores in 56 NFL games (50 starts).

–Field Level Media