Expert MLB Picks and Previews

Cardinals pursue another power surge against cold Cubs The St. Louis Cardinals homered for the first time this week, going deep three times in the opener Friday of their three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals will look to continue to flex their muscles when they vie for a series win over the Cubs on Saturday night in St.

Athletics searching for way to slow Yankees, Ben Rice Ben Rice’s batting average plummeted 67 points during an 18-game stretch in May in which hits were hard to come by. Suddenly, getting Rice out is a major chore for opposing teams. The 27-year-old is fresh off his first four-hit outing of the season and third of his career as he

Braves enjoying hot bat of Michael Harris II against Reds 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

Rockies hope to end low month on high note vs. Giants The Colorado Rockies can conclude a rough May with their first series win in more than a month as they continue their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday in Denver. On Friday, they rallied to an 8-6 win in the opener in dramatic fashion. Ezequiel Tovar

Phillies’ Jesus Luzardo feeling ‘grindy’ as streaking Dodgers await Riding his best three-start stretch of the season, Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Jesus Luzardo will be put to the test Saturday in the middle game of a three-game road series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After he delivered six scoreless innings in a 3-0 win against the San Diego Padres on Monday,

Rays strive to continue offensive momentum vs. Angels 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

Mets slowly building momentum ahead of rematch vs. Marlins The last-place New York Mets are in no position to be picky about how they win games — no matter how chaotic, exhausting and impossible to replicate those victories might be. The Mets will look to extend their winning streak to three games on Saturday afternoon when they host the Miami

Fresh off late rally, Blue Jays bid to fluster Orioles again The Toronto Blue Jays have found answers even with an evolving lineup, and that might be one of the biggest parts of their emerging confidence midway through their series with the Baltimore Orioles. The teams will meet Saturday afternoon in the third contest of a four-game series in Baltimore.

Hot at home: White Sox chase series win vs. tumbling Tigers One victory shy of securing their sixth straight home series win, the Chicago White Sox applauded the fans who have backed them through the early stages of what’s shaping up as a turnaround season. “Having all of them (a crowd of 30,019) here in the stadium, showing all the