Expert MLB Picks and Previews

Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox continue their series Saturday at Fenway Park after Boston opened the matchup with a 3-1 win on May 1. That result gives the Red Sox early control, and the market has them priced as short home favorites at -124. Houston comes back at +103, which keeps this

Milwaukee Brewers vs Washington Nationals The Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals continue their series Saturday at Nationals Park after Milwaukee opened the matchup with a convincing 6-1 win on May 1. That result gives the Brewers immediate control of the series, and the market has them priced as short road favorites at -132. Washington comes back at +111, looking to

Roki Sasaki needs strong start for Dodgers against Cardinals With a proven veteran ready to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching staff, every start counts for the existing members of the rotation. All eyes will be on right-hander Roki Sasaki when he starts for the Dodgers on Saturday in a road game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Los Angeles

Walt Weiss, Braves pursue more success vs. Rockies Walt Weiss had a successful return to Coors Field on Friday, and the Atlanta manager hopes to make it two straight wins there when the Braves play the second of three games against the Colorado Rockies in Denver on Saturday night. Atlanta will send left-hander Chris Sale (5-1, 2.31 ERA) to the

Tigers battling bullpen woes as Rangers visit The concerns about the Detroit Tigers’ bullpen figure to be amplified following another late-inning setback. Detroit has lost three of its last four games heading into Saturday night’s matchup against the visiting Texas Rangers, who opened the three-game series with a 5-4 win on Friday. Detroit rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to

White Sox pursue another memorable performance vs. Padres Will Venable made it back to where it all began on Friday night: San Diego. His MLB career started with the Padres in 2008, and he spent 7 1/2 seasons there, then went to the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers before retirement. While he made plenty of memories playing in San

Royals vie to ride power surge in rematch vs. Mariners When Jac Caglianone homered in the sixth inning Friday night in Seattle, nobody was more excited than Kansas City Royals teammate Vinnie Pasquantino. Pasquantino pinched his fingers together in a traditional Italian hand gesture then greeted Caglianone at the top step of the dugout with a kiss on both cheeks.

Red Sox eager to ride Jarren Duran’s blast to another victory over Astros 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

Phillies clash with Marlins, work to continue turnaround under Don Mattingly After a slow start to the season, the Philadelphia Phillies have a simple — and obvious — goal under interim manager Don Mattingly. “We’ve got to win ballgames,” right-hander Zack Wheeler said after the Phillies defeated the Marlins 6-5 on Friday night in Miami. “You can’t get too far