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The Boston Red Sox had counted on pitching to keep them close in some recent games. But it’s going to take the bats to get going for them to make a turnaround. They carry a four-game losing streak into Saturday afternoon’s road game against the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles hammered six home runs, including a pair of two-run blasts from Adley Rutschman, in Friday night’s 10-3 triumph. “All these guys have that capability in them,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “It was good to see kind of everything come together.” Coby Mayo has homered in three consecutive games for the Orioles. Rutschman was in his second game back coming off the injury list. “We’ve got great hitting coaches,” Rutschman said. “Everyone

The Toronto Blue Jays will be going to a closer-by-committee if the situation arises Saturday afternoon against the visiting Cleveland Guardians. Jeff Hoffman has struggled as the closer this season and he was told Friday by manager John Schneider that the team will mix-and-match for now instead of putting the onus on one particular pitcher in the ninth inning. “It’s still finding spots for guys, so whoever that may be in the ninth inning, for now, it’ll be that guy,” Schneider said. The Blue Jays did not need a closer in their 8-6 loss to Cleveland on Friday in the opener of the three-game series. Toronto fell behind 5-0 and never had a lead. Hoffman understood the move, saying there

Jesus Ferreira is in his second season with the Seattle Sounders, but he always enjoys playing his old club, FC Dallas. “There’s still, like, butterflies,” Ferreira said ahead of the teams’ Saturday night match in Seattle. “Going against your childhood club, the club that you grew up your whole life in … so, it’s exciting. I’m looking forward to it.” Ferreira, who is tied for fifth in MLS with five assists, and the Sounders (5-1-1, 16 points) will take a five-match unbeaten streak (4-0-1) into the Western Conference showdown with Dallas (3-2-4, 13 points), which is winless in its past three matches (0-1-2). Dallas is led by Petar Musa, who leads the league’s Golden Boot race with nine goals. Santiago

The Vancouver Whitecaps play their last home match until August on Saturday night when they host the Colorado Rapids. The Whitecaps (7-1-0, 21 points), who are second in the Western Conference and the league overall behind only San Jose (24 points), will play their next eight matches in a row on the road as their home pitch, BC Place, undergoes preparations to host seven FIFA World Cup matches. Vancouver’s next home MLS match won’t be until Aug. 1 against Los Angeles FC. The Whitecaps have made the most of their unbalanced schedule, which has seen them play seven of their first eight matches at home. Vancouver has gone 6-1-0 at home, losing only 1-0 to San Jose back on March