Rookie right-hander JR Ritchie could get the start on Sunday when the Atlanta Braves go for the four-game sweep over the visiting Washington Nationals.

Atlanta has won four straight and taken the first three games of the series. The Braves are 7-3 this season against the Nationals, who have lost four in a row, and hold an eight-game lead in the National League East.

Ritchie (1-2, 4.50 ERA) is expected to face Washington right-hander Cade Cavalli (8-4, 3.55) in the series finale.

Ritchie was a last-minute scratch from his start at Triple-A Gwinnett when Atlanta’s Reynaldo Lopez complained of left knee inflammation prior to his expected start Saturday for the Braves. That forced Atlanta to slide Sunday starter Martin Perez up a day and led to Ritchie’s recall. Lopez will be placed on the injured list.

“(Ritchie) will be a candidate,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said after the game. “We’re just trying to talk through all these things, but there’s a little bit of scrambling here.”

Ritchie has appeared in 13 games (seven starts) for Atlanta. His last appearance came July 21 against San Diego when he threw 3 2/3 innings of relief and allowed three runs in an 8-3 home loss.

“We’ve been dealing with this since the first day of spring training and it hasn’t stopped,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said on depth in the starting rotation. “It’s created opportunities for guys. You need to have pleasant surprises, and we’ve had plenty of those.”

They’ve also used plenty of starting pitchers. Thirteen different pitchers have made starts for the Braves.

Cavalli has won five straight decisions and is coming off a six-inning start against Toronto on Tuesday when he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks, striking out three. During the five-game winning streak over nine contests, Cavalli has worked to a 3.06 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 47 innings.

He has made one career appearance against the Braves. That came on April 23 when he received no-decision after giving up two runs in five innings with 10 strikeouts. It was one of his three double-digit strikeout efforts this season.

Washington has lost six of its last nine and dropped 3 1/2 games behind the race for the final NL wild-card spot. The Nationals need a win on Sunday to avoid matching a season-worst five-game losing streak.

“The guys are frustrated,” Washington manager Blake Butera said. “This is the first time in a while that we’ve been in a spot where we’re chasing a playoff and these guys want to win. They’re frustrated that we’re losing. There’s nothing they want to do more than win some games right now.”

The Washington offense has been dormant in the series. The Nats scored only two runs on Friday and were blanked for seven innings on Saturday before scoring three times to make the final score a more respectable 8-3. The Nationals failed to homer on Saturday for only the third time in their last 29 games.

“It’s really a tough time to have a tough week,” Butera said. “We’ve played pretty well up until this past week. I believe in all these guys in this clubhouse. They’ve done some pretty incredible things up to this point. It’s up to us to right the ship and get this thing going back in the right direction as quickly as we can.”

–Field Level Media

The Toronto Blue Jays will be going for a sweep Sunday afternoon in the finale of a three-game series with the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.

The Blue Jays clinched the series with a 5-1 victory Saturday afternoon. Right-hander Kevin Gausman earned the win in what could have been his farewell performance for the Blue Jays with the Monday trade deadline looming.

Gausman allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings and left the mound in the sixth to a standing ovation.

“What a cool moment,” Gausman said. “The fans have done a lot of cool moments for me since I’ve been here, but that was definitely up there.”

The Blue Jays have won three straight and are assured of winning their second successive series.

“We’re getting hits when we need them,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I love the way we have played.”

The Blue Jays enter Sunday 3 1/2 games out of the third and final American League wild-card spot.

“We’re still in it,” Blue Jays center fielder Daulton Varsho said. “It’s not like we’re 10 1/2 games back. We’ve got to keep our heads down, keep grinding, keep playing good baseball and see where the year ends up. … on paper, we’re still a really good team, we’ve just got to prove it every night.”

Matthew Liberatore (5-8, 5.26 ERA) is the probable starter for the Cardinals and gives them a chance to salvage a win and stop a three-game losing streak. The left-hander is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in two career outings (one start) against the Blue Jays.

Max Scherzer (1-4, 9.49) is slated to make his second start Sunday since coming off the injured list (back spasms, thumb injury). He needed 75 pitches to navigate 2 2/3 innings July 27 — his 42nd birthday — against the host Washington Nationals, allowing one run, four hits and three walks with four strikeouts. The right-hander is 5-7 with a 2.66 ERA in 16 career starts against the Cardinals.

St. Louis enters Sunday four games out of the NL’s third wild-card spot and has four wins in its past 16 games.

The Cardinals have scored three or fewer runs in their past seven games, going 1-6.

“You’re looking early in the year, several guys were really hot, and they did a nice job of just driving the baseball. More slug,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.

“Right now, that’s just not the case at the top of the lineup. I believe they’ll get back to that, but they’re at a part of the year where that’s just not happening. They’re working hard, and they’re trying to get back to feeling good about their swings. But it’s just part of a long season, especially when you have a young group. There are going to be some inconsistencies there.”

The Cardinals outhit the Blue Jays 11-9 on Saturday but stranded 11 runners in going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

“I know it’s been tough for us lately,” said Cardinals All-Star right fielder Jordan Walker, who is 3-for-9 with an RBI in the first two games in Toronto. “I mean, that’s no secret. They’ve been tough. We haven’t come through, but we’re going to keep our heads up, and we’re going to keep going.”

Cardinals left-hander Quinn Matthews was promoted from Triple-A Memphis to make his major league debut Saturday, and he allowed two runs in five-plus innings.

Right-hander Matt Svanson was optioned to Memphis and right-hander Tink Hence was designated for assignment in the corresponding moves.

–Field Level Media

In search of his first win in more than a month, Pittsburgh Pirates starter Mitch Keller hopes to recapture the good vibes from his last outing against the Cincinnati Reds.

The visiting Pirates look to even their four-game series against the Reds in Sunday’s finale.

In a 9-4 home win over the Reds on June 28, Keller gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits, walking one and striking out four over six innings.

The right-hander was 0-2 in four July starts. He settled for a no-decision in his home start on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing two runs on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.

“When stuff is going well, your confidence is up a little bit,” said Keller (6-7, 4.83 ERA). “I’ve got to keep working. Keep going. We still have a lot to accomplish as a team.”

Keller has made 21 career starts against the Reds and is 5-6 with a 5.25 ERA.

The Pirates placed Ryan O’Hearn (left quad strain) on the 10-day injured list on Saturday. A first baseman and outfielder, O’Hearn is expected to miss six to eight weeks after he was injured running to first base in the ninth inning of the Pirates’ 8-7 loss on Friday.

O’Hearn is hitting .270 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs.

Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly said Saturday’s 4-1 win that featured a 106-minute rain delay showed his club’s toughness.

“We’ve talked about the resilience of this team,” Kelly said. “The fight that is in that clubhouse. … (Friday’s loss) was a tough game, and so was losing O’Hearn.”

The Reds will counter with 23-year-old Chase Burns (12-1, 2.40). While Cincinnati is going for a series win, Burns is chasing history.

Burns, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, has had a breakout season. The right-hander is unbeaten (11-0) over his last 16 starts and has pitched at least five innings in all 20 of his starts this season.

A win Sunday would move Burns within one victory of Brooks Lawrence, who won 13 consecutive decisions for the Reds in 1956, his lone All-Star season. Burns’ 16-game streak without a loss is the longest run by a Cincinnati pitcher since Ewell Blackwell racked up 16 wins in a 17-start span in 1947.

Burns took a no-decision in his last start, a 6-5 home loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday. He allowed five runs (one earned) on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts over five innings. Four Cleveland runs came in the first inning.

“It’s all about seeing how many zeros you can put up and getting through five innings,” Burns said.

At a career-high 112 2/3 innings in his second season, Burns earned his first All-Star selection but did not participate in the game because of a groin issue.

Burns has made five career appearances, including four starts, against the Pirates. He is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA, striking out 37 while walking five over 26 innings.

Sunday’s outing will be his fourth against Pittsburgh this season.

The Reds managed just three hits in Saturday’s loss.

“(Pirates starter Braxton) Ashcraft has got a fabulous arm,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “I actually thought the rain might help us because it got him out of there. But (reliever) Carmen Mlodzinski is pretty good in that role.”

–Field Level Media